Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years
by Desha
Summary: Picking up a little over a year after the end of Taking Care of Reno: Origins and exploring the time leading up to Reno becoming second in command of the Turks.
1. A New Beginning

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

 **by Desha**

 ** _Author's note:_ **_I really was going to wrap things up with Origins... but it turns out I still have more story to tell. The Early Years picks up a little over a year after the end of Taking Care of Reno: Origins and will cover the time leading up to Reno becoming second in command of the Turks._

* * *

"... So are you gonna tell me?" Rude asked, pulling into the parking lot of Reno's apartment complex. The redhead had been sulking the entire way home.

"Are _you_ gonna tell Tseng?" he responded, and his fellow rookie snickered.

"That your way of asking me _not_ to?"

"... Come on up. After the night I've had, I need a drink before I start in on the play by play..." the redhead said with a sigh. He shoved open the door to the truck and hopped out. Rude grinned and did the same, following him into the building. His friend was stubbornly silent as they boarded the elevator and road it up to the fifth floor, and remained so as he ushered him inside.

"You want a beer?" Reno finally asked, walking into his kitchenette and opening up the fridge.

"I _want_ to know why I had to come bail you out of jail at eight 'o clock on a Thursday night. Quit stalling."

Reno extracted a bottle for himself and popped it open, downing about half of its contents and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand as he leaned back against the appliance.

"... So... you know how Kai keeps sayin' I need to work on tailin' people... right?"

"Yeah... It's not really you _best_ skill."

"Ah, fuck you, Rude. You wanna hear this or not?" he replied, and his fellow Turk snickered loudly, "I've... ya know... kinda been practicing. On my own time."

"Practicing on who?" Rude asked, curious now. The redhead shrugged.

"Just... anyone. I pick someone, follow 'em for awhile, and try not to let 'em see me."

Rude smirked. He had a sneaking suspicion _this_ was going to be good. He shooed his friend out of the way and opened the fridge, helping himself to the previously offered beer.

"And?"

Reno rolled his eyes. " _And_... tonight I decided to tail this really fuckin' hot-as-shit brunette. Followed her for about two blocks... annnnd walked straight into her boyfriend. Who was about three times my size and not real thrilled by the idea of some skinny little punk stalkin' his lady."

Rude choked on the sip he'd just taken, laughing.

"You're lucky he just had you arrested. Sounds like you _could've_ ended up wrapped around a streetlight."

"Oh, no... _He_ didn't call the cops. _He_ tried to wrap me around a streetlight. Lucky for me, I was a hell of a lot faster than he was. I took off outta there like a fuckin' chocobo with his tail feathers on fire."

One eyebrow shot up from behind his sunglasses. "Then how'd you end up getting arrested?"

"I'm gettin' there..." Reno replied and took another swig of his beer. "So I was runnin' like hell down the street with this massive asshole chasin' me, and his smokin' hot girlfriend chasin' _him_ , and I knew if I didn't shake 'em pretty quick, I was gonna be in a shitload of trouble. So I ran down an alley to the next block, doubled back, ducked into this little materia shop, 'n waited for 'em to run past."

"... And they saw you?"

"Nah... they were runnin' full tilt down the block screamin' like idiots," the redhead said grinning. "Never saw 'em again after that."

Rude shook his head, confused. "Then _why_ did you get arrested?"

"Quit interruptin' and you'll find out," he shot back. "So there I am... hidin' out behind this big ass rack of materia spheres, watchin' these lunatics run by... when the shop owner sneaks up behind me. Scares the absolute _shit_ outta me. So... ya know... I reacted like _any_ Turk would."

"You shot him?" Rude teased. Reno glared at him.

"Her. And no. I took her to the floor 'n pinned her, you fuckin' psychopath."

"And _she_ had you arrested for assault."

"No."

"But..."

"I'm _gettin'_ there!" Reno reiterated. "Anyway... I've got this poor lady on the floor and I suddenly realize she was just tryin' to get my attention... So I just start apologizin' profusely, tryin' to explain why I'm a complete asshole and askin' if there's anything I can do to make it up to her. She was _actually_ real nice about it in the end... asked me to give her a hand movin' some shit outta the back room, and we called things even. Then I left, figurin' I'd try 'n salvage what was left of the evening... so I thought I'd give the new fake ID Sato got for me a test run 'n started makin' my way over to the Phoenix Nest for a drink..."

Rude shook his head. "Well, you're sober _and_ you're still in one piece... so I guess that rules out a bar fight. They figure out the ID was a fake and call the cops on you?"

"... Yeah, no. I didn't make it to the bar," the younger Turk replied, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I... was like a block away, crossin' the street, when some asshat damn near runs me down... so I swore at him and slammed my hand down on the hood of his car. His... uh... patrol car." Reno sighed and hung his head in shame. "I basically got arrested for jaywalkin'."

Rude stared at him, incredulously, for a moment, and started to laugh.

He was _still_ laughing several minutes later, after the redhead had shoved him out the door and slammed it behind him.

* * *

The following morning, Reno stepped off of the elevator and into the Turks' offices, first coffee of the day in hand and already halfway consumed. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he heard the sound of loud giggling coming from down the hall. Curious, he changed course, and headed for the source of the laughter, opening the door to the lounge.

"Mornin'..." he called out, and was vaguely confused when the giggling turned to outright laughter, as more of the room's occupants joined in. "What?" he queried, narrowing his eyes in confusion... until he spotted the newest addition to the room's décor. He scowled and stomped over to the far wall. "Oh, _come_ on! Again? Goddammit, Rude... How do you keep gettin' ahold of these?"

He reached for printout of his mugshot from last night and pulled it down, pointedly crumpling the paper and tossing it into the wastebasket.

"I think it's your best one yet," the bald Turk snickered, ignoring the question.

"I agree. You look particularly dangerous in this one," Cissnei giggled, "Midgar's most wanted jaywalker..."

"I dunno... I _still_ like the one from when he got caught runnin' 'round in his birthday suit after nailin' the SOLDIER director's daughter..." Sato opined. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Tch... yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, you assholes," he muttered, but couldn't help the faint chuckle that escaped his own lips. "Uh... anyone _else_ see that yet?"

Tseng _probably_ wouldn't say anything, given that last night's arrest had occurred while he was off duty and hadn't been for anything serious... but still. The redhead didn't like seeing that disapproving look his mentor wore every time he found out that the younger Turk had run afoul of the law again. Thankfully, Reno didn't seem to find himself in such situations _nearly_ as often as he used to these days.

Rude shook his head. "Just got in myself. It hasn't been up long enough for everyone to get a good look."

"Good," Reno replied, "'Cause this arrest was complete bullshit. It's fuckin' embarrassing."

Sato sniggered loudly. "Are yeh tellin' me gettin' yer arse hauled off ta jail buck naked _wasn't_?"

"Hey, 'least that time I got laid first," the redhead shot back.

"You'll have to forgive me for breaking up this little party," Remy said, poking her head into the lounge, "But Veld has requested I round everyone up for the morning briefing."

"Oh, fer Odin's sake," Sato groused, "It ain't even ten after yet. Why so bloody early?"

"You'll have to take that up with Veld. I'm only following orders. But... If I had to guess, I'd say it has something to do with the executive Christmas party..." With that, she disappeared back into the hallway.

Sato groaned. "Yeh know what _that_ means, don't yeh... 'least _some_ 'o us are gonna be stuck workin' on Christmas Eve."

"I volunteer the rookies," Reno replied.

"Hey!" Cissnei began, before a look of realization crossed her face, "... Oh... right. I'm _not_ a rookie anymore. Nevermind. I second that suggestion!"

The redhead laughed, and the group began to filter out of the lounge to make their way towards the conference room for the briefing.

"Takes awhile to get used to it, huh?" he snickered. Cissnei's promotion had happened just a few weeks ago. He couldn't fault her for momentarily forgetting her new rank. His own promotion had seemed a little surreal to _him_ at first, too. The small group finally entered the briefing room, only to find that most of the rest of the team had beaten them there.

The talk of promotion, for whatever reason, reminded the redhead that the team was notably different from when _he'd_ been made a full Turk. Last years' losses, combined with the new recruits they'd added since, had given the Turks something of a fresh start. Of course there were plenty of familiar faces... Remy, Kai, and Sato... Rude and Cisseni... and of course Tseng and Veld. But there were new ones, now, too.

He didn't like to think of them as replacements. Yeah... they'd lost four Turks a little over a year ago, but no rookie could ever _replace_ them. They were just new additions to the family. Period. Probably would have been promoted eventually even if there _hadn't_ been casualties.

Sykes had been the first. Only guy Reno'd ever met that insisted on going exclusively by his last name. But, considering that his _first_ name was Norton... he could _kinda_ understand why. Not that anyone in their right mind would laugh at his name. Not to his face, anyway. Sykes was built like Rude... on steroids. The guy was fucking _huge_. Standing at over six feet tall, and hailing from a tiny village near Icicle Inn on the northern continent, Sykes was about three hundred pounds of pure muscle.

You wouldn't have known it to see him fight, though. He had a certain grace and fluidity to his movements that had left the redhead slightly stunned during their first sparring match... resulting in him being sent flying into the wall right off the bat as a reward for his complacency. He'd stopped underestimating the rookie immediately after that. Sykes had later confessed that his mother had forced him take up something called ice dancing as a child because he'd been so big and clumsy... some kind of ballet on ice skates, as Reno understood it. Apparently the lessons had stuck.

Reno had initially expected him to be a primarily unarmed fighter, like Rude, just based on sheer strength. He was therefore rather surprised when, during their _second_ match, the rookie had come at him with a spear.

And then there was Petra. She was from Cosmo Canyon, originally, and it showed. She was _way_ into crystals and auras and yoga and all that new agey bullshit. She was also fucking deadly with a crossbow... which she preferred to a gun because she claimed it didn't "throw her chakra out of alignment" the way a gun did. Whatever the fuck that meant. She was the _only_ rookie experienced with materia, which she used to augment her weapon of choice... though Reno wasn't entirely clear on _how_ , exactly. She got along _pretty_ well with Kai, which was probably most attributable to a mutual love of the outdoors, and Cissnei was fast becoming her unofficial mentor, as they were both ranged fighters who favored a somewhat more uncommon weapon.

And last but not least, was their newest edition. Reno didn't know Liam real well yet. He'd only been promoted to the team a couple weeks ago and he was... quiet. Not shy-quiet, more... smart-quiet. He liked to assess a situation from a distance before throwing himself into it... and the kid _always_ seemed to have a book on hand.

With a tendency to prefer an all-black wardrobe whether he was in uniform or not, bright purple streaks in his raven hair, and so many piercings Reno was a little surprised he hadn't set off the building's metal detectors from across the street on his first day, Liam seemed oddly... reserved. When he'd first met him, Reno had expected him to be a lot more outgoing. Which, he supposed, just proved the old adage that you can't judge someone on appearance alone.

Though, to be fair to the guy, he _was_ new. The redhead had been more than a little nervous and unsure of himself when _he'd_ first started at Shinra Company, as well. It had taken him awhile to feel comfortable, so he was withholding judgment on Liam until he had a chance to really settle in. Like Kai, the rookie favored small, bladed weapons, but not so much for throwing. He was more of the get-close-and-knife-ya-in-the-back type, and his hand to hand skills were pretty fucking impressive, too.

The conversation in the room died down a moment later as Veld and Tseng joined the meeting, taking their places at the head of the table. Reno hurriedly squeezed into the seat between Rude and Cissnei, wondering what the rush was today.

"Good morning, everyone," Veld began. "I know everyone is eager to clear the assignment board so that we can all finally enjoy a well-deserved holiday break... so I'll make this morning's briefing quick. I have only one item for discussion today. The executive Christmas party."

Sato groaned loudly from his seat near the far end of the table, resulting in quiet snickers from several of the gathered Turks, and rolled eyes from Remy.

"Yes... I'm sure we _all_ agree with that sentiment, Sato," Veld deadpanned. "Unfortunately for us, no amount of moaning will change the fact. Apparently, President Shinra has been doing a little bragging about his most elite units. Representatives of SOLDIER, the Junon Materia Corps, and the Turks have been requested to attend as security for the event. I need four volunteers."

No one seemed to be in any hurry to offer themselves up. Veld folded his arms over his chest.

"If no one _volunteers_ , four will be selected at random."

Tseng sighed softly and raised his hand. "I suppose I can save at least _one_ of you, given that I don't really celebrate the holiday itself to begin with."

Liam also raised his hand. "I'll do it," he said, simply, and Sykes followed suit a moment later, shrugging.

"I've never been to a fancy executive party. I'm curious," he offered, by way of an explanation.

Reno glanced over at Sato, who looked decidedly worried at the prospect of a random draw for the final attendee. And he knew why. Sato had been planning on going home to Mideel this year, and it meant a lot to him. He wanted to visit his cousin's grave and see his family. As far as Reno knew, everyone else was sticking close to Midgar.

Rude seemed to be having the same thought. The redhead nudged his friend and nodded towards the senior Turk.

"Whaddya, think?" he said, quietly, "Sacrifice ourselves for Sato, or keep our heads down and hope he doesn't get picked?"

"... We only need one more. No sense in _both_ of us volunteering to suffer," the other Turk replied, pulling a one gil coin from his pocket. "Heads or tails?"

"Tails."

Rude flipped the coin into the air, and the redhead watched it as it seemed to rise and then descend in slow motion. The bald Turk caught it and slapped it down on the back of his hand, before revealing the results.

"Tch... figures. I always _did_ have shit luck," Reno snickered, and raised his hand, as well.

Veld nodded in approval. "Well... that was surprisingly easy. The event should be over around midnight... and I'm sure _our_ party won't have quite ended yet by then, so you're more than welcome to come by and join in on the holiday binge drinking afterwards, if you're so inclined."

"Tch... I'm holdin' ya to that, sir. There better still be some decent liquor left by the time I get there," Reno replied. Veld chuckled softly.

"I'll make a note of it," he replied. "Dismissed."

The group gradually began to filter out of the room, a few lingering to have a word with one of their fellow Turks, but most rushing off to take care of any remaining assignments before the office shut down for a week. Reno trailed Rude into the hallway.

"So... not goin' home this year?" he queried. Rude shrugged and shook his head.

"Don't see the point."

"That bad, huh?" the redhead replied. He hadn't gone _last_ year, either. As far as he was aware, Rude hadn't been home since Reno's _first_ Christmas as a rookie. They were fast approaching his third. Rude and his father... well... from what he'd been able to get out of his friend, their relationship wasn't exactly the best these days. Rude didn't like to talk about it.

"He just... doesn't seem to want me there," the bald Turk sighed. "I'd go if I didn't think it'd feel like walking into a stranger's house uninvited, but..." He trailed off with a shake of his head.

"Sorry, man... Wish I could do somethin' for ya."

"It is what it is," Rude sighed. "He was never the same after Mom's accident. Don't think he ever will be. I think I just... remind him of her too much." He smirked slightly and wrapped an arm around the younger Turk. "At least I've got family _here_ , though, right?"

"Heh... You know it. So what's on _your_ agenda for today? I got a few reports that still need filin'."

Rude eyed him with suspicion.

"Okay, maybe more than a _few_..." Reno amended, "But I'm gonna crank through 'em this mornin' and after that I'm fuckin' _done_. Anything ya need help with later?"

" _Could_ use a hand after lunch, actually," said Rude, grinning. "Kai's going to be out of the building most of the afternoon, so she asked me to take over for her on the gauntlet. Wanna get in some last minute rookie torture with me?"

Reno snickered. "Nice holiday spirit there, pal," he laughed, "Yeah, sure. I'll help out."

"I'll come grab you for lunch, then," Rude replied, before giving him a quick wave and heading off to see to his own work.

* * *

By the time Veld finally turned them loose at the end of the day, everyone was more than a little eager to get home. Even _Tseng_ didn't seem inclined to stay any longer than he absolutely had to. Reno sighed in relief as he followed his mentor into the elevator and hit the button for the parking deck, glad to be finished and free for awhile.

"So... got any big plans for the week? Assumin' we survive the executive party, of course..."

Tseng chuckled and shook his head. "No, not really. I intend to simply relax through most of it. Though... I _am_ traveling to Junon for a few days later in the week."

Reno flashed him a knowing grin. "Guess I don't need to ask who you're goin' _there_ to see..."

The Turk lieutenant rolled his eyes as the elevator arrived at their destination. "Reno... is it really necessary to make the same insinuating comments every time I so much as mention going to visit Viridia? After nearly three years, it _does_ begin to lose a bit of its novelty."

"Ah, come on, boss. Lemme have my fun. You two are cute together."

Tseng rolled his eyes a second time and continued on through the parking deck, pausing in front of a bright blue convertible. He shook his head.

"I _still_ can't believe you bought this thing... and in the dead of winter, no less," he commented. "How you haven't yet frozen to death is a mystery."

"Hey, I got a _great_ deal on this car... 'cause... ya know... it's like ten below out 'n no one in their right mind wants a convertible right now. 'Sides... it's not so bad if ya crank the heat way up. And just think how awesome it'll be when the weather warms up!"

"Well... at least you finally _have_ a reliable vehicle," Tseng conceded. "I was beginning to think you simply preferred the trains for some Leviathan-forsaken reason. That said, though... Would you be adverse to riding in to work with _me_ on Monday night? If past experience is anything to go by, we'll almost certainly be expected to deliver a drunken executive or two home after the party, and frankly it's far easier if I have someone to wrangle them while I'm driving. It would save us some time if we didn't have to return to Company headquarters to pick up _your_ car when we're finished. We can simply go straight to Veld's party..."

"Sounds good to me," Reno replied with a shrug. "And... ya know, I could maybe drive while _you_ keep our passengers under control, if ya want..."

"No," Tseng deadpanned.

"Tch... you're not _seriously_ still holdin' that whole grand theft auto thing against me, are ya, boss?"

Tseng chuckled and rounded his _own_ car, opening the driver's side door. "Of course not. I've long since forgiven you for that little escapade. But that doesn't mean I'm about to turn over my keys to you... I've seen how you drive."

"Oh, very funny," Reno muttered as his mentor slipped into his car, closing the door behind him. The redhead glared and tapped on the window, raising his voice slightly to be heard through the barrier, "Ya know, if there's _anything_ wrong with the way I drive, it's _your_ fault, boss! You're the one that taught me!"

Tseng merely smirked and gave him a quick wave before starting the engine and pulling out of his parking space.

~end chapter 1~


	2. A Party to Remember

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 2: A Party to Remember**

 **by Desha**

Reno sat down on his couch Sunday night and let his gaze rest on the brightly lit tree in the corner of his living room... just as he'd been doing at various points all weekend. This was the first time he'd gotten one just for himself. His first Christmas on the Plate, he'd still been living with Tseng, so it hadn't really been just _his_. And last year, he'd been too damn busy to go out and find one to put up, let alone decorate one. Besides... he'd gone to the party – hosted at Kai's apartment that year – anyway. He wouldn't have even been home to enjoy it on Christmas.

This year, though... for some reason _this_ year, he really wanted one of his own. He supposed it just made him feel like he was... home. Even _now_ there were times that he still found himself amazed that he could really say that. For so long, the idea of living on the Plate was just a dream... one that, deep down, he'd known was out of reach. He loved it here, and he loved having people he could call family.

His PHS decided to ruin his moment of self-reflection just then, ringing insistently from where it was making a valiant attempt at charging on the other side of the room. Reno groaned, and dragged himself to his feet again. He reached it on the fourth ring and checked the caller ID... and grinned widely.

"Merry Christmas, Lira" he answered.

" _Hey_ , you..." his friend's voice replied, "Are we still on for tonight?"

"Absolutely. So... dinner and sex? Or just the sex?" he asked, only half-teasing. Lira giggled.

"Why not both at once?" she queried, seductively. Reno cringed slightly.

"'Cause the last time we tried that, I was findin' leftovers in my sheets for two days. And a few _other_ places I'd rather not think about..."

Lira laughed. "Alright, alright... Well, in that case, dinner first. I'm half starved, and I'm sure you are, too. I'll be there in... say... an hour?"

"Can't wait!"

"Well, you'd _better_. I won't be real happy if you start without me," she teased.

"Heh... better hurry, then. We've been swamped at work lately. I haven't had a date in like three weeks. I gotta go much longer, I'm liable to explode."

"Poor baby..." Lira snickered, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "See ya soon!"

The call ended, and Reno pulled up the number for a nearby Wutaiian takeout place he knew Lira liked. The sooner they ate, the sooner they could get to doing... other things...

* * *

"Now what's this I hear about you not coming to the Christmas party?" Esme demanded of him, the moment Tseng walked through the door of Veld's condo. His mentor gave a long suffering sigh.

"He's still _coming_... he and a few of the others are just going to be a little late getting here," the Turk leader said to his wife.

"Hmph... You poor thing," she said, ignoring him, "I can't believe that no-good husband of mine is making you work on Christmas Eve."

Tseng chuckled as she took his coat and hung it on one of the small hooks in the entry way.

" _Someone_ was going to have to to do it. I volunteered. No one is forcing me, least of all your husband."

"Well... you make sure you come _straight here_ just as soon as you're done. I am _not_ going to miss out on my yearly opportunity to spoil you rotten just so that the Shinra higher-ups can have their little soirée. And that goes for Reno and Sykes and Liam, too."

Tseng raised his hands in surrender. "Far be it from me to argue with the lady of the house..."

Veld snorted in laughter as Esme harrumphed and retreated into the kitchen to tend to dinner.

"Sometimes I wonder who's _really_ in charge of my Turks..." he said, escorting Tseng into the living room. The Turk lieutenant glanced around.

"Where's Felicia? Or have I been so lax in my visiting lately that she's simply forgotten about me?" he asked. Normally, Veld's daughter was the first to greet him when he came for dinner. In fact, if he happened to have Reno in tow, as well, it wasn't unusual for her to be standing in the open doorway as he made his way up the sidewalk.

Veld sighed deeply. "She's having dinner at a friend's house tonight." His eyes narrowed slightly. "A _male_ friend. With _strict_ instructions to be home by eight, or else."

Tseng laughed and took a seat on the couch. "I trust this young man and his family were properly vetted..."

"You'd damn well better _believe_ they were," Veld replied. He shook his head. "She's growing up so fast... I can't believe my little girl is already a teenager."

"Mmm... Which of us is going to have to break the news to Reno that his greatest admirer has found someone new?"

The Turk leader let out a laugh. "He'll be crushed, I'm sure..." he said, teasingly. Felicia had been quite enamored with the redhead from the moment she'd laid eyes on him. Reno had always been a good sport about it, but the more of a teenager she became, the more it seemed to make him just a _little_ uncomfortable knowing that someone so much younger than him thought of him in that way. "Hmph... but at least I always knew I could _trust_ Reno. I'm going to have to do deep background checks on every boy in her school, just so I'm prepared for every possible eventuality, now."

Tseng smiled slightly. "And I always though _my_ father was over-protective of his daughter..."

"Should you and Viridia ever decide to have children, Tseng... have boys. When you have boys, you only have to worry about _them_. When you have a girl, you have to worry about _all_ the boys."

"Fortunately, I think Viridia and I are both quite content with our relationship as it _is_ ," the Wutaiian Turk snickered.

"For now, anyway..." Veld teased. His expression shifted slightly. "I hesitate to ask, but... as we're _on_ the subject of family..."

"No... I haven't heard from them," Tseng replied. "Though my mother _did_ send me a short note last month to inform me that my brother, Jian, is getting married in the spring. I'm... not expecting an invitation to the wedding." He gave his mentor a sad smile. "They'll never forgive me for what happened to Mayu. My father certainly won't, at any rate, and without his blessing, neither will anyone else. Mother doesn't _hate_ me, at least... but... she won't go against Father's edict."

Veld rested a hand on Tseng's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even brought it up..."

"I... won't deny that I desperately wish things were different. But I believe I've accepted my fate at this point. It's not the raw, open wound it once was." He glanced up at his mentor, and smiled slightly. "I still have you. And Viridia. And Reno. And the rest of the team. That's enough."

* * *

Reno woke the following morning to the sensation of fingers lazily swirling across his stomach. As his bedmate realized that he was waking up, those fingers crept south, teasingly sweeping past his naval before making a slight detour to caress his hip, and then continuing on, down to his groin where the teasing suddenly abated and moved on to something a bit more... determined. The redhead groaned in pleasure.

"Dear Ifrit, you really know how ta wake a guy up..." he managed. Lira giggled softly.

"And now that you're awake, what are you gonna do to me?"

He finally opened his eyes. "Name it."

Lira's expression turned hungry. "That's what I love about you, Reno... you're always up for anything," she teased.

"Heh... hard to say _no_ when ya already got me by the dick before you even ask..." he snickered. Lira laughed and moved to straddle him, leaning down and claiming his lips. She pulled away and flashed him a wicked grin.

"Let's do it out on the balcony."

"Uh... ya know it's like... _literally_ freezin' out there, right?" the redhead chuckled, kind of hoping she was joking.

"I know... but it's snowing. Haven't you ever wanted to fuck in the snow?" she asked, doing her best imitation of a perfectly innocent look.

Reno groaned as she languidly rubbed her naked body against his. Fuck it... he could handle a little cold weather.

"I catch pneumonia doing this, _you're_ explainin' it to Tseng... I gotta work tonight," he teased.

Lira laughed, and pulled him from the warmth of the sheets, leading him out of the bedroom and towards the glass sliding doors that opened onto his balcony. She smiled almost evilly as she opened them, sending a blast of icy air and snowflakes rushing into his apartment. Reno shivered but didn't protest as she grabbed his hand and stepped outside.

The snow was coming down steadily, and Lira reached out with her free hand to catch it, watching as the tiny crystalline shapes melted on her palm. Reno couldn't help but think that she reminded him of some sort of beautiful snow princess like that. Lira turned around, gazing at him lustfully.

"Well? What are you waitin' for?" she purred.

* * *

Rude knocked on the redhead's door a second time, wondering if maybe he ought to have called ahead instead of just dropping by. But he'd been in the neighborhood, running a few last minute errands before most of the stores he needed to visit shut down early for the holiday, and decided to see if Reno wanted to grab an early lunch with him, seeing as his friend would be missing most of the party tonight.

He had nearly come to the conclusion that Reno, too, had left to take care of some chore or another, as well, and was about to call him and ask if he wanted to meet somewhere... when the door finally opened.

"Oh! Hiya, Rude! Long time no see!" Lira greeted him, enthusiastically. For a brief moment, Rude's brain ceased to function. He blinked a few times behind his sunglasses, searching for _some_ sort of reply, but found himself entirely unable to form a coherent sentence. Instead, he ended up simply gawking at the very attractive – and very naked – young woman, standing in the doorway. Lira laughed.

"Still shy, I see," she giggled. "Come on in... Reno's in the shower..." She snickered again, and added, "... trying to warm up..."

"Uh..."

"I guess maybe dragging him out onto the balcony like that _was_ a little silly... but it sure was fun," she continued, largely ignoring the lack of two-way conversation. "Can I getcha anything'? Coffee's just about ready..."

Rude still hadn't found his words. Thankfully, he was saved from having to answer as Reno emerged from the bathroom, a towel over his head – and nothing else, much to the other Turk's dismay – as he rubbed his hair dry.

"Lira, the next time you decide ya want me to fuck you outside, can we _please_ do it in warmer weather?" he asked. A moment later he tossed the towel into a nearby pile of laundry and looked up, only then noticing that he had company. "Oh... Hey, Rude."

"... I knew I should have called first..." the bald Turk finally managed to get out. Reno snorted softly in laughter and shrugged, unbothered.

"Why?" he teased, before slipping into his bedroom. He returned momentarily, dressed in a set of workout sweats, and a t-shirt draped over his arm, which he tossed to Lira. "Quite torturin' the guy, will ya? Or... ya know... make him an offer. One of the two."

Lira giggled and sidled over to her lover, gently kissing him on the cheek.

"As much fun as that would be, I gotta get back soon. I've got the lunchtime shift today," she replied, before turning to Rude, "Sorry, sweetie... Guess you'll have to take a raincheck."

With that, she disappeared into Reno's bedroom, leaving the two of them alone.

"Heh... If I'd known you were comin' over, I'da warned ya ahead of time that Lira came up last night to... uh... give me my Christmas present," the redhead snickered, "So... what's up?"

"... I was out. Ended up over on this side of town. Thought we could have lunch."

Reno grinned. "Sound great! After _that_ workout, I'm starved. Lemme just go grab some decent clothes. Ya mind if Lira hitches a ride to the station on the way? It's fuckin' _brutal_ out there."

Rude shook his head, chuckling. "You're not even _slightly_ embarrassed, are you?" he called after his friend as he retreated to his room a second time.

"Nope," the redhead gleefully replied.

* * *

Reno stifled a yawn and helped himself to another of the large, decadent Christmas themed cookies that seemed to replenish themselves every time he looked away from the buffet table. It was nearing midnight... but it wasn't the lateness of the hour that had him growing ever more drowsy. It was the tediousness of the "party".

He hadn't been expecting anything wild, given the guest list... but for fuck's sake. Apparently an "executive party" was really just a bunch of people standing around talking and eating and drinking for hours on end, for the most part. It _might_ have been a bit more enjoyable had he been allowed to join them in the latter... but since he was on duty, alcohol was prohibited.

Thankfully, _food_ was not. Tseng had told him that he could partake of as much of _that_ as he liked... and the offerings seemed to be endless. He had yet to spot a platter that ever went empty. The catering staff was on top of things.

Even so, it was decidedly boring.

Still... it wasn't _all_ bad. Aside from the food, there was music, and more than a few attractive ladies. A couple of them had even ditched their dates temporarily and pulled him out onto the – largely empty – dance floor for a bit. And he'd snagged a couple of phone numbers, so it wasn't a _total_ waste of a night.

At the start of the party, the President had happily paraded his elite forces out in front of the crowd. For a short while, they'd been the center of attention... but that had quickly faded as guests began to gravitate towards the bar and the buffet. The executive had then simply ordered them to "mingle". Reno, for one, had shrugged and done just that.

As Tseng was quickly commandeered by a small group Heidegger was talking to, Liam and Sykes had stuck close to the redhead for awhile, not quite sure what to do with themselves. Eventually, though, they, too, had slipped off into the crowd.

Reno wondered what the others were up to by now. Dinner was long since eaten, which meant that the presents must have been opened as well. He shook his head and laughed. At _this_ point, most of them were probably drunk off their asses, to be honest. That's what it _typically_ devolved into once the liquor came out. He envied them. Being drunk and curled up under the Christmas tree sounded pretty nice at the moment. He was missing his little family.

He bit a large chunk off of the massive cookie in his hand.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Reno choked violently for a brief moment and forced the bite down before spinning to face his mentor.

"You trying to kill me or somethin', boss?" he groused.

"My apologies," Tseng chuckled. "It wasn't intentional. You _usually_ seem to sense me coming anymore..."

"So... this is what passes for a party to the rich 'n powerful, huh?" the redhead replied, shrugging off his momentary brush with death.

"Unfortunately..." a second voice drawled, as Rufus made his way up to the pair. He turned to Tseng. "Father would like to wrap things up soon. There are a number of guests who will need to be... dealt with. We've arranged rides for most of them. They merely need to be escorted to the cars." He cringed slightly and glanced over his shoulder. "The... _ahem_... board members who are too inebriated to drive will need a _personal_ escort, of course. And _I_ would very much like to take my leave _now_ , before I'm called upon to help lure them towards the elevators."

Tseng shook his head and sighed. "Reno... round up Sykes and Liam, and have them help you begin shepherding the guests to the parking deck. I'll take Rufus home, and we'll deal with any remaining board members when I return."

"On it, boss," Reno replied, shoving the remainder of the cookie into his mouth. Rufus rolled his eyes, but said nothing about his eating habits. It seemed that the holidays were reason enough for a minor reprieve from his usual snark. Either that, or the youngest of the executives was on his best behavior tonight. He'd been surprisingly... pleasant... all evening.

"Oh... and if I haven't returned by the time the everyone else has been seen off, tell the rookies they may leave. You and I can handle the executives on our own, I think. There's no sense in prolonging _their_ night, as well," the Turk lieutenant added.

"Will do."

"Fair warning," Rufus commented as Reno set off, " _Scarlet_ is three sheets to the wind and not so subtly propositioning anything that moves. Personally, I'd recommend locating a cattle prod before approaching her."

* * *

Almost half an hour later, Reno stepped back into the elevator, riding it up to the party for what felt like the hundredth time. Really, it was more like a dozen or so... but dealing with drunk people seemed to make everything seem like far more work than it really was. As requested, he'd dismissed the pair of rookies – who'd looked at him with such gratitude he'd almost laughed – after the last of the guests had been bundled into the hired cars. Now he just needed to wait for Tseng to return so they could take the VIPs home, and then he could _finally_ settle in at Veld's place with a beer and hopefully some leftovers from Emse's dinner.

His PHS chimed, alerting him to a new text message, and he quickly pulled it from his jacket's breast pocket. It was from Tseng. The roads had been less than ideal, but he'd be there in a few minutes. Reno grinned and typed in a quick reply as the elevator arrived at its destination.

A few people still lingered, finishing off the food or chatting, but building security was politely urging them to head home, and most were collecting their coats as they nibbled and talked. Heidegger grunted in vague acknowledgment of his presence before he and Palmer, who was looking a little tipsy, but not _overly_ impaired, brushed past him and made their exit. The head of the General Affairs Department still vehemently disliked him – Reno couldn't believe someone could hold a grudge as long as that son of a bitch had – but at least he didn't look like he wanted to murder him every time they happened to cross paths anymore.

"Sir?" a voice prodded, and Reno turned to find a young security officer peering out at him from one of the side rooms. "Er... Would you mind? I'm... um... I'm not quite sure how to handle this..." she said, awkwardly, gesturing towards the door. The redhead's eyebrow rose in curiosity and he altered course, joining her.

As he stepped inside, he snickered at the sight that greeted him. Scarlet had found a date. She was presently in the midst of seductively slow dancing... with a coat rack.

"Tch... Don't worry about it. I got this," Reno said, rolling his eyes at the executive, "Go ahead 'n get outta here."

" _Thank_ you, sir," the woman breathed, in obvious relief. "Merry Christmas..."

"Yeah... Merry Christmas," the redhead responded with a wave, before shaking his head with a slightly disbelieving laugh and crossing the room towards the Weapons Department head. He glanced down at his watch. Tseng was probably here... or _almost_ here... by now. And Scarlet seemed to be the only board member not capable of making her own way home. If he had her waiting for Tseng downstairs, all they'd have to do was shove her in the back seat, drop her off, and head to the Turks' party.

That thought in mind, he paused just behind her and cleared his throat. Scarlet released her hold on the coat rack and unsteadily turned to look at him, blinking blearily up at the Turk as she took a few wobbly steps toward him. One hand still precariously held a champagne flute.

"Oh... it's the _pretty_ Turk..." she slurred, drunkenly, swaying as she stood in front of him. "Is the pretty Turk here to take care of little 'ol' _me_?" She cackled and polished off the remaining champagne in her glass.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, trying – but not fully succeeding – at keeping a straight face. Fortunately, Scarlet was too far gone to notice. "If you'll come with me..."

"Oh, I'll comewith _you_ , alright..." Scarlet tittered, latching onto him and pressing her body up against his. Her arm wrapped around his waist as she nuzzled her cheek against his throat. "Mmm... Such a big, strong boy..."

Reno resisted the urge to groan in annoyance as she began fondling his ponytail with one hand while the other dipped below his waist, grabbing at his ass.

"... Yeah... 'kay... I think we'd better getcha home, ma'am..."

"My place or yours?!" she belted out, laughing. Reno rolled his eyes and began the process of trying to coax Scarlet out towards the elevators... no small task, given that every few steps, the woman kept trying to get him to dance with her to music only she could hear. The redhead hoped that Veld had saved him some of the good stuff... because at this rate, he was _really_ gonna need that drink when he finally got there.

* * *

Tseng pulled into the parking deck around five minutes after he'd alerted Reno to his imminent arrival. The last of the cars were just pulling out with their passengers, and the Turks' second-in-command had no trouble spotting two of the team's rookies heading for their own vehicles as he was making his way towards the elevators. They caught sight of him as well and paused briefly.

"Reno said we could go ahead and leave, sir," Sykes offered, and Tseng nodded.

"Is he still inside?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. We'll finish things up. Are you planning on joining the party at Veld's home?"

"Yes, sir," the pair chorused.

"I'll likely see you there, then, assuming we get the remaining board members home in a timely manner. If not, good night, and merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, sir!" they replied, again in unison, and then eyed each other for a moment, before breaking into quiet laughter. Tseng chuckled softly and turned back to the building's entrance. Moments later two cars drove off into the night.

Tseng pressed the button to summon the elevator. Hopefully, there wouldn't be _too_ many to deal with. He would have asked for an update, but had decided that Reno's time was better employed in wrangling their soon to be passengers and keeping thing orderly.

The elevator reached the parking deck and the doors opened... and for a very brief moment, Tseng found himself frozen in shock.

Reno's eyes seemed to plead with him for help. Scarlet had the poor, unfortunate Turk pressed firmly into the corner of the elevator car, lips hungrily devouring his own. Tseng could already see the dark, purplish marks forming on his pale skin that implied that similar attention had recently been paid to his neck, as well. The executive's hand was embedded between the redhead's legs, the fabric of his undone pants thoroughly unable to conceal _exactly_ what she was doing to him... and judging by the look of extreme discomfort on his protege's face, he wasn't enjoying being groped. At all.

Tseng didn't even remember moving... but he must have, because the next thing he knew he was releasing his grip on Scarlet as he roughly pulled her off of the younger Turk and shoved her out of the elevator, into the parking structure. It took her a moment to stagger upright again, and when she did, she laughed.

"Mmm... _Two_ pretty Turks... all for _me_..." she giggled, reaching for him. Scarlet stumbled forward a few steps, hands grasping for Tseng's belt. The Wutaiian Turk took a disgusted step to one side, leaving her pinwheeling forward. She couldn't keep her balance. A moment later, Scarlet ended up flat on her face on the cold concrete. She laughed again, and rolled to one side, mercifully opting to _stay_ down. Tseng shook his head in vague disbelief.

"For _Levaithan's_ sake..." he muttered, furious, before turning back to Reno. What he saw only served to stoke his anger. The redhead hadn't so much as moved. He was still clinging tightly to the handrail inside of the elevator car, his expression a mixture of fear and disgust. Tseng stepped inside and gently shook him, snapping him out of his daze. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, eyes still wide, and followed Tseng out into the parking deck. Reno's hands shook noticeably as he zipped his pants back up, and moved slowly toward the semi-conscious woman... who by now was singing a garbled Christmas carol between hiccups.

Tseng scowled and tossed the redhead his keys.

"Open the trunk," he ordered, through gritted teeth. Reno hurried to comply, unlocking the small compartment and lifting the lid. Tseng bent down, seizing the woman by the wrists and none-too-gently hauled her upright again, before slinging her unceremoniously over one shoulder and dumping her into the cramped space. He slammed the lid shut and took his keys back. "Let's go."

He rounded the car and slid into the driver's seat, and while Reno moved to join him, he took a deep breath, slowly exhaling a misty cloud in the icy-cold air in an attempt to calm himself. Once his protege was safely inside, he started the engine, and set off in the direction of Scarlet's townhome in the Sector 4 residential district.

If Scarlet had any memory of this at all, he was going to be in a great deal of trouble... but the Nine Hells would freeze over before he allowed an assault like that on one of his Turks to continue unchallenged. Reno, for his part, seemed to be in something of a state of shock... and Tseng could understand why. He'd already had _one_ run-in with an executive that had ended badly awhile back – to say the least. He couldn't fault the young Turk for panicking slightly when faced with a situation that would almost certainly have a similar outcome if he made the wrong decision.

"... I didn't know what the fuck I was s'posed ta do..." he heard the younger Turk whisper.

"Calm down. It's over," Tseng said, though he felt somewhat hypocritical saying that. At the moment, his own mood was far from calm. In fact, it was bordering on homicidal. Were he less of a professional, he would have been seriously considering driving Scarlet out to the edge of the Plate and turning her loose to stagger off of it. He was certainly enjoying the momentary fantasy, at any rate. They drove in silence until they reached Scarlet's home.

"Stay in the car," the Turk leader said, popping the trunk, "I'll deal with her."

He received a vague nod from the redhead, and hurried out into the cold. He rounded the car and lifted the lid of the trunk. The department head was curled into an awkward ball, head resting on his spare tire, out cold. Tseng snorted in contempt and dragged her out.

He carried her inside and dropped her on the couch in her living room like a sack of potatoes, before turning on his heel and storming out, slamming the door behind him. When he returned to his car, he found Reno huddled close to the heat vent, and realized that he hadn't even bothered to close the door in his hurry to be rid of the woman. The Wutaiian Turk quickly shut the trunk and climbed back inside, swearing under his breath in his native tongue... and saw Reno flinch rather violently.

"Reno?" he tried, a bit concerned. He hadn't seen that sort of reaction from the redhead in quite some time. Then again... it wasn't often that he allowed his self-control to slip like this, either, and the few times he _had_ , his protege had more than once been the trigger for it. He sighed. "It's not _you_ I'm angry with... surely you must know that."

Reno didn't answer, but he _did_ visibly relax.

"I'm sure our _own_ Christmas party is still going on at Veld's... if you'd still like to go."

"No thanks," the redhead said softly before lapsing into silence again. Tseng frowned, and began to worry.

The senior Turk mentally kicked himself. He _never_ should have left a him alone with Scarlet. Especially after Rufus' warning. He _knew_ she had more than a passing interest in his protege.

"Perhaps you should come home with me tonight..." he found himself saying. The thought of simply dropping Reno off and leaving him on his own didn't sit well. He wanted him close right now.

The rookie shook his head and forced a grin. "What for? I'm fine... Nothin' to worry about."

Tseng studied him for a few more moments and then put the car in gear and pulled onto the road.

"You're coming home with me tonight." This time it wasn't a suggestion. Traffic was non-existent... he cut across two lanes and turned in the direction of home instead of Reno's apartment. Reno didn't argue.

They pulled into the parking lot some time later and the redhead followed him to his door without comment. Tseng turned on the lights, taking Reno's coat and hanging it, along with his own, on the hooks by the door. It took little effort to coax the younger man into his guest room.

Reno stood at the side of the bed, his back to the Turks second-in-command. "Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning." He turned to go, only to be summoned back by the redhead's soft comment.

"Somehow managed to avoid shit like that all the years I was in stuck down in Two as a kid... Guess my luck finally ran out."

Tseng turned at the sound of Reno's voice, and closed the distance between them, resting his hands on his shoulders. He calmly urged him out of his jacket, along with most of the rest of his clothes, leaving him in only boxers and his shirt.

"Into bed," he ordered, as gently as he could. The redhead obeyed, climbing under the covers, and curling up on his side, his back to the door.

"Tseng?" he queried in a small voice.

The Wutaiian Turk settled himself on the edge of the bed, and placed a hand between Reno's shoulder blades, slowly stroking his back.

"I'll stay until you're asleep. And I won't go far, after." The younger man finally relaxed then, but Tseng continued to soothe him until he was certain he was out. He had a nagging feeling he'd be spending at least _some_ of his vacation undoing whatever damage that woman had caused.

If he'd thought he could have gotten away with it... he'd have inflicted some damage of his own on her.

~end chapter 2~


	3. The Morning After

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 3: The Morning After**

 **by Desha**

Reno woke the next morning to find himself, to his surprise, tucked snugly into bed in a very familiar room. His surprise was largely due to the fact that he'd had more than just one unpleasant dream last night... he'd half expected to find himself on the floor, likely tangled in the sheets and drenched in a cold sweat.

The reason for his unexpectedly comfortable awakening quickly became apparent. His mentor was still perched on the edge of the bed, leaning to one side at an awkward angle so that his head could rest on the headboard. Reno rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand as a vague memory of being roughly shaken out of one of last night's dreams came back to him.

Reno slowly pushed the covers aside, trying not to wake his mentor up, too. Tseng looked like he'd had almost as rough a night as _he_ had... and he was glad the Turk lieutenant wasn't a light sleeper. He slid out of bed and past the senior Turk, easing him off of his perch and down onto the sheets, before pulling the covers up over him, grabbing the clothes he'd shed last night, and slipping silently out of the room, determined to let him finally get some rest.

He felt ridiculous. For fuck's sake, Tseng had spent all night with him, like he was some scared little kid. At the same time, he was overwhelmingly grateful he _had_ stayed... because there was no one on the Planet that made him feel safer than his mentor, and last night, he'd desperately needed to feel safe. Trying to keep the noise to a minimum, Reno dressed and then located his coat and boots, pulling them on as well, and heading out the back door. He settled himself on the steps of the little back porch that looked out over the park behind Tseng's condo, and rummaged though his pockets until he found his cigarettes.

He lit one and inhaled deeply. There was something oddly calming about the act, and even though he knew it was supposedly terrible for him, right now, it felt like the best thing in the world. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and steam into the silent early morning air, and it suddenly occurred to him that it was Christmas morning. He snorted softly and flicked the ash from his cigarette into the snow.

Not exactly his _best_ Christmas on record. Not the worst, either, to be fair, but he didn't think this was going to go down as one of his favorite memories. He wasn't even sure why the hell he was still so... bothered. Tseng had put a stop to things before any _real_ damage could be done.

It wasn't so much _what_ Scarlet had tried to do that had made it so awful... it was the fact that he'd felt so utterly powerless when he knew damned well that he wasn't. Hell, he could've thrown the bitch off him, no problem. It wasn't like she had him tied down or incapacitated or anything. But the memory of Heidegger's meaty fist clamped around his throat during Hell Week, slowly cutting off his air supply as he screamed at him had flashed before his eyes, unbidden. The thought of running afoul of yet _another_ executive – particularly when, the first time around, it had taken intervention by Rufus to save his job – terrified him.

What the fuck else was he supposed to do but let her slobber all over him while she felt him up? He cringed at the thought. The sensation of her long, thickly lacquered nails pawing at his nether regions wasn't likely to leave him for awhile, either. It had left him feeling cheap and used, and he'd hated every second of it.

It had also occurred to him that... _that_ could have been his life, not so long ago. If Tseng hadn't come along... if he'd been left to keep fending for himself in the slums... eventually he would have followed Lira to Wall Market. She'd been the closest thing he'd had to family back then, and he wouldn't have been able to stay separated from her like that forever. Sure, he wouldn't have jumped right into whoring himself out right away... but it probably would have happened sooner or later. That's just how you made money in the Market.

He took another drag off of his cigarette, and stared out across the snowy grounds of the park. The Plate was beautiful. And without that one fortunate encounter with Tseng, he'd likely never have known _how_ beautiful, because without the Turks, he doubted he would have made it up here on his own. So why did people like Scarlet have to try and ruin this for him?

* * *

Tseng groaned faintly as his body protested the mere _thought_ of moving, and for a moment, he had no idea what in the Nine Hells he'd done last night to warrant this level of suffering. It quickly came back to him as he opened his eyes and realized that he was not in his own bed, but rather in the guestroom. He sat up, concerned, as a second realization hit him... Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Ignoring stiff muscles, the Turk lieutenant shoved the covers aside and made his way out into the living room, searching for his young protege.

"Reno?" he called out, growing increasingly worried as he noticed that the redhead's coat was missing from the hooks by the door, as were his boots. Where in Leviathan's name would he have run off to at this time in the morning? He wrenched open the front door, and was vaguely confused when he found only a thick layer of undisturbed snow on the ground. If he hadn't left through the front...

Tseng shut the door and turned on his heel, hurrying to the back door instead... and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he spotted the younger Turk through the small window in the door, seated on the stairs and smoking a cigarette. Reassured that he wasn't about to have to embark on a one-man search mission, he took the time to retrieve his _own_ winter clothing and start a pot of coffee brewing, before joining Reno on the porch.

"Mornin'..." the redhead said quietly upon hearing the door open behind him.

"Good morning. I'd ask how you slept... but I'm rather painfully aware," Tseng replied rubbing at the sharp twinge in his neck as he turned his head. Reno took a long drag off the cigarette and then extinguished the remains in the snow.

"Thanks for stayin' with me."

"It was no trouble," the senior Turk assured him, "Now, come back inside before you freeze. Coffee will be ready shortly."

Reno obediently got up and followed him back into the warmth of the apartment, nudging his boots into the corner before settling himself at the table. Tseng poured him a cup of coffee... and then one for himself, as he was fairly certain that his usual tea just wasn't going to be enough this morning... and passed it over to the redhead, along with the sugar.

"Reno... I am so sorry I allowed that to happen last night," he said, taking a seat, and the younger Turk looked up at him in surprise. Tseng shook his head. "I should have been there."

"Tch... you _were_ there. 'Cause I definitely remember you pullin' her offa me after I froze up. Not your fault Scarlet's an even bigger perv than I am."

The younger man rubbed his neck, and Tseng frowned at the sight of the now _much_ more noticeable hickies that had darkened on his pale skin overnight. He glanced up from his coffee again.

"Can we... uh... _not_ tell anyone else about this? It's fuckin' humiliating enough as it is," Reno asked, awkwardly.

"I _will_ have to inform Veld, at least, of the generalities of the situation... because I will most certainly _not_ have you given any solo assignments involving Scarlet after this. Beyond that, I'll leave it in your hands."

"Thanks..." he sighed, and shook his head, "I just... She was all _over_ me. What the hell was I s'posed to do? I mean... the _last_ time I pissed off one of the higher-ups..."

"You needn't explain. I can certainly understand your desire to avoid provoking a board member a _second_ time. My only concern right _now_ is your well-being."

"I'm fine..." the redhead hurried to say, before pausing and staring down into the dark liquid in his mug. "But... uh... could I maybe... hang out with you for awhile today? If you're not doin' anything else, I mean..."

"I _was_ actually going to insist. Honestly, if you think I'm letting you out of my sight so soon, you've finally lost your mind," Tseng chuckled softly, and the redhead looked up at him with a faint smile.

"Ya know, I'm not your rookie anymore, boss," Reno said teasingly. "Ya can't just decide you're gonna babysit me whenever you feel like it."

"I'm _still_ you're mentor and your superior," Tseng shot back, taking a sip of his drink, "I most certainly can. Now finish that so we can go and get some breakfast. You've suffered enough for one holiday... I won't subject you to my cooking, as well."

Reno snorted a laugh and downed the remainder of his coffee... but then suddenly looked up, a vague expression of horror on his face.

"... What about Scarlet, though?"

Tseng cocked an eyebrow. "I hadn't planned on inviting her."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Tch... I _mean_ what are we gonna _do_ about her? You fuckin' locked her in the trunk of your _car_ last night, boss!"

"Which I very seriously doubt she'll have any memory of. The woman could barely stand, she was so inebriated. In all likelihood, she'll be too busy dealing with the resulting hangover today to even put much _thought_ into how she got home," Tseng replied, and then paused. "Though... it would, perhaps, behoove me to ensure that any security footage of the parking deck last night is... _accidentally_... corrupted beyond all recovery."

Reno blinked. "You can do that?"

"Yes," Tseng said with a slight smirk, "As it happens, I can. A little trick I learned from Tres some time ago, actually... though I've seldom had cause to employ it."

The redhead laughed softly. "Man, that guy really had _all_ his bases covered, didn't he...?" he snickered, "... I still miss him. And the others, too."

"As do I," Tseng agreed. "But I'd like to think that our fallen comrades will always be a part of us. We've absorbed far too much from them for them not to be."

"Guess that's true," Reno said, his expression thoughtful. "I mean... I'd probably still be hittin' every target on the range but my own without Saya... 'n Tres is the one who taught me how to pick a lock. Heh... s'pose I've picked up _somethin'_ from everybody at one point or another." He snorted and shook his head, "'Course I got no idea how Kai torturin' me on the gaunlet at every opportunity as a rookie's ever gonna come in handy..."

Tseng laughed in response. He was glad to see Reno's mood lifting a bit.

* * *

Reno stuck around until after dinner, by which point he'd decided that he'd intruded upon his mentor for long enough. Tseng had tried to talk him into staying a second night, but ultimately had relented and driven him home. He'd lingered in Reno's apartment, though, until the redhead had insisted that he would be fine and that Tseng should head home and enjoy his break.

He _did_ feel much better. He hadn't been lying about that. Still more than slightly embarrassed by the whole thing... and he felt decidedly icky when he thought about Scarlet now... but he wasn't freaked out the way he'd been last night. It wasn't until he'd stripped out of his clothes to jump in the shower that he realized he hadn't heard from Rude – or anyone else, for that matter – all day. It hadn't occurred to him until now, but that was a bit... odd. They'd been expecting both him _and_ Tseng at the party at Veld's place last night. The redhead dug through the pile of clothes until he found his phone and flipped it open.

Dead as a fucking doornail.

He snorted softly. Figured. The battery was crap lately. He'd have a shiny new PHS first thing next week, though. Veld had approved an upgrade rather than a repair, since his had been getting rather outdated anyway. Reno shrugged and plugged it into its charger before heading into the bathroom and availing himself of several minutes of blissfully near-scalding water and the copious amounts of steam it generated.

Finally, he stepped out, drying himself off and pulled on fresh clothes. About five seconds later, his PHS started ringing.

"Hey," he answered, noting Rude's number on the caller ID. "What's up?"

"... Where the hell have you been? I've been calling all afternoon."

"Heh... sorry. Phone died on me again. I was with Tseng all day."

"Missed you two at the party last night."

Reno sighed. "Yeah... It's kind of a long story, and retellin' it's gonna require copious amounts of alcohol. You doin' anything tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"Lunch? Your place?"

"Hmph... That your subtle way of asking me to cook for you?" Rude teased.

"'Course not. I wasn't tryin' to be subtle at all," the redhead replied, grinning to himself. Rude snickered.

"See you around noon."

* * *

"... And he just... _stuffed her in the trunk_?!"

The redhead couldn't help it. He burst out laughing at the incredulous, and slightly horrified, look on his friend's face. By the time he got himself back under control, Rude was still shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that _Tseng_ , of all people, would do something so... so..."

"Unprofessional?" Reno said, grinning as he swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Yeah... I know. If I hadn't been totally freakin' out at the time, I'm pretty sure I'da died laughin'. It was pretty epic. He was _pissed_." He took another bite. "Hey, what's in this anyway? It's _really_ good... Like, even better than your usual."

Rude ducked his head, smiling shyly.

"You like it? I usually just use milk or cream in the potatoes... this time I switched to cream _cheese_ and added some parmesan, too."

"Heh... _definitely_ a winner, Rude."

"Hmph... Thanks." The pair ate in silence for a few moments, savoring the ham and the various other dishes Rude had prepared. "So... what happened to Scarlet after that?"

Reno shrugged. "Tseng dumped her at home. Probably woke up feelin' like her skull was split open and pukin' her guts out. Hmph... 'least I _hope_ she did. Bitch deserves it after what she pulled."

"... So is everything okay with _you_?" he asked, nodding to where Scarlet had marked him.

"Tch... aside from havin' a really shitty night's sleep night before last, I'm good. I was pretty goddamned freaked out after all that, though. Tseng took me back to his place and... ya know... took care of me for awhile. I'm okay now." He licked the remnants of potato off of the back of his spoon and used it to study the bruising on his neck. "Ugh... Hope those fade before we gotta go back to work next week. For once, I'd rather _not_ have to explain to everyone where they came from." He glanced up at his friend. "Uh... maybe do me a favor 'n don't mention the whole Scarlet thing to anyone else, okay? I'd kinda rather just try 'n forget it ever happened."

"Sure," Rude nodded. "But let me know if you need someone to talk to. For a _change_. Don't make me have to dump you in the company pool to get you out of your own head like I did back when we were rookies."

Reno snickered loudly and polished off the remaining food on his plate. "Ya know... I never actually _hated_ it when ya did that to me. It _was_ pretty effective," he replied, grinning widely. "Always liked the pool."

* * *

Tseng leaned back into the cushions, eyes drifting shut as Esme poured him a second cup of chamomile tea. He glanced over at her and smiled.

"I'd nearly forgotten how nice it is having you spoil me, Esme," he chuckled.

"Well, if you allowed me to do it more than just at Christmas time..." the woman replied.

"Hmph... you'll notice no one is pouring _me_ tea or baking _me_ fresh cookies," Veld teased from an armchair across from Tseng.

"You hate tea, and you _certainly_ don't need any more cookies. You're going to be working off the ones you've already eaten for weeks," Esme retorted, good-naturedly, with a soft laugh before returning to the kitchen to see to her baking. Veld chuckled and shook his head.

"I walked right into that..." He turned his attention back to his second in command. "And as for _you_... are you finally going to tell me what happened to you and Reno the other night? You're message that you couldn't make it was rather vague."

Tseng sat up slightly, taking a sip of tea. "There was an... incident... with one of the board members."

"... I'm not going to be getting an earful from Heidegger about a certain redhead again, am I? Because as much as I so _enjoy_ being verbally eviscerated, it's really _not_ how I want to start off the new year."

"No sir, I've already dealt with it, and seen to mitigating any potential fallout. But... neither Reno nor myself were in much of a mood to continue the festivities afterwards."

Veld sighed and shook his head. "Well? What did our dear Reno do _this_ time to get himself into trouble?" the Turk leader asked jokingly. Tseng frowned.

"It was _my_ fault, not his, sir. I made the mistake of leaving him to wrangle Scarlet while I escorted Rufus home. She was... not entirely sober at the time – which Rufus specifically warned me of, incidentally – and apparently decided somewhere between the eighteenth floor and the parking deck that Reno was to be her next... conquest. He was not exactly _amenable_ to her advances, but, for obvious reasons had little recourse but to allow them."

Veld's eyes narrowed. "What did she _do_?" he demanded.

"I would not hesitate to classify it as sexual assault, sir," Tseng replied in a clipped tone, "When I arrived, she was kissing him and... groping him... rather violently. He still has several visible marks from her, and was understandably somewhat shaken. I removed her from his person, and she eventually passed out... after making some rather inappropriate advances towards myself, as well. I returned Scarlet to her apartment and took Reno home with me."

"I see..." Veld said. He was silent for a moment, as he processed the information. "Were any of Reno's injuries significant?"

"No, sir... it was limited to some minor bruising. Though he was quite _upset_ for some time afterward. I kept him with me all day yesterday. I couldn't bear to leave him alone," Tseng replied, feeling the same fury he'd felt in the parking deck surge to the forefront of his mind at the mere thought. He quickly clamped down on it. "I should mention that he has stated that he would prefer to forget the incident... and clearly any sort of formal charges against a board member might lead to... complications. But I would strongly recommend against placing Reno on any of Scarlet's details in the future if it is at all possible to avoid it. And certainly never on his own. I believe I've mentioned to you on several occasions that she's been eyeing him for some time now. I'd prefer not to see her behavior escalate _again_."

"Agreed," Veld nodded, "How is Reno now?"

"He seems... reasonably alright. I think once the initial shock of the situation had passed he was more easily able to cope. But I intend to keep an eye on him for a time."

Veld sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You know, Tseng... there are _times_ when the Company is extremely fortunate the Turks place a _very_ high value loyalty."

"There are times when I occasionally wish we _didn't_. I can think of _several_ places I would have preferred to leave Scarlet last night other than safely in her apartment," the Wutaiian Turk said with a scowl.

"I'll... just pretend I didn't hear that..." Veld chuckled, drawing a faint smile from his lieutenant, as well.

"Thank you, sir."

~end chapter 3~


	4. Winter Fun and Back to Work

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 4: Winter Fun and Back to Work**

 **by Desha**

Tseng left for Junon early Friday morning. A part of him had wanted to go over and check in on Reno one last time before his did, but he settled for merely calling the younger Turk. So far as he could tell, he seemed fine... which had made the Wutaiian Turk feel much better about leaving town for a few days.

Still... by the time he actually _arrived_ at the military installation, his thoughts were definitely drifting back to the redhead.

"You know... I _really_ thought you'd be happier to see me..." Viridia said, arms crossed over her chest as she paused on the way to his temporary quarters. "You've hardly said two words to me."

Tseng shook his head an smiled at the woman.

"I'm sorry, Viridia," he replied, "I _am_ happy to see you. _Very_ happy. My mind is just... elsewhere... at the moment. Reno had an unfortunate run-in with a board member a few days ago. I've been a bit more concerned about him than usual."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes. At least I think so," Tseng replied, "You know Reno, though. He has an irritating tendency not to ask for help when he thinks it will cause undue burden."

Viridia chuckled softly. "And I just _wonder_ where he gets _that_ from."

"I'm sure I have no idea."

The security officer laughed and took hold of his arm, guiding him down an alleyway as she shook her head.

"Well... I hope he's not going to be on your mind _all_ weekend. Because I have plans for _you_ , and they _don't_ involve that little protege of yours."

Tseng smiled and gladly followed her lead.

* * *

Reno let out a shriek as he plummeted, the sudden drop leaving him with that familiar falling sensation in the pit of his stomach. Moments later, he grunted upon impact with the ground... and then began the downward slide.

"Holy shit!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, as his velocity began to steadily increase. "Rude, head's up!"

He sailed downwards, completely out of control, feeling himself start to spin slowly, until he could no longer see where he was going. The next thing he knew, he was tumbling head over heels. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally slammed to a stop, flat on his back, body nestled in a the divot it had dug through the snow. Footsteps crunched towards him in the icy cold air, and he quickly sat up as Rude joined him.

"I'm goin' again!" he cried, grinning widely. Rude snorted in laughter and hauled the redhead to his feet. Reno grabbed the sled and hurried off to climb back up to the top of the incline.

This was getting to be something of a tradition for them, Rude mused as he quickly followed his friend. He hadn't been around for Reno's first Christmas in Midgar, but he'd stuck around last year... and that was the year he'd introduced the former slum-dweller to the joys of sledding. To say that he'd enjoyed it was an understatement. In fact, Rude had hardly been able to drag him back inside, even once the younger Turk was half frozen. It had finally taken the lure of pizza and hot chocolate to convince him that he needed to thaw out for a little while.

The Plate's runoff channels made for impressive sled runs in the winter – this one, with it's three foot drop off into a steep slide was especially thrilling – and the pair of Turks certainly weren't the only ones out today. Rude watched as a couple of younger teens sailed by in much the same way Reno had just a few short minutes ago.

"Hey, Rude! Hurry up! I wanna race!" the redhead called from the top of the run. Rude shook his head and quickened his pace slightly, joining his cohort at the starting point.

"Hmph... We ought to go stay at Icicle Inn for a few days sometime. Something tells me you'd _love_ doing this on the Great Glacier..."

"Heh... When's the best time to go? I'll start savin' up my vacation time again," Reno replied, still grinning.

Rude returned the smile. "Early spring's pretty nice. Or we could hold off a little longer than that and go for your birthday."

"Now _that_ sounds like a plan..." the redhead eagerly agreed, hopping onto his sled again. "On three... One..."

"Hey! I'm not ready yet!" Rude protested.

"Two..." Reno continued, snickering, and the bald Turk rushed to clamber onto his own ride. His friend smirked and pushed off, starting his downward plunge. "THREE!" he called back over his shoulder.

"That's cheating!" Rude laughed and pushed himself into the chute as well.

* * *

Reno made his way into headquarters just before eight on Monday morning. Normally, he put off leaving home until the last possible moment... but the snow had started again before dawn, and the last thing he wanted was to get stuck on the way in. He loved his new car, but honestly... it didn't handle the snow so well when it got too deep. Even leaving almost twenty minutes before he normally did hadn't helped much, though. It had been slow going, getting here.

He glanced at his watch and shrugged. He was just in time to be slightly late.

"Hey! Reno!" a voice called out as he was stepping into the elevator. The redhead turned and spotted Sykes heading towards him, so he held the doors while the rookie caught up. " _Phew_... Thanks. Thought I was gonna have to wait for the next one. Glad I'm not the _only_ Turk running late today."

"Heh... Trust me, rookie. We're not gonna be the only ones walkin' in a little behind schedule. Roads are a fuckin' mess this mornin'. Tseng 'n Remy'll probably be the only people who actually got here on time today, and only 'cause they're both obsessively punctual."

The redhead still felt a little odd calling someone almost three times his size "rookie". Actually, it had taken him awhile to get comfortable calling _anyone_ "rookie", because he'd still felt so much like one himself for so long. But he was getting used to it.

He drew the line at "Turkling", though. It had annoyed the crap out of him before _his_ promotion. He didn't feel like inflicting that name on anyone else. Besides... Kai had practically turned it into an official title as often as _she_ used it. The newbies would be hearing it more than enough from her.

Hell... _he_ still heard it from her on occasion. She never _had_ completely abandoned his "baby Turkling" nickname. Thankfully, she only seemed to pull that one out these days when she really wanted to annoy him.

Speaking of...

"Morning, Reno! _Good_ morning, Sykes, my little Turkling!" Kai said, grinning as the elevator deposited them at Headquarters. Reno rolled his eyes as Sykes groaned quietly. "I hope you're ready for Monday morning training! I get you rookies first today..."

"Heh... nice knowin' ya, Sykes," Reno chuckled, hurrying off towards his and Rude's office. "Kai's been deprived of her precious gauntlet for a whole week now. It's gonna be _bad_."

Kai merely flashed him an evil grin as he rounded the corner. Reno made a quick detour into the lounge for coffee and then resumed course to his own desk. A small cardboard box was waiting for him.

" _Fuck_ , yeah..." he said to himself, rubbing his hands together. He slipped a finger under the strip of tape holding it shut, and dumped his new PHS into one hand.

"As promised," Tseng's voice chuckled from behind him, and Reno turned to find him standing in the doorway.

"Thank Ifrit... 'cause if I had to put up with the old one 'n it's piece of shit battery any longer I'da chucked the damned thing off the roof."

"Hmph... I suppose I can't blame you, really. Yours _has_ been rather unreliable lately. Though perhaps if you hadn't taken it swimming..." he said, pointedly. "Incidentally, I'm told this model has a built in camera... and is _water resistant_. Try not to kill it too quickly this time. They're becoming rather expensive."

"Camera, huh? Sweet!" Reno replied, looking the handset over in an attempt to locate the feature and ignoring the rest of Tseng's commentary. It wasn't like he'd _intentionally_ jumped into the company pool with the damned thing. Overall, it didn't seem that much different from his old flip phone... but, as Tseng had noted, one side had a small lens embedded in it. "Got any idea how ya make it take a picture?"

"Try reading the instructions..." his mentor suggested, chuckling.

"Eh... easier to just ask Rude," the redhead grinned back, "If it's got a camera in it, he'll have it figured out in no time flat."

Tseng shook his head, smiling slightly. "At _any_ rate, I thought I'd give you a bit of a heads up. Rufus will be traveling to Mt. Corel to tour the new reactor this afternoon. I know for certain _I_ am assigned to his security detail, and I've asked that you join me, as well, if Veld has no specific need for you today."

"This afternoon? Leavin' kinda late for a trip like that. We stayin' overnight, then?"

"Almost certainly," Tseng confirmed, "I... would suggest bringing a bathing suit, just in case. Rufus has hinted that he is planning on staying at the family vacation home in Costa del Sol once the tour wraps up."

"Heh... Oh, so _that's_ why we're leavin' so late. His royal highness wants to try 'n sneak in a mini vacation on company time."

"I won't complain to anyone if you won't," his mentor chuckled. "Frankly, I wouldn't mind a break from all this snow, _however_ brief it might be."

With that, he withdrew, leaving Reno to his new device. The redhead shrugged and flipped it open. He smirked as the easily spotted the narrow button near the top of the keypad labeled "Camera".

"Tch... who needs instructions?" he said, with a faint snort. He turned at the sound of footsteps behind him and aimed the phone's camera at the door, pressing the button. The tiny captured image flashed briefly on the screen with a message stating that the photo had been saved. "Mornin' Rude!"

"Hmph... new toy, huh?" his friend replied, eyeing the phone with a vague look of envy.

"Yep. They upgraded me to the super fancy version."

Rude held out his hand, and the redhead obligingly handed it over. The other Turk studied it intensely for a moment, testing out a few of its features, before finally handing it back.

" _Jealous_...?" Reno teased.

"... Yes."

The redhead laughed and tucked his new phone into a pocket.

"You could always conveniently _lose_ yours."

"Hmph... or take it for a quick swim?" Rude said, jokingly.

" _That_ was an accident," Reno shot back, "... Mostly. Anyway... sounds like I'm gonna be headin' outta town later. You okay with doing range practice with the rookies on your own this afternoon, or should I see if I can get someone to cover for me?"

Rude shrugged. "I got it handled."

That was _another_ thing Reno'd had to get used to. He and Rude had both, for the last several months, been tapped to take a much more active part in training the newbies. So far, they were mainly in charge of seeing to it that the rookies could shoot straight a couple of times a week and helping Remy with hand to hand practice when asked. Rude hadn't fully warmed to the idea yet, but Reno... he really enjoyed being a trainer instead of a trainee once in awhile. It was something he could _definitely_ see doing more of.

"So... what's the big out of town assignment?" Rude queried, taking a seat at his desk and logging in to check his email. Reno leaned back, propping himself up on the edge of his desk.

"Eh... nothin' major. Rufus is just goin' out to see that new reactor."

The bald Turk snickered. "Glad I'm stuck here with the rookies," he teased.

"Ah, come on. Rufus isn't so bad."

Rude looked up at him and laughed. "Two weeks ago, you were calling him a spoiled little dick under your breath every time anyone so much as mentioned his name..."

"That's 'cause the spoiled little dick thought it'd be cute to make me chase his goddamn limo around parking deck instead of just lettin' me get into the damn thing... I was about five seconds from shootin' out the tires outta spite. But, yeah... I mean, he's mostly a dick, but he can be decent. Sometimes," Reno replied, grinning. "He's even _almost_ likable when he's actually in a good mood."

"Likable?" Rude repeated, raising his sunglasses to eye the redhead.

"Yeah. _Almost_."

Rude snorted softly and turned back to his email. "You're a real masochist sometimes, you know that, right?"

Reno sniggered. "Hey, Rufus is an asshole, but there are way worse people I could be stuck guardin'. I'll take our resident spoiled pretty boy over Heidegger any day." He shuddered slightly, "Or Hojo. Or _Scarlet_. Ugh..."

"You _do_ realize that's about half the executive board, don't you...?" his friend responded in a highly amused tone.

* * *

A short while later, Reno had settled into the chair next to Rude as the briefing room started to fill up. Conversation buzzed through the air as the Turks caught up with one another after several days apart. The redhead spotted Sato as he made his way inside and waved. The Mideelian Turk grinned and made his way over to the pair.

"Hey, Sato... have a good trip?" he asked.

"Aye... 'Twas good ta see the kin again. Been away from home too bloody long," he replied, "Thanks, by the way. A wee birdie told me that yeh volunteered ta make sure I wouldnae have ta work the executive party. I owe yeh."

Reno shrugged. "No problem. You'da done it for me."

The senior Turk ruffled the younger man's hair and grinned. "Aye... I woulda," he said, before taking a seat a little further down the table. A moment later, Cissnei took the opportunity to squeeze in beside the pair.

"Hey, guys," she said, warmly. "So... do either of you two know what a zenene is?"

Reno raised a curious eyebrow. "... Uh... why are ya askin', exactly?" he queried, suspiciously. He hadn't heard mention of _those_ creatures in quite some time... though he still very clearly remembered Hojo's "demonstration" of the vicious lab specimens in the early days of the war with Wutai. He was certain that Rufus did, as well.

"I heard Veld talking about them with Remy a few minutes ago. He said something about zenenes escaping into the mountains and sending out a group to go after them."

Reno barked a quiet laughed. "Man... am I ever glad I'm babysittin' Rufus today..."

"... What are they?" Rude asked.

"Some experiment of Hojo's. Ugly fuckers... Mean, too. They look kinda like a big cat that got cross-bred with a nibelwolf, a dragon, 'n a whole fuck ton of spikes. Hojo tried to talk Rufus into gettin' the President to use 'em in the war against Wutai's ground troops. How the fuck'd they get out?"

Cissnei shook her head. "No idea. But... I guess that means someone's going to be doing a little hunting."

"Tch... yeah, well... watch yourself if you end up with _that_ assignment. Saw one of those bastards rip a fuckin' _nibelwolf_ to shreds. It wasn't pretty. Seriously. Be _careful_."

"Hmph... great," Rude groaned. Reno grinned.

"Gettin' stuck spendin' the day with Rufus ain't soundin' so bad _now_ , is it pal?"

"... I'll take my chances with the zenenes," Rude replied, teasingly, drawing a giggle from Cissnei.

"Oh, come Rude," she said, smiling warmly, "Rufus is alright. I actually kind of _like_ getting assigned to his security details. He's _very_ intelligent."

"And _handsome_..." a soft voice sighed, behind them, and Reno twisted in his seat just in time to see Petra drift past them. She didn't stop to chat, instead continuing on towards her fellow rookies. Cissnei bit down on her lower lip trying to stifle her laughter.

"I guess I should mention... Petra seems to have developed a little bit of a crush on the vice president."

"Oh, terrific," Reno snickered. "Just what Rufus needs... someone _new_ to inflate his already over-inflated ego."

Cissnei elbowed the redhead, and nodded toward the door, where Tseng and Remy had just entered. Veld wasn't far behind.

"Alright... Quiet down, everyone. I know we're all eager to be back at work..."

"Aye... all that rest 'n relaxation 'n _not_ workin' fer days on end was just _terrible_..." Sato piped up from the far side of the room, eliciting a ripple of laughter from the rest of the Turks.

"Well, you'll be glad to know that we have plenty to keep you busy then, Sato," Veld replied. "First and foremost... Tseng and Reno. Rufus is traveling to Mt. Corel for an inspection of the new reactor facility. You'll be joining him."

"Any chance we can stop by the Gold Saucer while we're there?" Reno asked, grinning.

"Not if _I_ have any say in the matter..." Tseng deadpanned, looking vaguely concerned that he might try to talk Rufus into just that... The redhead's grin widened. The Wutaiian Turk wasn't what one might call a fan of the loud, flashy amusement park... even if he _had_ voluntarily taken Reno there for his seventeenth birthday. Normally he might be willing to argue its merits with his mentor... but given that they were likely getting a free trip to Costa del Sol on this assignment, he wasn't going to complain. And to be honest, as much as he loved that place, the prospect of a couple hours on the beach actually sounded a little bit more appealing than roller coasters and cotton candy right now.

"Sykes, Petra and Liam... you're with Sato this morning for demolitions training, and Rude will take you for range practice later this afternoon. Sato... keep the explosions minimal. I'd prefer that no rookies be rendered eyebrowless."

"Oy... I havnae blown the eyebrows off a wee rookie in years..."

"Let's keep it that way, shall we?" Veld replied. "As for the rest of you... we have some escaped lab specimens to track down. They're part of one of Hojo's experiments, and were last seen heading towards the mountains south of the city. Hojo would prefer to have them back alive, if at all possible. It's a relatively small group – only six animals in total – but I'm told they are extremely dangerous. A full dossier from Biologics should be available shortly. Any questions?"

There was a faint murmuring amongst those assembled, but no one spoke up. Veld nodded.

"In that case... dismissed."

"Well... have fun playin' with the monsters, guys," Reno said, getting up from his seat, "I'm off to pack for an overnight." He paused and turned back to his friends. "Seriously, though. Zenenes _aren't_ somethin' you wanna fuck around with. Be careful out there."

"We will," Cissnei replied, and Rude nodded.

~end chapter 4~


	5. A Hunting We Will Go

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 5: A Hunting We Will Go**

 **by Desha**

Reno sighed and smiled to himself as he leaned back into the plushy comfort of the the executive helicopter's seats. He wouldn't have turned down the chance to fly the aircraft – something he'd only recently been certified to do, in fact – but being a passenger on it definitely had its perks. Rufus glanced up from the folder of information he had open on his lap and rolled his eyes.

" _Comfortable_?" he asked, a sarcastic note in his voice.

"Very," Reno grinned back.

"Hmph..." He went back to his papers. Reno snickered quietly. Apparently Christmas-Rufus had been put back into storage for another year, because the young executive seemed to have returned to his usual churlish self again.

"Incidentally, Tseng," Rufus said conversationally, ignoring the younger Turk, "Have you heard anything about the rather interesting discovery the workers have made at the Corel reactor?"

"No... I don't believe I have," the Turk lieutenant replied, with a thoughtful frown. "Just what have they been up to?"

"Allegedly, it's a new form of materia. I've arranged for a sample to be prepared to take back to Midgar at Father's request. It should keep the R&D staff amply occupied for awhile."

"Whaddya mean 'a new form'?" Reno inquired, vaguely curious. He didn't generally take an interest in the stuff, seeing as he had virtually no ability to use it... but even _he_ recognized that a whole new type of materia no one had ever seen before was a pretty big deal.

"It's highly condensed... more so than anything we've come across in any of our _other_ reactors. The crystals are quite small, likely owing to the fact that the reactor itself has only been fully online for a few weeks, but they are apparently _extremely_ powerful for their size."

"Curious... I wonder what might result if they were allowed to continue to grow..." Tseng mused.

"Hmph... I can tell you that Scarlet certainly wants to find out. She thinks she can make a new weapon out of it. The head of medical research is quite interested as well. One of his pet projects is the use of mako energy in healing. Results thus far have been... mixed."

"Tch... how's mako gonna make you better? Ya get too close to that shit for too long, all you end up with is mako poisoning."

Rufus rolled his eyes. "The exposure is minimal, of course, you insufferable cretin. A therapeutic dose, so to speak. As I said... results are mixed. The technology is still very much in the early stages."

Reno cocked his head to one side. He had the distinct impression that he'd slightly underestimated Rufus' interest in that research, and he had to admit he was surprised. Though certainly dedicated to his family's company, Rufus had never shown any great passion for any of Shinra's various scientific projects. Or at least not that Reno had ever noticed. He decided that, in this instance, just asking might prove more worthwhile than silently pondering the anomaly.

"Why the sudden interest in medical research, sir?" he queried... and to his surprise, Rufus' face took on a noticeably pink hue.

"None of your business!" he snapped.

"Sir... it _was_ merely a question," Tseng pointed out. Rufus muttered something under his breath, but at last looked up at the redhead.

"Fine. If you _must_ know, I..." he began, only to drop both his gaze _and_ his volume, "... am trying to improve my reputation..."

Reno blinked. "You... uh... wanna run that one by me again?" he asked, slightly bemused.

"I hardly _care_ what the masses think of me... _however_... it has come to my attention of late that... a great many people both within the company _and_ without – more than I realized – find me... off-putting. I certainly don't need their adoration... but... one day I _may_ need their support."

"I _did_ try to warn you about that," Tseng interjected. Rufus grumbled something unintelligible before continuing.

"It simply occurred to me that perhaps publicly backing some of Shinra Company's more... altruistic... endeavors might win over a bit of good will from those around me."

Reno smirked and opened his mouth to reply... but, at a look from Tseng, quickly clamped down on it. He eyed his mentor oddly for a moment before it clicked. Rufus seldom said what he really meant... and he'd been cultivating his cold and calculating persona for most of his life. In all likelihood, he wasn't doing this _just_ to get brownie points. Deep down, it seemed to legitimately bother him that a lot of people thought he was a stuck up little shit. But that was hardly something he could openly admit to.

"Sounds like a pretty decent way to get on people's good sides," he finally said with a shrug. "Heh... Ya _really_ wanna get people to like ya, though, tell Transportation to quit dickin' around 'n finish the fuckin' slum trains already. You got any idea how many people want _that_ to finally happen?"

Now it was Rufus' turn to look surprised. "I've heard no great demand for any such thing..." he said, somewhat skeptically.

"Tch... yeah, well, I'm guessin' you don't get down below real often, either, sir," the redhead snickered. "Trust me... people in the slums would _love_ to be able to get around even _half_ as easy as people up top. Hard to get work that pays decent when all the _good_ jobs are either Plate-side or on the other damn end of the Slums from where ya live. They only got one station down there, and it's in fuckin' Wall Market. You have any idea how long it takes to _walk_ from Sector Two to Wall Market? Assumin' ya don't get jumped on the way there..."

"He makes a rather good point, sir," Tseng added, nodding. "There's far more to Midgar's populace than just those of us fortunate enough to reside on the Plate. The Slums are... easy to forget about, unfortunately. Such projects tend to fall through the cracks even though they're desperately needed."

Rufus was silent for a moment, apparently considering the idea. Finally, he sneered in Reno's general direction.

"Apparently even _you_ can come up with a halfway intelligent suggestion once in awhile."

Reno snorted a soft laugh. "Thank you, sir," he snickered and slouched down in his seat, making himself comfortable for the long flight to Corel. Tseng shook his head.

"Sir... _must_ you continue to speak to Reno like that?" he asked.

"Yes... I must," Rufus replied, with a somewhat uncharacteristically amused smirk. "He might begin to believe I see something of value in him otherwise, and I certainly can't have _that_."

"Yep... totally worthless. Got it, sir," the redhead responded, grinning widely as he flashed him a thumbs up.

"The two of you are utterly maddening sometimes," Tseng sighed.

* * *

" _That's_ a zenene?" Cissnei said, eyes locked on the image on the computer monitor. The biologics lab had finally gotten around to forwarding the Turks the pertinent details regarding their escaped creations. Waiting on the information had delayed their departure considerably.

Rude sent the file to the printer.

"Hmph... Reno wasn't kidding about them being ugly," he commented. The photo on screen showed a notably cat-like animal... but certainly not one you'd ever want to have curl up on your lap after a long day at work. Wicked looking spikes protruded from its back from one end to the other. Its fur was wiry and colored a dark, mottled brown... perfect camouflage up in the rocky mountains they were hiding in. And the claws... hell, _those_ things looked like they could disembowel a person with one swipe.

"Or _dangerous_ ," she agreed, reading through the material, "It says they hunt in a pack and will attempt to surround their prey. Oh... and their bites are mildly venomous. _That's_ nice."

"Not planning on asking Hojo if you can keep one as a pet?" Rude teased. She giggled softly.

"I think I'll just stick with my fish, thanks. They're less likely to eat me in my sleep."

"Rude, Cissnei... we're moving out," Kai said, poking her head into Rude's office. She let her freshly procured rifle rest against one shoulder. "You know... I know we're supposed to try and take them alive, but odds are we're going to end up shooting them. It seems kind of a shame to hunt them down and just waste perfectly good meat. I wonder if zenenes are good eating..."

"... I don't think I'd want to eat anything that came out of one of Hojo's labs," Rude snickered in response.

Cissnei grinned. "What? No plans to serve us all a tasty zenene dinner when we get back?"

"Hey... if _anyone_ could pull _that_ off it'd be Rude..." Kai teased.

"I prefer to use only one hundred percent organic ingredients in my cooking..." he deadpanned, collecting the papers from the printer and handing a copy to Kai.

"Are you three ready yet?" Remy asked before the conversation could continue. "We've _already_ been delayed most of the morning... I'd prefer to get out there before afternoon sets in and we start losing the light, as well."

"Yeah, yeah... reign it in, Remy. We're ready," said Kai. Remy shot her a dirty look, but didn't comment and moments later, the four of them were headed for the rooftop helipad.

* * *

Snow was, once again, falling steadily by the time they reached Mt. Corel. Tseng glanced outside as the helicopter was landing and suppressed a groan of dismay. He'd had no illusions that the weather would still be just as cold up in the mountains as it was in Midgar... but was there to be no end to the snow? Spring couldn't come fast enough, as far as he was concerned.

Reno, meanwhile, looked almost gleeful. He would never understand his protege's love for snowy weather. One would _think_ that, after spending so many winters in the cold, dimly lit slums of Sector 2, he would be less than thrilled to see this time of year descend upon him once more... but the younger man was practically _enthralled_ by the sight of softly falling snowflakes.

He smiled slightly to himself, recalling the first time the redhead had ever seen it. Not even his favorite breakfast had been enough to tempt him to stay inside.

Rufus, he mused, was much the same in that regard... though a bit more reserved when it came to expressing his fondness for it. The vice president had only _once_ missed the winter festival in Kalm, that Tseng was aware of... and only because he'd fallen quite ill a few days beforehand, and had been ordered by his physician to stay in bed for the event's duration that year. He'd been thirteen... and rather vocal about his disappointment. He'd even attempted to bribe Tseng into taking him anyway, without his father's knowledge – an offer the Turk had refused as gently as he could manage.

 _Tseng_ , however, could do without the whole season, for the most part. Christmas was a nice diversion from his otherwise hectic life at work... but as for the rest of winter, he wouldn't have missed it if it ever decided to take a year or two off.

The helicopter at last set down on a snow-covered ridge just outside of the mining town, and the Turk lieutenant braced himself for the onslaught of cold as Reno moved to open the door.

"The town's representative will be meeting us at the reactor entrance," Rufus informed them, and Tseng was quietly grateful that they wouldn't have to make the long, icy slog from their landing site to the town to pick him up, and then from the town to the reactor. The vice president stood and moved towards the door.

"Hold it," the Wutaiian Turk said, getting up from his seat and looking pointedly at the young man. "Phone?"

Rufus rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes... I have it right here," he replied patting one of his pockets." Tseng opened his mouth to make a second inquiry, but Rufus beat him to it. " _And_ I am armed. There's no need to nag me."

Tseng chuckled softly. "Excellent. Shall we go, then?"

The Shinra heir had – mercifully – begun to take his personal security far more seriously following the events that had occurred in Junon at the end of the war... but Tseng still felt the need to double check on occasion for his own peace of mind. Rufus... tolerated it... but made sure to register his annoyance without fail.

Reno snickered. "Hey... how come ya never bother to make sure _I'm_ carryin' a weapon? Startin' to think you care more about the VP than you do me..."

"Because, Reno... _you_ are a Turk, and are trained to know better by now. Or so I've been led to believe..." he replied, returning the jest. The redhead smirked and heaved open the door on the side of the aircraft, flooding the interior with cold air. Tseng shuddered at the sudden chill. The younger Turk hopped out into the snow, Rufus just steps behind him. The Turk lieutenant followed them, bringing up the rear.

It wasn't so long ago that _he_ would have insisted on taking the lead. But Reno was far more experienced now... and he wanted his protege to get used to not always taking his cue from a superior. After all, he had, from the very start, planned on training him as a field commander...

… and besides that, he fully intended to make him his second in command one day. Best for him to start leading early.

He hadn't yet informed _Reno_ of that, of course. It was still much too soon for _that_ discussion. With any luck, such promotions were still a _very_ long ways off, as he himself was in no great hurry to have to replace Veld. But... it _would_ happen one day... be it through his own mentor's retirement or his death. Frankly, Tseng hoped it would be the former. Either way, though, when it happened, he would need a Second, and he very much wanted it to be the redhead... which meant that Reno needed to be _ready_ for it when the time came.

The trio made their way down a narrow path towards a large opening in the side of the very mountain itself. Shinra had opted to build their newest reactor inside of small valley between two peaks... both for security _and_ for protection from the elements. The area had, prior to their acquisition of the land, been one of the larger coal mines the residents of Corel worked. Which, Tseng mused, explained the old bridge and train tracks leading towards the reactor's entrance. Makeshift stairs had been erected stretching from the ledge they were walking along up to the tracks and Reno headed for them.

"Not that way," Rufus interjected, "Take the ones on the other side of the bridge. I'd like to take a look at the site from above before we go inside."

Tseng easily spotted the stairs he was referring to. It was a long, steep flight cut directly into the rock. He couldn't tell, from their current position, where they went. The redhead altered course and started the climb, and a few short minutes later, they were standing on a ledge overlooking the reactor.

"Holy fuck..." Reno breathed. "That thing's _huge_."

It _was_ a rather impressive piece of machinery, Tseng had to admit. Much larger than any of the Midgar reactors, or even the ones in Nibelheim and Gongaga. The reactor itself, though, was dwarfed by the massive mako well it was suspended over. Cutting deep into the planet, the bottom of the well wasn't visible... it simply faded into the faint familiar greenish glow of raw mako far below the surface. The reactor sat in the center of it all, held aloft by wide supports that extended out from the sides of the well like spokes on a wheel. The existing train tracks had been repaired and extended all the way to the entrance.

"The size is to accommodate a large scale materia production facility," Rufus explained. "The Company intends this reactor to do more than just provide power. It will also be supplying new materia for the Junon Materia Corps, as well as for general sale. And now, with this abnormally powerful materia being produced in the reactor core... it may be even _more_ valuable than we initially thought."

That explained the tracks, then. If the reactor was going to be producing significant amounts of materia, they'd eventually need some way to transport it. A sharp gust of wind caught Tseng unprepared, and he couldn't help the shiver that violently spread throughout his entire body. Reno snickered quietly and grinned.

"Heh... cool as this is, maybe we oughta get movin', sir. Ya know... before we end up havin' to de-ice Tseng."

The Turk lieutenant shot his subordinate a withering glare, but didn't go as far as to object to the suggestion. He'd be _more_ than happy to get out of the weather, and the sooner the better.

* * *

Remy circled a small area of the foothills, while Kai leaned precariously out of the side of the helicopter, binoculars held to her eyes.

"Down there," she said, her voice slightly distorted over the electronic headsets. "Looks like there might be a den of some sort." She pulled herself back inside and turned to Rude and Cissnei. "Alright... Rude, you're coming with me. We'll see if we can track these things on the ground. Cissnei... you and Remy keep an eye on things from up here. You see _anything_ moving down there, let us know. Last thing we need is one of them sneaking up on us from behind."

"And remember... ideally, we want them incapacitated, not killed," Remy added. "Use the tranquilizers first. Don't resort to live ammunition unless absolutely necessary."

"Hmph... if one of those things gets ahold of me, I'm not shooting it with a goddamn dart," Kai replied.

"Kai... Our orders are –"

"Yeah, yeah... We won't open fire on them if we don't have to. But I'm not taking any unnecessary risks with a bunch pack hunters. First sign of things even _looking_ like they're going south, we're putting them down."

The helicopter dropped in altitude, until it was just barely hovering over the rocky terrain. Kai made the short jump to the ground, Rude not far behind, and the aircraft started upwards again, to resume its slow circle around the area.

Rude shielded himself from the helicopter's downdraft as it departed. Save for the sound of rotor blades cutting through the air, which was gradually growing more distant, the foothills and the mountains beyond were quiet and still in the afternoon sunlight. A thick layer of snow covered the ground, and not too far from where they'd landed, he could see large paw prints. Kai grinned and made her way over to them.

"These haven't been here long," she noted. "Looks like we're in the right place."

"How do you want to do this?" Rude asked. He'd never really been hunting before... unless you counted his week-long survival training a couple of years ago with the diminutive senior Turk. Somehow, though, he had a feeling that trapping small animals in a snare hadn't really prepared him for facing off against a large predator.

"Carefully," Kai replied. "They're here... and they most likely know that _we're_ here by now. We'll follow these tracks, but I need you to be on alert. _Do not_ let your guard down. Dossier says they're territorial. Even if they haven't figured out their being hunted yet, they're not going to like having us so close to their new home."

Rude nodded his understanding and checked that his gun had a dart properly chambered. He wasn't a fan of rifles, generally speaking. He was more of an up close and personal fighter... and if he wasn't just using his fists, he'd rather have handgun than a long gun. But something told him he wasn't going to want to get _that_ close to Hojo's zenenes if he could help it.

Kai, too, had her gun readied, and started forward at a slow but deliberate pace. Rude fell into step behind her, eyes scanning the area ahead of them.

After a few minutes, something felt... off. He couldn't quite place what it was that was bothering him at first, and then he realized... things were just a little _too_ quiet. Sure... it was the middle of winter. There probably wasn't a _lot_ of wildlife roaming around out here right now. A lot of animals were probably hibernating. But there was just... nothing. Nothing but the tracks they were following. It was creepy.

Kai made her way up, closer to the mountains, and the hilly terrain gradually gave way to large boulders and steeper slopes. The tracks led into a narrow rift.

"... Do we keep going?" Rude asked, when she finally paused for a moment. Narrow space, limited maneuverability, only one exit? It didn't appeal to _him_ much, especially knowing that the creatures might very well be inside, waiting for them. The senior Turk seemed to be having the same thought.

"Yeah... not a chance. That's an ambush waiting to happen," she stated definitively. She glanced upwards. "Come on... let's take the high ground and see if we can spot them from above. One at a time, though. I'll cover you from here, then you watch my back while _I'm_ climbing."

Rude nodded and slung the strap of his weapon over a shoulder, starting the slow ascent up the cold stone. Free-climbing wasn't his favorite thing to do – heights had always bothered him a little – but he'd spent enough time running Kai's favorite obstacle course that he was proficient enough and the ridge wasn't _that_ high. He reached the top and waved down at the other Turk, signaling her to begin her own climb. As she did so, he checked his weapon again and aimed downward, scanning the terrain below for any sign of the escapees.

When Kai was about halfway up, it happened.

He hadn't even seen the animal until it was almost too late. The damned thing blended in so well with the rock, it may as well have been invisible. It was only when the creature dislodged a small rock, sending it tumbling, that he spotted it. It crawled over the stone almost like a lizard, silent, and with a single objective in mind.

"Kai! On your right!" he shouted down to her, simultaneously taking aim at the zenene, and sending a dart flying towards it. It hit home, lodging itself between the animal's shoulder blades. It scrabbled against the rock, but ultimately lost its footing, and Rude hurried to reload just in case the zenene had a friend lurking nearby. He'd just locked the dart into the chamber, when he heard a pained cry from below.

He gasped as he realized that there _had_ been another one. It had been crouched in the shadows of a small overhang, not far from Kai. Not far, he belatedly realized, from where _he'd_ been himself only minutes ago. Had it been there the entire time? Watching... waiting for the most opportune moment to strike? It hardly mattered _now_ , either way. The zenene had hold of Kai's arm. The senior Turk lashed out with her free hand, stabbing at its face with one of her throwing knives, and a moment later, it released her, retreating downward.

Rude took his second shot, and missed as it leapt away from the cliff face. It was then the he realized that the other one – the one he _had_ hit – hadn't exactly been disabled by the strong tranquilizers. It emitted a loud, screeching cry and lunged up the rock wall towards Kai, catching her by the ankle as she struggled to pull herself up the rock with her newly acquired injury, and yanking her downwards. She screamed as she fell, and Rude could only watch in horror as she clawed desperately at the stone, trying to stop her plunge.

Rude swore loudly, and tossed the rifle aside, pulling out his sidearm. Forget taking these things alive. If he didn't do something now, they were going to be returning home with _pieces_ of Kai. It took four bullets to drop the first of the zenenes... and in the time it had taken to put the creature down, the second was already on the senior Turk. He heard several shots fired from her own gun, and the lab specimen at last slumped over, dead. Rude fumbled for his radio, and hit the transmit button.

"Emergency extraction... Kai's down!" he reported, all but ignoring the response from the copter. He grabbed his discarded tranquilizer rifle and half-climbed, half-slid his way down to the injured Turk. As he reached the ground, he was met with a low, angry growl from the opening to the canyon. A chill went down his spine as large, glowing yellow eyes appeared in the shadowy fissure.

He fired off two more shots on the run as he covered the short distance between himself and Kai. She was conscious... but badly injured. The flesh on her shoulder where it tapered upwards to meet her neck was torn open, and her arm had been mauled, even through the extra padding of her heavy winter coat, leaving much of it a bloody, mangled mess. The ankle one of the zenenes had seized her by was largely hidden by her boots, and Rude hoped that the thick footwear had provided some protection... otherwise it probably wouldn't look much better than her arm did. She was bleeding heavily, eyes staring upward, slightly unfocused, into the sky. The woman looked frighteningly pale already, and the snow underneath her was stained a dark red.

The zenenes advanced on the pair of Turks, and Rude kept firing until his magazine was empty, but it didn't seem to deter them. It was only when the sound of the helicopter's engine filled the air and the downdraft from its rotors began to send snow flying that they even appeared to reconsider their attack. Several more gunshots echoed above the loud drone of the aircraft's engines, and Rude looked upwards just in time to see Cissnei providing cover fire.

As soon as they were low enough, Rude hefted Kai into his arms and retreated to the safety of the helicopter. They were airborne again within seconds.

"Remy... Get us home fast. It's bad," Rude reported, throwing on a headset as he and Cissnei worked fervently to staunch the bleeding.

~end chapter 5~


	6. Out of Commission

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 6: Out of Commission**

 **by Desha**

"This... is fuckin'... _cool_..." Reno said, looking downward over the edge as they made their way across the railway bridge that led into the reactor. "How deep's it _go_ , anyway?"

"Nearly a quarter of a mile," Rufus replied, nonchalantly, "Or at least that's how far _we_ bored into the mountain. The reactor was constructed over an existing coal mine that already ran quite deep. It was abandoned when the miners started coming down with mako poisoning after striking a vein. They opted to move their operation elsewhere rather than risk further injury. We simply widened the entry and continued down." He smirked slightly. "Their loss is Shinra's gain. The fact that they'd already tunneled so far made construction much faster than it would have been had we been starting from scratch."

"Tch... Their loss? Sounds more like a win-win situation to me," Reno commented, "We get a new reactor, 'n Corel makes money offa land they can't keep workin' anyway."

"True enough... though I like to think Shinra got the better end of the deal. This reactor will be active and generating profit for _decades_. Perhaps even longer."

Tseng chuckled softly, still bringing up the rear. "Sir... can't you simply be satisfied with a well-negotiated business deal? Is it always necessary to get the better end of it?"

Rufus paused and glanced back at the Wutaiian Turk.

"Necessary? No. Preferred? _Absolutely_."

They finally reached the reactor entrance, only to be met by a man in worn coveralls. He smiled politely as they approached, and extended a hand, which Rufus shook.

"Vice President Shinra," he greeted him, "Welcome to Corel. The name's Dyne."

* * *

The flight back to Midgar seemed to take hours, and by the time they were setting down on the rooftop helipad of Midgar Geneal Hospital, Kai was in a bad way. Rude and Cissnei had managed to _slow_ the bleeding... but it hadn't stopped. Hell, for all Rude knew, it may have only slowed down because the senior Turk was running _out_ of blood altogether... not because any of their first aid attempts were successful. She'd lost consciousness before they were even over the city.

Remy, of course, had radioed ahead, and the moment they were down, the door to the aircraft was hauled open and the space was invaded by medical personnel. Rude and Cissnei gratefully relinquished their comrade to more expert care than their own.

"Rude," Remy's voice called out over his headset, snapping him out of the daze he'd fallen into moments after they'd taken Kai away. "Stay here and wait for any updates on Kai's condition. Cissnei and I will report in at headquarters."

The bald Turk nodded, and climbed out onto the rooftop. The winds were strong up here, and he found himself almost instantly chilled. As soon as he was clear, the helicopter lifted off again. He watched it as it grew smaller and smaller as it rose into the sky before streaking off towards the center of the city. Once they were gone, he turned and walked through the same door the doctors had taken Kai just moments ago.

* * *

"Now... when yer disarmin' somethin' like this wee girl, yeh need ta be mindful 'o hidden triggers," Sato lectured, pointing out a little glass tube secreted away beneath the timer. In its center was a shiny silver liquid. Bare wires entered from the left, sitting exposed at the end of the tube. "Any 'o yeh have a guess as ta what _that_ might be?"

"... Mercury tilt switch," Liam stated, and Sato looked up, mildly impressed. Usually they didn't have a clue. The newbie was a bright one, alright.

"Aye... That's _exactly_ what she is, lad." He looked over at the other two rookies. "Liquid metal. Any bit 'o a jostle, 'n that wee blob'll move 'n complete the circuit, settin' her off. Means a bomb like this 'un ain't goin' _anywhere_. 'Least not until yeh can disable that trigger. So... that's yer assignment." He flipped a switch on the side, arming his creation and a little clock glowed an ominous red and began counting down. "Yeh've got ten minutes 'fore the timer reaches zero 'n yeh can use anything in the room. How d'yeh make her safe ta move ta the containment unit 'fore she blows?"

"Oh! I know this!" Sykes said, grinning triumphantly. He looked around the room and quickly spotted what he was searching for. "Saw it on TV..."

Sato smirked as the young man hustled over to the door and retrieved the fire extinguisher from it's holder on the wall. It didn't matter if his group was made up of rookie Turks, Shinra military, or even SOLDIER... there was _always_ one who tried that. He noted that Liam quickly took several steps back as Sykes aimed the extinguisher at the device and squeezed the trigger. Petra, meanwhile, leaned in closer for a better look.

Sato's demonstration "bomb" obediently exploded with a loud _pop_ and a large puff of dark, black smoke.

"Yeh shouldnae believe everything yeh see on TV, rookie..." the senior Turk snickered, "Vibration knocked it right inta the contacts. And cold as they get, a fire extinguisher's not goin' ta get down ta the minus thirty plus degrees yeh need ta freeze mercury ta begin with."

"... You couldn't have maybe mentioned that _before_ he set it off?" Petra coughed, fanning the fumes away from herself.

"Where'd be the fun in that?" Sato replied, grinning. "But more ta the point freezin' it wouldnae be a guarantee, even if yeh managed ta keep it offa the wires while yeh were freezin' it. Might be solid after, but it can still move 'round in there... and it doesnae lose it's conductivity."

"So... what's the _right_ way to disarm it?" Sykes queried, setting aside the fire extinguisher.

Sato laughed and lifted an identical device out of a nearby box, setting it on the table. He armed it, and the countdown started again... from nine this time.

"Yeh've got nine more minutes ta figure that out."

* * *

"What happened?" Veld demanded, the moment Remy and Cissenei stepped out of the elevator. His eyes immediately went to the younger of his Turks, noting the copious amounts of fresh blood staining her clothing.

"Kai and Rude were ambushed by Hojo's Leviathan-be-damned zenenes!" Remy spat, angrily before composing herself. "They had to kill two just trying to escape from them, and Cissnei took down a third during the extraction. The rest of the pack got away. Rude is fine... but Kai..." She swallowed sharply. "I left Rude at the hospital to wait for updates. I don't know how bad her injuries are, sir. I believe they took her straight to surgery."

Veld roughly pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me know the _moment_ you hear from him. I'll... report to Hojo that half of his specimens are still on the loose."

Remy nodded and sent Cissnei off to change into clean clothes, before retreating to her office to wait for word from Rude.

This wasn't good. Aside from the failed mission – which, in the grand scheme of things was more of an inconvenience than an actual problem – one of his Turks was seriously hurt. That was never a _minor_ issue... but at the moment, it was not only something new to worry himself sick about, it was also about as inopportune as it could get. He had intended to assign Kai to a somewhat time-sensitive mission in Junon tomorrow... in part because it was her hometown, and she knew it better than anyone on the team, and in part because it would likely involve significant underwater work... for which she was the _only_ member of the team presently qualified. But perhaps most importantly... her small stature meant that Kai was the most _physically_ suited for what needed to be done.

He'd just have to worry about it later. It was, after all, entirely possible that the mission would only have to be briefly delayed. They did have a _small_ window of time they could play with, at least. And as Remy had said, they didn't know the extent of her injuries yet. Kai might be back to work in a a few days for all Veld knew right now.

Still... judging by the state of Cissnei's uniform, there had been a _lot_ of blood. A contingency plan might not be a terrible idea. Just in case.

And if, by then, he hadn't yet received word of Kai's condition from Rude, he'd see about sending one of the physicians from the company medical suite over to investigate. When an injured Turk came in, the doctors at Midgar General often had their hands full just keeping them alive. He'd found that sending one of their own medical staff to make inquires yielded better results than having one of his Turks do it. Dr. Ward was usually agreeable to helping them out. Hopefully she was free.

* * *

Rude settled himself on one of the long, padded benches that lined the waiting room, and ran his hands along the back of his neck, trying to relieve some of the tension that had built up there over the last hour and a half. There was still no word on Kai... but he'd seen staff rushing towards the operating rooms with containers labeled "Human Blood". Four times now, in fact. His requests for an update had been met with being sternly told to be patient and wait.

He sighed and stared down at his hands. He'd tried to clean himself up a little – after likely scaring the ever-living shit out of two young women who'd walked into the waiting room, he assumed, to await word on another patient and seen him there covered in blood – but his success had been limited. It had been everywhere. He could still see some, dried and caked under his nails, and there had been nothing he could do about his clothes.

It had been bad. He'd seen injuries before, of course... but he had a feeling this was going to stick with him for awhile. He'd quite literally been watching the life drain out of her. It had been far too much like it had been watching Tres' last moments... a memory that was still somewhat raw, despite the time that had passed... though that was in part because he still hadn't fulfilled the promise he'd made to himself to avenge his fallen mentor. Istev was still out there... somewhere.

"Hmph... I _knew_ I'd find at least _one_ of yeh here waiting..." a voice announced from the doorway, and Rude looked up, only to find himself face to face with Dr. Justinia Ward. He didn't actually know the woman that well, personally – he'd never had much of a preference when it came to doctors... he saw whoever happened to be available down in Medical when he needed them – but he was well aware of _Reno's_ opinion of her. Despite his constant complaining any time he had cause to visit her domain, she was pretty much the _only_ doctor on staff his friend would willingly – though Rude used that term fairly loosely – go to see. As much as the redhead pretended otherwise, Rude was relatively sure he liked her on some level.

She clucked her tongue at him and offered up a pile of fabric, which he belatedly recognized as medical scrubs and a pale gray sweatshirt.

"Go and change... Yer a right mess."

"... Is there any news?"

"Veld only told me what happened about fifteen minutes ago. I just got here myself. Yeh go 'n clean up, while I see what I can find out."

Rude nodded in acknowledgment, taking the small bundle from the doctor and disappearing into a nearby restroom.

Kai had been the one to come and get him that day... just before he'd lost his mentor. When she'd walked in, he'd known exactly why she was there... even if he hadn't wanted to admit it. She'd been their _after_ , too, waiting for him outside of the door to Tres' room. Now he was the one doing the waiting, and he didn't really know what to do with himself. All he knew was that he didn't want today to turn out the same way that day in Junon had.

A few minutes later, he returned to the waiting room, having scrubbed away as much of the remaining blood as he could and tucked his soiled clothes into one of the plastic bags he'd found in a cabinet. He took a seat, impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for Ward to return. The tapping soon turned to a staccato rhythm that seemed to have taken possession of his entire leg. It was something he'd always done when he was worried. He couldn't help it. It was as though anxiety generated so much pent up energy that it had to find _some_ form of release or it would tear him apart.

Rude looked up several minutes later when the door opened again, and was immediately on his feet. Dr. Ward sighed faintly, but only gestured for him to sit back down, and crossed the room, joining him.

"They have the bleeding under control," she said, right off the bat. "Whatever yeh lot were attacked by, it seems their saliva has some sort of anti-clotting agent. Poor thing's had four transfusions already, and will probably need another one before it's all said and done... but they seem ta have stabilized her."

Rude slowly exhaled in relief.

"Now that's not ta say she's out of the woods quite yet, mind," Ward continued, "They're still working on the worst of the damage and there's always the chance something unexpected could happen. I'd say _cautiously optimistic_ would be an accurate prognosis at this point."

"... Any idea how much longer she'll be in surgery?" he asked. 'Cautiously optimistic' was a little too vague to report back to Veld and the others. He needed some details.

"I'd guess at least another hour... maybe two, depending on how things go. There's a lot of vascular damage ta the neck and shoulder region, 'n repairing that sort o' injury can get dicey. It's not something yeh want ta be rushing."

If there was one thing he could say about Dr. Ward, it was that she certainly didn't sugar coat things. Her bluntness was oddly reassuring, in a way, though. At least from _his_ perspective. He'd rather hear the truth of any given situation, no matter what it was... That was the only way to make an informed decision.

"I'd suggest giving yer superiors an update and then getting yerself some food 'n some coffee if yer planning on sticking around. It's going ta be quite a wait before they'll let yeh in ta see her."

Rude nodded in understanding. The same thought had crossed his own mind... though he didn't know if Veld would want him to stay put or report back to headquarters, now that they had some details on Kai's condition.

"... Thanks," he finally said.

"I'll be around if yeh need anything," Ward replied, gently patting his shoulder before standing and taking her leave. Rude, meanwhile, retrieved his PHS and dialed Veld's number.

* * *

The tour had taken quite some time... and much of that time had been spent inspecting the materia production facility. Dyne's presence made delving into the more classified areas of the reactor an impossibility, but there was still plenty to see. To be honest, Reno was a little confused as to why the guy was even there. The _town_ hadn't had anything to do with the site's construction... and while a few locals might be employed there eventually, from what he understood, the Mt. Corel reactor was the most automated mako reactor Shinra had ever built. It practically ran itself.

He supposed it was just a courtesy. After all... the thing was built practically in their backyard. He knew _he'd_ have been more than a little curious back in his slum days if Shinra had turned up in Sector 2 to plop some big ass piece of machinery in the middle of the place. Maybe curious enough to do a little investigating. If letting a representative take a look around kept the rest of them out of Company business, Reno figured it couldn't hurt.

And anyway... the guy seemed alright. Maybe a _little_ put off by the presence of the reactor, but not outright against it, as far as he could tell. Though he _did_ give Reno the impression that he'd had to be talked into it... either by Rufus, or by his fellow miners when things were being negotiated. The redhead didn't remember him being present at the one – and only – contract negotiation Reno had attended in Kalm awhile back, but to be fair, he'd had other things on his mind that day... like making sure Rufus didn't get his ass kidnapped, and avoiding being trampled by chocobos. And... you know... the whole crashing the helicopter, being attacked by levicrons, and getting trapped in a cave thing. If he'd met Dyne before, he hadn't made enough of an impression on the young Turk to actually remember him after everything _else_ that had been going on.

And he vaguely wondered if maybe he _should_ have been paying more attention. Come to think of it, he really couldn't say that he would recognized _anyone_ from Corel who'd been there that day, now. And it also occurred to him that, if they were going to be running a reactor out here in the ass end of nowhere, then eventually the Turks would more likely than not end up with an actual mission in the area. Knowing who was who and who might be trouble was bound to be beneficial. It always had been back in the Slums.

But that was something he could discuss with Tseng later. Preferably _after_ a nice relaxing evening sipping fruity drinks on the beach in Costa del Sol, given that they were about ten minutes from leaving. Reno grinned slightly to himself. He loved it when an easy mission actually WAS easy, went according to plan, and nothing unexpected went horrendously wrong.

Of course... the very second he consciously acknowledged that thought, Tseng's PHS chimed with the sound of an incoming text message. His mentor glanced down at the screen and frowned before slipping off to a corner to place a call.

Reno wondered what had happened... but kept close to Rufus for the time being. The vice president was his primary responsibility. Whatever else was going on, if he needed to know about it, Tseng would fill him in later. It didn't escape his notice, however, that the frown the Turk lieutenant wore deepened considerably after a few short moments on the phone.

Finally, Rufus wrapped things up with Dyne and the reactor foreman who'd been showing them around. He walked past the redhead, snapping his fingers. Reno resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed. He hated it when the brat did that. It was beyond condescending. The only reason he never voiced a complaint was because he knew that Rufus specifically did it to annoy him... and he wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of getting under his skin. The vice president would have to try a lot harder than _that_ if he wanted to win at this little game of his.

Tseng joined them as they exited the reactor, shuddering as the icy wind hit them.

"Somethin' up, boss?" Reno asked.

"We'll discuss it on the helicopter," he replied. The redhead didn't much like the sound of that. There were any number of reasons the senior Turk might not want to tell him what that phone call was about out here, where anyone – assuming anyone was nuts enough to be out here hiding behind a snowdrift or something – could overhear... and very few of them were boded well for their mini-vacation. It was entirely possible that they were being recalled to Midgar immediately due to an emergency. Or that one of them was being sent off to deal with an unexpected matter nearby while the other babysat Rufus. Or... hell... maybe the president had been assassinated and Rufus was in charge of the entire company now.

Okay... that last one was admittedly _pretty_ unlikely. But Tseng had a noticeably dark look on his face as they made their way through the snow... and that almost certainly meant bad news of some sort. They boarded the copter, and a few short minutes later, they were airborne once more. Rufus leaned back in his seat and sighed.

"Well... now that _that's_ finally over, I believe I'll phone ahead and make reservations for dinner. Someplace directly on the beach, I think..." he said, reaching for his PHS. The two Turks largely ignored him, though it seemed he was far too interested in his own planning to notice.

"... 'kay, so we're on the helicopter. What's goin' on?" Reno queried. Tseng folded his arms over his chest.

"Nothing we can do anything _about_ , I'm afraid," he replied. "Kai is in the hospital. A mishap on her mission today. She is, apparently, stable at this point, but her injuries are extensive."

"Fuck... anyone else get hurt?" he asked, alarmed. Remy, Cissnei, and Rude had all been given that assignment, as well. Tseng shook his head.

"Thankfully, no. But it sounds as though Kai may be out of commission for awhile. Veld will be calling later with further updates... and... depending on what those updates entail, we may need to make a slight detour before we return home tomorrow."

Reno's eyebrow rose in curiosity. A detour, huh? That sounded like maybe they _were_ getting sent off on another assignment after all. Probably wherever Veld had been planning to send Kai tomorrow. Well... more like _he_ was getting sent on another assignment. Because they sure as fuck couldn't just leave Rufus on his own in Costa del Sol... and the brat would probably throw a fit if he got stuck with the redhead while Tseng took off for parts unknown without him. That in mind, he wondered where he'd be going.

"A detour to where?" he asked. Tseng gave him a slight smile in spite of the news they'd received.

"To see an old friend in Cosmo Canyon."

~end chapter 6~


	7. An Old Friend

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 7: An Old Friend**

 **by Desha**

"I heard the zenenes ripped her entire _arm_ off..."

"... Well, _I_ heard that the hospital _ran out of blood_ just keeping her alive long enough to put her arm back _on_..."

Liam snorted softly and rolled his eyes at his fellow rookies. "And _I_ heard that you two will believe just about anything."

He hadn't meant it to come out quite as snotty as it had sounded... but Sykes and Petra had been going on like that for a full five minutes now, the things they'd allegedly "heard" regarding the senior Turk's injuries growing more and more ridiculous with each exchange. And really... he knew they were just trying to distract themselves from the fact that one of their number had been hurt... but still. It seemed in poor taste to him.

Sykes laughed in response and playfully slapped him on the back... which, considering that the guy had about two hundred pounds and a foot and a half on him, sent the youngest of the rookies stumbling several steps forward before he could recover his balance.

"Oops... Sorry 'bout that," Sykes said, grinning sheepishly. Liam sighed and shook his head. He liked Sykes... but sometimes he forgot his own strength.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "So have either of you heard any _actual_ news about Kai?"

They'd returned from their lesson with Sato yesterday to find the remaining occupants of the office subdued and serious. Word had quickly spread about what had happened, but details had been scant, and Remy had taken over their afternoon session in Rude's place. All they'd been sure of when they'd been dismissed for the evening was that the senior Turk was alive and out of surgery.

Petra shook her head in the negative. " _I_ haven't... but I'm sure there will be an update at the morning briefing." She paused for a moment, thinking about something. "You know... I think we were supposed to be _training_ with Kai today... I wonder who's going to fill in?"

"As long as it's not another round with Sato, I don't care," Sykes snickered. It took me an hour to scrub all the black crud from those demo bombs off my skin when I got home last night. Got some pretty weird looks on the train, too..."

"Same..." Petra giggled. "That stuff _can't_ have been good for my complexion."

Liam smirked and leaned back against the arm of the couch. "Well, _maybe_ if you'd disarmed them instead of setting them off over and over again..."

Sykes started to reply – and Liam was sure it was to ask... again... how _he'd_ managed to complete the assignment, since Sato had ordered the two of them to "put some thought inta it fer next time" instead of simply handing them the answer – but was cut short as Cissnei pushed open the lounge door.

"Sorry to interrupt, guys... Veld's canceled the briefing for this morning. He was called into a meeting with the President. Sykes... you're shadowing Remy today. She's waiting for you in her office. Petra... you and Liam are with Rude for range practice."

"... So, no word on Kai, then?" Liam queried. Cissnei shook her head.

"Sorry... Veld was in a hurry."

"She's still listed as critical," a voice behind her cut in, and all three rookies turned to find Rude standing in the doorway. He shifted somewhat uncomfortably with all eyes suddenly on him, but pressed on. "Surgery went alright. They're keeping her sedated, though... Don't want to risk her moving around yet with all the damage to her neck and shoulder."

"But... she's going to be okay... right?" Liam queried. He liked Kai. Sure... she could be hard on them in training, but she really knew her stuff. And she seemed to have kind of a dark a sense of humor at times... much like he did.

"Official opinion from the medical staff when I finally left last night was 'cautiously optimistic'."

"Hmph... In other words, she's stable for now, but they're not willing to come right out and say she's going to be fine, because there's still a chance of something going wrong," Cissnei sighed. "I _hate_ it when they do that. I swear it just makes me worry _more_." She shook her head. "Anyway... you guys have your assignments. Let's get to it."

Sykes nodded and headed off to meet up with Remy, and Cissnei continued on to wherever her destination had been before dropping into their conversation to deliver their orders. Liam sighed softly to himself as he fell into step behind Rude and Petra, and wondered if he'd ever get used to his teammates getting hurt. Realistically, it was bound to happen to them all at some point – himself included. It was just the nature of the job, and he'd applied to the recruitment program knowing that. But knowing it and living it were two very different things.

* * *

Reno had been awakened by the sound of the surf and the songs of exotic birds. A warm breeze swept through the open door that led out to the veranda, and for a very brief moment, he was extraordinarily confused, because he was relatively certain that it had been snowing just yesterday.

It took his brain a moment to catch up to his body in terms of wakefulness, and he stretched as he sat up in bed.

"... Oh, yeah... I'm in Costa del Sol, aren't I?" he snickered quietly to himself. He heard a faint laugh from the other side of the room as Tseng stepped back inside, having been enjoying the quiet morning on the veranda.

"Forgotten, had we?"

Reno grinned widely. "Heh... for a minute there, yeah. Don't usually wake up sweatin' in the dead of winter." His grin suddenly wavered. "Hey... uh... any word on Kai yet this mornin'?"

"Just an update from Rude that she's out of surgery. It went well and she has been moved to the ICU. They're apparently keeping her heavily sedated to prevent any unnecessary movement."

"Tch... Feels like we oughta _be_ there," he muttered. Tseng crossed the room and took a seat on the edge of his bed, gently resting a hand on the younger Turk's shoulder.

" _Believe_ me, I'm well acquainted with that feeling," he replied. "We're needed elsewhere right now, though... and realistically, there's nothing we could do for her even if we _were_ there."

" _Still_ feels like we oughta be there..."

"I know," Tseng said simply, before getting up. "But we're not... and we have an assignment, so get up. The sooner we complete it, the sooner we'll be on our way home."

The redhead groaned softly and reluctantly pushed the covers aside. He climbed out and dug his travel bag out from beneath the bed, extracting a fresh uniform.

"If it makes you feel any better, Rude _did_ mention that Justinia was looking after her," Tseng added.

"Heh... 'cause I guess bein' hurt didn't already suck bad enough, huh?" Reno joked. Still... it _did_ make him feel a _little_ better knowing that Dr. Ward was there. The Doc may have been a giant pain in the ass with a fucking _obsession_ with his weight and sticking him with needles any time she felt like it... but he couldn't think of anyone he'd trust more when it came to fixing a Turk.

"So... ya _still_ haven't told me who the hell this guy is we're gonna go see..." he noted after a moment, dragging clean pants on.

"Ashland Parker," Tseng replied. "He retired some time ago."

Reno stretched his arms over his head until his left shoulder cracked, and smirked slightly when Tseng cringed at the sound. His mentor hated it when he did that – which was why he made a habit of doing it in his presence whenever possible – and still occasionally nagged him to see the Doc about getting the old injury fixed. But Reno was of the opinion that, if it wasn't hurting him, it didn't need fixing. The fewer visits to Medical, the better, as far as he was concerned.

"Retired from _what_ , exactly?" he asked, and now, it seemed, it was Tseng's turn to look smug.

"From the Turks, of course," his mentor replied... as if it should have been perfectly obvious, "I'll go and see if Rufus is awake yet."

* * *

"You know..." Rufus commented, "I was under the impression that Turks simply _didn't_ retire."

They'd hardly been in the air ten minutes, and the brat already seemed bound and determined to inject himself into the present assignment. Reno had been expecting a couple hours of irritated complaining and incessant whining about wanting to go home – or wanting to stay on in Costa del Sol while he and Tseng handled things – to accompany their trip south to Cosmo Canyon. Instead, the vice president seemed almost... _interested_... in what they were presently doing. Which caused Reno to have to resist the urge to roll his eyes. The kid definitely didn't get out enough if tagging along on a fairly mundane Turk assignment was his idea of a good time.

Then again... he was one to talk. _He_ was a bit excited about this, as well. He'd never been to Cosmo Canyon, and the unexpected trip would let him cross another location off his list. And he had to give Rufus _some_ credit for the observation... Reno had never heard anything about "retired" Turks, either.

Though he'd certainly been told plenty of times that most Turks didn't live long enough to do so.

Tseng shook his head lightly. "Many of us _don't_. But there are exceptions to every rule. Ashland was a senior Turk when I was just starting out. I suppose I was _technically_ his replacement, in a manner of speaking. His impending retirement was part of the reason for selecting a new rookie from the recruitment program at that particular point in time. He left in my second year, not that long after I was promoted from rookie status."

"... So... how come no one ever talks about him?" Reno asked, curious. It seemed odd that there was a Turk... or a former Turk... out there somewhere that no one had ever so much as _mentioned_ in all his time with the Company. Tseng chuckled quietly.

"For one thing... with the exception of Veld, Kai, and myself, no one else was around during the time Ashland was a Turk. And Kai only knew him for a very short time, herself. For another, it's what he wanted."

"Whaddya mean it's what he wanted?"

"Ashland and his wife simply desired to take their family somewhere quiet and live in peace after so many years of him working for Shinra Company. He remained in contact with several of his fellow Turks for a long time... but the vast majority of those he worked with have since been killed. Veld still hears from him on a fairly regular basis, and I typically receive a card from him at the very least around the holidays, as well... but for the most part, he's left that era of his life behind in favor of being a full-time husband, father, and grandfather."

"If that's so, then what is the purpose of going to see him _now_?" Rufus asked, stealing the question directly from Reno's _own_ thoughts.

"To ask a favor of him," Tseng replied. "Veld requested that I visit him and try to talk him into returning to Midgar with us. He'd planned on sending Kai on an assignment that has some specific skill requirements... and with her out of commission, we will need an expert to assist."

Reno leaned back in his seat and peered out one of the windows in the side of the executive helicopter. _He_ couldn't even imagine leaving the Turks. Not _willingly_ , at any rate. They were his family. They were his life. The thought of giving that up and moving to some far-off place just seemed... unfathomable.

But then... _he_ also didn't have a wife or a kid or a _grand_ kid to think about. Nor did he ever plan to. Married life was something he was about as cut out for as Sato was. So... maybe things were different for Ashland. Veld seemed to make it work, so obviously not _every_ Turk was as destined to remain a bachelor for life as he and Sato were. Did that mean that the Turk leader would retire one of these days and take off for parts unknown with his family, as well?

For some reason, he'd never really given that any consideration until now. Veld wasn't _elderly_ by any stretch of the imagination... but he was no spring chicken, either. Just how long _could_ a person go on being a Turk? Especially with a wife and kid to take care of?

His silence must have gone on a bit longer than he'd realized, because the next thing he knew, Rufus was pointedly staring at him, a somewhat curious expression on his face.

"What?" Reno asked, rolling his eyes. Rufus merely snorted.

"Nothing... I was just trying to determine what it was that finally made you shut up for a change. It could come in handy in the future when I'm truly sick of hearing your voice," the vice president replied.

"Ya know, sir... I gotta hand it to you. Just when I think you mighta _finally_ pulled that gigantic stick outta your ass, ya go 'n prove me wrong," he said, grinning. The vice president scowled at him.

"Hmph... if _anyone_ needs a foreign object removed from one of their various orifices, I'd assume it would be _you_. I've _heard_ the rumors..."

"Sir!" Tseng admonished, somewhat scandalized.

Reno, meanwhile, was rendered utterly speechless for a brief moment, before he ultimately started laughing.

"I don't fuckin' believe it..." he managed, "The stuck up bastard _actually_ managed to tell a joke that was _funny_ for once!"

Tseng groaned and roughly pinched the bridge of his nose. "How is it that two _grown men_ can devolve into such childish banter any time they're forced to share the same space for more than five minutes at a time?"

"Gotta entertain ourselves _somehow_ , boss... It's gonna a long flight," Reno snickered.

"Yes," Tseng reluctantly agreed, "I have a feeling it _will_ be..."

* * *

They landed just outside of Cosmo Canyon shortly after ten in the morning. The temperature was notably cooler than it had been in Costa del Sol, but still warm enough to keep the snow at bay... which he supposed made sense, given how far south they'd traveled. The southern regions were always quite a bit warmer than up north, even in the winter. They had nothing on the tropical regions, of course... but it was definitely milder here than in Midgar.

Reno gazed up at the little town perched on top of a plateau. He didn't see many building up there, to be honest. There was a fairly large one at the very top, and he thought he could see a handful of what might be rooftops scattered about... but for the most part, it was just... rock. A long, and rather steep-looking set of stairs had been cut into said rock, leading upwards to the settlement.

Rufus groaned. "Why in Ramuh's name did we land at the _bottom_?"

"Because the executive helicopter does not lend itself well to small spaces, and we didn't notify them ahead of time to clear a landing area for us," Tseng replied.

"Tch... What's wrong, sir? Stairs too much for you to handle?" the redhead teased, earning a glare from the executive.

"Hmph... _Hardly_." He looked the younger Turk over pointedly, and smirked. "I'm far more worried about _you_ , actually, as pathetically feeble-looking as you are."

"Five gil says I make it topside before you do," Reno challenged, and the vice president rolled his eyes.

"Please. A wager under five hundred isn't even worth my time," he sneered. Reno shrugged in response.

"'Kay... have it your way. I'm more than happy to take five hundred off ya instead... 'cause there's no way in hell you're beatin' me to the top."

Before Tseng even had a chance to voice any opposition to the bet, Rufus had started upwards with a muttered "We'll just see about _that_..." and Reno had bounded up after him, long legs taking the stairs two at a time. The Turk lieutenant sighed and shook his head before following at a more sedate pace, careful to keep the pair in view.

… Though he couldn't help but chuckle softly as he reached the halfway point... and found Rufus sitting on a boulder out of breath and slightly disheveled, one hand clutching a stitch in his side. He glanced towards the top and saw that, while Reno had slowed down a bit, he was still moving at a fair speed towards the finish line.

"I'm afraid it looks as though you're going to be losing your bet, sir."

Rufus managed a faint scowl between panting breathes.

"Oh, just help me up..." he grumbled. Tseng gladly offered the young executive a hand and pulled him to his feet, accompanying his charge the rest of the way. Reno was waiting for them at the top... slightly winded from the long climb, but no worse for it.

"So... about that five hundred gil..." he greeted them, grinning, as they crested the top of the staircase. Rufus' eye twitched but the vice president reached into his coat, withdrawing a wallet and extracting five one hundred gil notes. Reno blinked in surprise as Rufus handed them over. "Uh... ya know... I _was_ only kiddin' about that, sir..."

"A bet is a bet," Rufus muttered, annoyed, before walking off towards the town proper. "I need a drink."

"Reno... Go with him. I'll see to locating Ashland on my own." He smiled faintly and dropped his voice. "And please don't let him make any further wagers while we're here..."

"On it, boss," the redhead snickered, tucking his winnings into a pocket and hurrying off after the Shinra heir.

Reno trailed the vice president as he made his way across a large communal area with a fire burning brightly at its center. Now that he wasn't so far away from the town, he discovered that the lack of buildings had been a bit misleading. There were, indeed, very few actual structures... owing largely to the fact that the residents of Cosmo Canyon seemed to have built their homes and businesses directly into the sides of the plateau itself. Any number of openings dotted the stone walls, and walkways, ladders and more stairs had been erected to connect them all.

Rufus slipped beneath a large banner that hung over one of the openings. The somewhat wind-frayed hanging read "Pub Starlet". The Turk hurried in behind him... and paused in the doorway.

"Heh... Okay. _This_ is pretty cool," he said, mostly to himself, looking around. The little bar was situated in what was essentially a cave. Lit primarily by old-fashioned looking oil lamps fixed to the walls, it had a warm, cozy feel to it. A few scrubbed wooden tables sat in the more open space near the entrance... and tall stools lined the bar itself, invitingly. Up a set of curving stone stairs, Reno could see a reception desk, and a small sign that read "Shildra Inn" as well as a heavy wooden door that, he assumed, led off _into_ the aforementioned inn. Rufus made his way up to the bar, and Reno quickly headed over to join him.

"A glass of your best red wine, please," Rufus said to the bartender as the Turk plopped himself down in a seat nearby. Rufus glanced over at him. "Hmph... _water_ for _him_ ," he added.

"Heh... big spender," Reno snickered, helping himself to a convenient bowl of pretzels. He wasn't bothered by the "slight"... Rufus knew damned well that Turks weren't permitted to drink while on duty. He was just being an ass. The bartender nodded and returned momentarily with the requested wine and a glass of water.

"Make that _lukewarm_ water. Preferably in a dirty glass. Perhaps with a pinch or two of rat poison added..."

"Ah, knock it off. I beat ya fair 'n square," Reno said, before taking a sip of his decidedly non-alcoholic beverage, "Not _my_ fault you can't back up your own braggin'."

Rufus snorted in contempt, paid for his drink, and wandered off, wine in hand, ostensibly to study the interesting local artwork on one of the walls. Reno spun around on the stool until he could keep an eye on the son of a bitch, and leaned back against the bar. He didn't know much about Cosmo Canyon in general... but Pub Starlet... _this_ place, he'd heard of. It was the home of the Cosmo Candle... one of the first "fancy" drinks Reno'd ever learned to make back when he was tending bar. Wilfred, his former employer at the Lonely Dragon, had always said that the redhead's were just as good as the original. He was a little disappointed that he was visiting the place on professional business rather than his own personal time. Not that he doubted Wilfred at his word, but he wouldn't have minded making the comparison for himself.

Oh, well. Next time, maybe. He turned back around for a moment and motioned to the bartender, waiting for him to come over.

"Hey... so's _everything_ around here just built right into the rock?" he asked, curious.

"First time visitor, eh?" the man replied with a quiet laugh. "Yup... we're cave dwellers here in Cosmo Canyon. There's the observatory up on top of the plateau, but for the most part, everything is underground. Makes us feel closer to the Planet, ya know? Had to excavate a bit as the town expanded, but the caves are mainly natural. They've been here for millions of years. Say... my son gives tours if'n you're interested. It's a real steal at just fifteen gil..."

Reno almost laughed at the blatant sales pitch the bartender had less than subtly snuck in at the end there. He'd tried that old scam himself a few times. Except _he_ offered to show outsiders the "safe" parts of Sector 2, so they didn't get jumped, when really, as long as they stayed on the main, well-lit roads and didn't make themselves look like an easy target, the odds of that were fairly slim. Still had plenty of people passing through who took him up on the offer, though. Probably not much a local kid could show him that he couldn't eventually stumble upon himself. The place wasn't _that_ big.

Still... he was almost tempted, just for the novelty of it. Too bad he didn't really have the time. He doubted Tseng would take _too_ long in finding their mysterious former Turk, and besides... Rufus would never go for it.

"Thanks... But I'll have to take a rain check on that one..." he replied, "Not gonna be here that long."

"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!" an angry voice demanded from the other side of the room, and Reno turned around just in time to see a rather large individual glaring at the vice president. He mentally groaned.

Rufus calmly took a sip from his glass, and eyed the newcomer. "I _was_ watching where I was going. It's hardly _my_ fault if you're too clumsy to avoid someone standing directly in your path."

Reno was on his feet in seconds, _hoping_ that the guy had a sense of humor... though judging by the expression he currently wore, the odds of that were slim.

"Frank... Don't you go startin' anything in my bar..." the bartender said, warningly.

Wonderful, Reno thought to himself. The bartender knew him and was preemptively trying to stop what was about to happen from happening. _That_ was never a good sign. Thankfully, "Frank" decided to back down. He sneered at the blond executive, and turned to resume his course towards the bar.

Rufus, unfortunately, couldn't just let it go.

"Hmph... I thought as much."

Looking back, Reno was pretty sure he could pinpoint the exact moment he realized that the little shit was about to be painfully murdered. Frank spun back around and swatted the wine glass out of Rufus' hand, sending it flying. It shattered as it hit the floor. Before the Shinra heir could even formulate a response, the _much_ larger man was backing him into the corner.

"You got somethin' you wanna say to me, smart ass?" he demanded, and Reno heard the bartender groan... probably calculating how much the imminent damage was going to cost him. The redhead crossed the room and darted in between the pair, hands up in surrender.

"Hey, easy, man... He can't help bein' a stuck up little shit. Just let it go, huh? Lemme buy ya a drink instead..."

"I beg your _pardon_?!" Rufus growled, "How _dare_ you speak of me like that!"

" _Not... helpin'..._ " Reno hissed at his charge through clenched teeth. The vice president smirked... and Reno suddenly just _knew_ this was on purpose. Apparently, he was going to be earning that 500 gil he'd won earlier.

"Oh, please. What exactly am I paying you for? _Surely_ you can deal with this neanderthal..."

The next thing the redhead knew, he'd been lifted bodily off the ground and flung aside, away from his charge. He hit the ground several feet away with a loud _oof_.

"Oh, _goddammit_..." Reno muttered, scurrying to his feet, just as Frank was hauling back to let a punch fly at Rufus' – now noticeably more concerned – face. The Turk tackled the executive to the ground before it could make contact, and Frank's fist ended up colliding with the solid rock wall. He howled in pain, wringing his hand and flexing the injured fingers for a moment, before turning on the pair again. Reno dragged Rufus back to his feet. "... _Run_."

It seemed that the vice president had suddenly realized just how badly he'd miscalculated, because for once, Rufus didn't have a snide remark for him. He ran, Reno close on his heels. They were halfway across the wide courtyard, when the Turk head angry footsteps closing in behind him. He ventured a hesitant glance over his shoulder, just in time to see a chair from the bar come flying at him. It hit him painfully against the backs of his legs, sending him sprawling, and by the time he managed to roll over, Frank was looming over him, cracking his knuckles. Rufus, meanwhile, had covered a fair distance and taken shelter near the town entrance.

"If I somehow survive this, I'm gonna _kill_ that fuckin' idiot..." he muttered, reaching for the EMR on his belt. He gave it a sharp flick, extending it to its full length, and swung, narrowly missing his attacker. It may not have made contact, but it did drive him back just long enough from Reno to regain his footing. Before he could decide whether it would be better to try and take the fucker down, or to simply flee, he heard the familiar sound of a shotgun being racked.

"Alright... Let's all just calm down, here..." a voice said. For a moment, neither Reno _nor_ Frank moved a muscle. " _Frank_..." the stranger intoned, warningly. Frank glared at the Turk for a moment longer before finally backing down and storming off, back towards Pub Starlet.

Reno breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he watched him go.

"You alright there?" his rescuer queried, and the redhead finally turned to look at him. He was definitely up there in age, salt and pepper hair – that was far more salt than pepper – framing a weathered face. He had a long scar down his right cheek that disappeared into a thick beard.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Reno replied, holstering his weapon and rubbing at the sore spot where he'd been struck by flying furniture. "Tch... more or less. Thanks for the assist." He turned his gaze on Rufus, who was only then creeping out from his hiding place behind a nearby vendor's stall, and folded his arms over his chest, supremely annoyed. "Are you seriously _tryin'_ to get us both killed, sir? Or just _me_?"

The man who'd saved them spared a glance in the vice president's direction and seemed to pause in surprise.

"Well, I'll be damned. Rufus Shinra." He chuckled softly and turned back to the redhead, looking him over. "Which... I suppose makes _you_ the latest generation of Turk." He shook his head. "Recruitin' younger 'n younger, I see... What are you? Fourteen?"

Reno rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to deny the guess, but was quickly cut off.

"I see you're still a terrible judge of age. If I'm not very much mistaken, you made the same comment about _me_ ," Tseng stated emerging from seemingly nowhere. The man turned, and laughed.

"Tseng! You little pain in my backside... It's been years!"

The Turk lieutenant smiled warmly and closed the distance between them.

"Hello, Ashland," he replied.

~end chapter 7~


	8. A New Mission

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 8: A New Mission**

 **by Desha**

"Aren't you gonna say _anything_ to him about almost gettin' me stomped like a bug?" Reno griped as they trailed Ashland along a wooden walkway and into a wide opening in the rock. He glared at the vice president. "The little jerk did that on _purpose_ , ya know..."

Rufus gazed smugly over at the redhead. Tseng sighed in exasperation.

"Rufus and I _will_ be having a conversation. Later," he replied, and the smug expression quickly dropped from the executive's face. Reno smirked at him, and quickened his pace. He could hear Ashland snickering from just ahead of him. The former Turk shook his head.

"Who'd've thought _Tseng_ would turn out to be a real disciplinarian when he finally grew up," he chuckled, and glanced back over his shoulder, "Don't think for a second I've forgotten just how much of a pain in the butt you were as a rookie! Half thought your poor mentor'd be the one retiring instead of _me_ by the time we got you trained up."

Unless Reno was _very_ much mistaken, Tseng's face took on a noticeably pink hue at the comment.

"I'm quite certain I have _no_ idea what you're referring to."

"Mmhmm... _sure_ you don't," Ashland snickered. "So... how's Petra doing? Heard she got promoted not so long ago. Her family's awfully damned proud of her."

"Whoa, hey now... Don't go changin' the subject on me here..." Reno cut in, grinning, "... I _definitely_ think I should hear more about what a pain in the ass Tseng used to be."

"No, you _shouldn't_. The last thing I need is for someone to put more ideas in your head than you already come up with," Tseng replied, pointedly stepping between Ashland and his protege, "Your _own_ creativity when it comes to causing mischief is _plenty_."

Ashland laughed again and glanced back at Tseng. "Finally got yourself a taste of your own medicine, eh? That's karma for ya... Let me guess. This is the infamous protege Veld's mentioned once or twice in his letters..."

The small group broke off from the main passage way, and stepped into a roomy chamber where a fire burned invitingly in the hearth. A young woman was seated on a thick rug in front of the fire, playing with a little boy.

"Tseng... you remember my youngest, Ada, don't you?" Ashland said, sweeping a hand towards the pair. "And this here's _her_ boy, Jack."

The Turk lieutenant smiled. " _I_ do indeed remember her... though, my recollection of her is of a thirteen year old girl, not a young mother..."

Ada giggled, and corralled her son away from the hearth.

"And I remember _you_ as the Turk that Papa always claimed was either broke or in the process of spending his entire paycheck at Wutaiian restaurants..." she replied, teasingly. Tseng stammered and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Okay, seriously... _someone's_ gotta tell me all these stories about Tseng as a rookie," Reno broke in. "Ya can't just tease a guy like this."

"Unfortunately, we have rather more important matters to discuss," Tseng quickly replied, shooting him an annoyed glare. "Ashland... Veld would like you to come to Midgar for a short while."

The former Turk's bushy eyebrows rose in curiosity, but a moment later, he shook his head.

"I put that life behind me a _very_ long time ago," he responded, "I'm not interested in coming out of retirement."

"I know. And Veld knows that, too. If it weren't important, we wouldn't be asking," said Tseng. He paused momentarily before continuing. "One of ours was badly injured yesterday. She'll recover, but not in time for a rather time sensitive assignment. Underwater work was always your specialty..."

Ashland laughed. "Tseng, I haven't been in so much as a kiddie pool in almost five years! Not since our last family vacation to Costa del Sol... Just what is it you're expecting me to do? Fly off to Midgar, slap on a wetsuit, and jump in the nearest ocean?"

"No... simply to train someone _else_ to do so and provide guidance. Kai is the only Turk with that sort of certification at the moment, but she apparently won't be in any condition to pass on that knowledge for quite some time. And while we have a somewhat flexible window to work with, it's not limitless. We need someone who knows what they're doing, and who understand our training practices."

"Absolutely not," a new voice interjected, and Reno was treated to the sight of both men having to physically force themselves to hold their ground as an older woman, her gray hair tied up in a tight bun, swept into the room. "Ashland, don't you _dare_. You're too damned old to go running off, playing at being a Turk, and _I'm_ too damned old to go back to worrying about whether you're coming home or not." She stuck her finger in Tseng's face, and continued her tirade. "If _you_ want to go around risking your life an a daily basis, you go right ahead, but don't you _dare_ try and drag _my_ family back into it! You can just go home and tell Veld to find someone else!"

Rufus scowled and stepped forward.

"Now you see _here_... You can't just – _mmmph_!"

The vice president's reply was quickly cut off as Reno clamped a hand down over his mouth and dragged him off to the other side of the room.

"Uh... heh... Me 'n the VP'll just... ya know... wait outside, alright, boss?" He didn't wait for an answer. He just bodily "escorted" the older boy out, leaving Tseng, who looked notably relieved by the development, to continue the discussion without them. Rufus squirmed relentlessly against his captor as he dragged him away from the former Turk's home, finally elbowing the redhead hard enough in the gut that he was forced to let go.

"Take you hands off of me, _slum rat_!" he hissed, glowering at the Turk as he spun around. Reno crossed his arms over his chest and glowered right back at him, in no mood to deal with Rufus' bullshit anymore for today.

"Well, if ya weren't actin' like a total asshat, I wouldn't've had to haul your ass outta there," he shot back. "We're tryin' to talk the guy into helpin' us... and he's not _gonna_ if we start a fight with his wife! Seriously, man... you _do not_ piss off a lady... 'specially one who's married to a _Turk_. Not if you wanna walk away with your balls still attached, anyway..."

Rufus snorted in contempt. "I hardly think _she_ has any say in the matter."

"Oh, yeah? I'd put good money on herhavin' the _final_ say on this. Wanna bet another five hundred on it?" the redhead said, smirking. As much as he loved women... he made it a point to never underestimate them. They had a lot more power than most men gave them credit for. Especially the ones who _knew_ it and knew how to _use_ it. Sometimes for good, and sometimes for evil.

Lira was kind of like that, come to think of it... He had a hard time ever saying no to her. Not that he often wanted to, given that the question was _usually_ 'do you wanna to have sex?'... Though, to be fair, if there was the promise of sex on the table, he'd probably have done just about anything else she wanted, too, and he wasn't the least bit ashamed to admit that. She knew how to exploit his weaknesses, and most of the time, he was perfectly fine with it.

On the other end of the spectrum, he grudgingly had to admit, was Scarlet. _She_ knew how to exploit weakness, as well... though in her case, it was her position in the company that gave her the upper hand, rather than sex appeal.

Reno _much_ preferred being exploited by Lira than the shameless executive.

Rufus rolled his eyes and stomped off to a small opening in the cave wall that led out onto an overlook. Reno hurried to follow before the brat could get himself into further trouble.

"But _while_ we're on the subject of _you_ bein' a total asshat..." the redhead added, forcibly putting any thought of Scarlet out of his mind, "... what the _hell_ did you think you were doing pickin' a bar fight like that!?"

"Watch... your... _tone_..." Rufus spat... but this time Reno wasn't going to let the little brat get away with his usual power trip. He'd crossed a fucking line today. That stunt could've landed them _both_ in a world of hurt. His gaze locked with the Shinra heir's, and for several long seconds the pair simply stared one another down, each waiting for the other to concede defeat. Rufus was the first to break eye contact.

"... I thought it would be funny," the young executive admitted after a moment.

"Tch... and people say _I_ have a warped sense of humor," Reno muttered, "You _almost_ got your face punched in. And _my_ face punch in!"

"I didn't think –"

"Yeah, see... there's the fuckin' problem. Ya didn't _think_. You just figured you'd play your bullshit little games 'n try 'n make me look stupid..." he said, scowling, "Ya know... I like a good joke as much as the next guy, but that's goin' too damn far. And this isn't the _first_ time you've pulled shit like that on me, either. Ya know... just in case you _forgot_ about that time ya shoved me in the pool when I couldn't swim... or the time I ended up in a frozen lake 'cause you were throwin' a temper tantrum... or the time ya fuckin' _shot_ me... I'm gettin' kinda sick of it."

Rufus turned away from him, and muttered something under his breath. The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What'd you say?"

The vice president growled as he spun to face the Turk, a look of supreme irritation etched on his features. He glared at him for a moment, clearly not happy about the thought of repeating himself.

"I said, I... _apologize_ ," he at last ground out through gritted teeth. Reno blinked in shock, and for a short while could only stare in complete silence. Rufus Shinra didn't apologize. Ever. Hell, he hadn't even managed an actual "I'm sorry" when he'd accidentally shot the Turk in the arm.

He briefly toyed with the idea of milking this unusual turn of events for all it was worth, just to see how contrite the spoiled executive really was... _buuuut_ he decided that taking the high road on this one would ultimately be more satisfying.

"Apology accepted. Don't fuckin' do it again. It'd be pretty hard for me to protect ya if I ended up beaten to a pulp and tossed over the side of a cliff."

"Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't been, already..." Rufus replied, seeming to relax a bit and brushing some non-existent dirt off of his sleeve. "I would have thought someone _surely_ would have tried before now."

Reno grinned. "What makes ya think they haven't?" he joked. Rufus rolled his eyes and made his way back inside.

"By the way... you _forgot_ to mention the time I spiked your lunch with Costan wraith peppers..." the executive said with a faint smirk.

"Oh, no... I didn't forget. But see... _that_ one was actually funny," the redhead replied, "Ya know... _after_ I stopped feelin' like I'd swallowed a sandwich full of lava. Just for the record? That shit burned goin' in _and_ comin' out."

Rufus paused and shot him a truly disgusted look. Reno's grin only widened.

"For two fuckin' _days_..." he added.

* * *

Liam frowned thoughtfully as he pressed the button to call his target back from the end of the range. It was a... _decent_... grouping, but he was sure he could do better. He spared a glance over at Petra's target and shook his head. The woman almost never seemed to miss... and she was even better with her crossbow than a gun. Her speed was less than ideal with her weapon of choice, owing to having to reload between shots, but then... if you hit what you were aiming at the first time, odds were that you didn't _need_ an immediate second shot.

He himself preferred his knives... or, barring that, his hands and feet did just fine on their own. He understood _why_ all Turks were expected to be proficient with a firearm, but that didn't make him any fonder of them. They were noisy, and cumbersome, and lacked finesse, in his opinion. He wasn't a ranged fighter anyway. He was more like Rude. He liked being up close and personal in a fight.

The senior Turk's preference kind of showed during training, too. He was much more enthusiastic in the training hall, sparring with them. Or maybe it was just the Rude didn't really enjoy giving lessons – after all, sparring was just as much practice for _him_ as it was for the rookies. Liam wasn't quite sure which. Not to say that Rude wasn't a competent teacher... he just never seemed as into it as some of the other Turks did. Reno and Kai were by far _his_ favorite instructors. Kai pushed them relentlessly to exceed their own limits, but somehow knew just when she needed to back off for a while. And Reno...

Well... Reno always seemed to know _exactly_ what was giving them trouble and how to go about fixing the problem. He'd realized _that_ about a week ago when Liam have found himself unexpectedly kidnapped, along with his other fellow-rookies, and treated to dinner. He'd been having a hard time getting to know the rest of the team at first, and the redhead had somehow picked up on that.

Plus... while Reno could be a bit too loud and hyperactive for Liam's personal taste, he was exceptionally adept at explaining a concept to someone who just didn't catch on to something right away. And given that – if the rumors were true – he'd basically started off as a rookie with no training _whatsoever_ , that was pretty impressive.

In more ways than one. Liam had been in the recruitment program for just shy of eight months before being promoted... and he _still_ felt more than slightly inadequate at times. If he'd had to just start being a Turk with _nothing_ to draw upon, he was pretty sure he'd have had a nervous breakdown his first day on the job.

Actually... he damn near had, _anyway_. He snickered quietly to himself, remembering the explosion that that greeted him almost the moment he'd stepped off the elevator his first day... and the expression of rage on Remy's face as she'd stormed down the hall to investigate, Tseng hot on her heels, already preemptively yelling at Sato. He'd later discovered that such explosions were a fairly regular occurrence around headquarters.

They were a weird bunch. But Liam was okay with that. He was perfectly aware that he was a little weird himself. A slightly uncertain start aside, he was starting to feel as though he fit right in... in a way he never really had before.

* * *

"Heh... read 'em 'n weep," Reno said, grinning has he laid his cards down and fanned them out in front of him on the table. Rufus rolled his eyes as the Turk collected the pot. It just _figured_ the damned slum rat would turn out to be a card shark, as well. He never should have suggested it... but staring at the obnoxious little pain in the ass in silence while they waited for Tseng's return had proven unbearable, particularly once they'd retreated to the helicopter. And besides... Rufus had wanted a little practice. His father had insisted that his son start joining him for his weekly poker game. A "good networking opportunity," as he'd put it. The elder Shinra regularly played with other Midgar businessmen. It was part of maintaining a good relationship with his company's backers and suppliers.

Truth be told, Rufus had no issue with the logic of such an activity. He just wasn't looking forward to joining the game. He was _terrible_ when it came to gambling. Cards, especially. He tossed his own hand down onto the table and scowled.

"What in Ramuh's name is taking Tseng so long?" he groused, as the redhead shuffled the deck for the next hand.

"Heh... Dunno, sir... but I'm up a hundred 'n eighty gil at this point. Long as I keep winnin', he can take as long as he _wants_. Ante up," Reno replied, tossing a five gil note onto the table.

Rufus glared at the smug son of a bitch, but stayed silent and threw in his own money. Reno glanced up at him, frowning slightly.

"Uh... ya do know you can _quit_ whenever ya want, right?"

"Of _course_ I know that, you imbecile," he muttered, "But I'm hardly going to improve if I don't play, now _am_ I?"

The Turk's eyebrow rose in curiosity and he shrugged. "Why the sudden need for a practice session? Got some big game comin' up?"

Rufus snorted in contempt. "Not that it's any of _your_ business, but yes, as a matter of fact."

Reno snickered and handed him the deck. "Hope you got a limit on bettin', then... You suck, sir. You're deal."

"Who asked your opinion, anyway?" he snapped, quickly dealing out the cards and then snatching up his hand before biting back a growl of frustration. Not so much as a pair. He heard the Turk laugh again and glanced up at him.

"Ya know, if you wanna actually _win_ a hand or two, ya might try _not_ lettin' the people you're playin' against know how bad your hand sucks the second you look at it..." he sniggered, redirecting his own gaze down at his cards, and placing another note in the pot. "Ten gil."

"Fine," Rufus grumbled. He rolled his eyes and matched the bet.

"Heh... _really_ shit hand, huh?" the redhead replied with a smirk. Rufus didn't dignify that with a comment. The Turk's grin widened. "I'll just keep what I got."

"Ugh..." Rufus groaned, before setting most of his hand face down in front of him. He dealt himself four new cards and picked them up. His second draw actually hadn't been all that bad. Two pair, jacks high. But the slum rat was looking at him at if his hand was utterly unbeatable.

"Raise ya twenty," Reno challenged, that insufferably grin spreading even more widely, if that were physically possible, over his face.

"I fold." After all, what was the point of losing _more_ money on a hand the redhead was obviously going to win? Reno laughed in victory and set his hand down face up before collecting the pot.

"Shoulda called, sir. I didn't have shit."

Rufus sputtered for several seconds, as he noted the cards the Turk had been holding. Nothing... Not a damn thing. He could have won with a pair of Ramuh-forsaken _twos_.

"I HAD TWO PAIR!" he finally bellowed, angrily glowering at the smug son of a bitch. Reno calmly collected a cards, and reshuffled them.

"Ya want some free advice, sir?" he asked after a moment. Rufus narrowed his eyes at the redhead, and steepled in his fingers in front of him.

"Very little in life is ever _free_..." he noted, "... but go on."

"Poker's fifty percent mind games 'n fifty percent plain old luck. You'da won that round if you'd called my bluff. Heh... actually, you'da won at least _three_ rounds earlier 'cause I got shit luck and I tend to bluff _a lot_. Only had one really _good_ hand since we started. Quit payin' so much attention to the cards, and start payin' more attention to the player. And... ya know... sometimes ya just gotta risk losin' if you wanna win."

" _What_ are you two doing now?" a long suffering voice interrupted, and Rufus turned in his seat towards the door of the helicopter. Tseng – and somewhat to his surprise, Ashland, as well – was standing there, gaze slowly shifting from one young man to the other.

"Just playin' a friendly game or two while we wait for ya to finish up, boss..." the redhead replied. Tseng pointedly eyed the pair and the small pile of money on Reno's side of the table.

" _Friendly_?" he queried.

"Tch... well, it's no _fun_ , if ya don't bet. 'Sides... it was Rufus' idea."

Rufus heard the former Turk to Tseng's left snort softly in amusement as he clapped the Turk lieutenant on the shoulder.

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it, Tseng," he chuckled and slipped past him, taking up the seat beside the redhead in the luxurious helicopter. The Wutaiian sighed and shook his head.

"At least it seems to have kept you both out of trouble... Put those away. We're leaving for Midgar," he said, nodding to the cards. Reno obligingly tucked the deck of cards into his travel bag, and then turned to Ashland.

"Soooo... Since we got a few hours to kill, how 'bout tellin' some of those stories about Tseng as a rookie," he said with a wide grin. Tseng, who had been just about to notify their pilot that they were ready to depart, suddenly straightened up in his seat and turned to Ashland with a slightly panicked expression.

"Tell him _nothing_!" he hissed. Rufus' eyebrow rose, curious. He'd been quite young back when Tseng had been a rookie, and _really_ hadn't even known the man until he'd been with the Company for well over a year. He had to admit... he was slightly intrigued to discover just what the poised and polished Wutaiian was so desperate to leave to the annals of history rather than discuss with his precious protege.

"As vice president, I believe I can override that order..." Rufus interjected, with a slight grin of his own.

~end chapter 8~


	9. Training

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 9: Training**

 **by Desha**

Reno stretched as he hoisted himself out of his seat. Fuck, that flight from the western continent was a long one.

It hadn't been _all_ bad, though. Ashland, despite Tseng's feverish protests, hadn't disappointed. Between Rufus and himself, he'd managed to pry several _very_ interesting stories out of the former Turk. For example, Reno'd had no idea that his mentor had ever been anything but perfect and flawless.

Well... no. Scratch that. He _did_ vaguely recall Tseng himself mentioning that he'd had financial issues as a slightly homesick young rookie. But Ashland had gone into rather excruciating detail on that matter, regaling them with tales of how the Wutaiian rookie had, for months, outright refused to eat anything but the most traditional of cuisine from his homeland – which, in Midgar, was more often then not more than a little pricey – to the point that he had suddenly found himself unable to pay his rent because he hadn't been keeping track of how much he was spending.

And that was just _one_ story. Eventually, Tseng had simply given into the inevitable and resorted to merely correcting inaccuracies rather than outright demanding the retired Turk stop.

Reno trailed Rufus and Ashland out onto the rooftop of the Shinra Building, shivering slightly as a gust of wind seemed to shoot straight through him. After their short trip to the tropics... and then to the much milder desert that surrounded Cosmo Canyon... setting foot in Midgar again was like walking into a freezer naked. As he moved to follow the pair, a hand suddenly came to rest on his shoulder, briefly holding him back.

"If you breath so much as a _word_ of any of that to the rest of the team, you'll be spending the rest of the winter organizing the Turks' archives on your own," his mentor deadpanned. The redhead grinned.

"Aw, come on, boss. Nothin' he told us was really _that_ bad..."

"Reno..." he replied, warningly.

"Yeah, fine," the younger Turk snickered, "No one'll hear from _me_ that you weren't always perfect." His grin widened noticeably. "But, I _do_ reserve the right to remind you of that fact the next time _I_ do somethin' stupid. 'Cause... let's face it. We both know there's eventually gonna be a next time."

Tseng sighed softly and shook his head... but smiled faintly a moment later. "Could you at least _try_ to avoid causing trouble?"

"I always _try_..." Reno smirked in response.

* * *

By the time they reached their offices, it was clear that word of their return had spread through the ranks. Veld was there to meet them at the elevator, as were the Rude and Cissnei, who seemed just as curious about the prospect of a retired Turk as Reno had been. Sykes and Liam, too, were lingering nearby... as was Petra, who enthusiastically greeted her fellow Cosmo Canyon resident, before asking after how things were back home.

"Hmph... have a nice vacation?" Rude asked quietly as Veld and the others set about welcoming their guest in turn.

"It was _great_ 'til we heard about Kai. How's she doin'?"

"She's alright... all things considered. They upgraded her from critical to stable a little while ago. She'll be out for awhile, though." He shook his head. "Never seen anything quite like those zenenes. They came out of _nowhere_. Even Kai didn't see them until they were right on top of her."

"You take 'em out?"

"... Half of 'em," Rude replied. "We couldn't stick around to finish the job. Kai was bleeding everywhere. Had to evac."

"Tch... Coulda been worse, I guess. Fuckin' Hojo 'n his fuckin' science experiments... Veld sendin' us back in to mop things up?"

Rude shook his head. "Haven't heard yet."

"Reno," the Turk leader's voice suddenly interrupted, and the redhead looked up in surprise. He'd just assumed that since _his_ assignment was over, he'd have time to catch up on everything he'd missed while he was gone.

"Yes, sir?" he answered.

"Join us, please," Veld replied, before turning towards his office, Ashland and Tseng in tow. Reno glanced over at Rude, shrugged, and hurried to follow. Tseng held back just long enough to close the door behind them as the younger Turk slipped inside. Ashland eased himself down into one of the chairs in front of the senior Turk's desk.

"Dear Hades, is it ever a trip being back in this office," he chuckled. "I see you've redecorated a bit..."

Veld chuckled softly. "Well, Ira _did_ have rather... _unique_... taste, if you recall. And... to be honest, it was just a little too painful leaving it all on display when I took over. Though I _did_ keep his favorite..." He gestured to one of the shelves, where a badly carved wooden moogle, holding an umbrella and painted in what could only be described as a psychedelic color scheme, stood unassumingly next to a potted plant.

Ashland laughed. "Favorite? He always told _me_ it was the ugliest damned thing he'd ever seen in his life!" he snickered. Veld smirked.

"I know," he said, conspiratorially, "That's the whole reason I gave it to him. Though I think he eventually developed a somewhat ironic fondness for it. I _did_ once offer to dispose of it, knowing how much he disliked it, and he refused outright."

Tseng snorted softly in laughter... quickly covering it with a less than convincing cough. Reno grinned slightly to himself. Apparently he wasn't the _only_ Turk who enjoyed hearing little stories about the more senior Turks on occasion. Ashland chuckled quietly in response.

"Well... I _know_ I'm not here to reminisce about the old days. Just what _is_ this mission I'm going to be training someone to undertake? And who's the unfortunate bastard that gets to be trained?"

"There's an underwater research lab just offshore of Junon. Or at least there _was._ It was rendered completely inaccessible by landslide six years ago," Veld replied, getting down to business. "As luck would have it, recent construction nearby triggered a _second_ landslide that appears to have opened up a way in. It's stable... for now. Construction was halted immediately when we realized that the lab had been uncovered, but once it resumes, we risk burying it again. The various departments that had ongoing experiments in the lab would like their data recovered while we have a window of opportunity to do so."

"And they hand a job like that to the Turks?" Ashland replied, eyebrows rising in surprise. "Seems like the military'd be a bit more suited. They have whole squadrons trained for underwater work. Not to mention the submarine crews."

"Apparently the data is still highly classified. Technically, thefacility's very _existence_ is still highly classified. The board doesn't want just anyone down there. Even the base's commander hasn't been told exactly what it is."

"So... what _is_ it?" Ashland queried.

"Um... not to interrupt, but should _I_ be hearin' this?" Reno asked. If the commander of the Junon military base didn't know the details of shit that was happening in his own backyard, there was no way in hell _his_ security clearance was high enough.

"By order of the executive board, information is to be disseminated on a need to know basis. And as it happens, _you_ need to know... as you'll be the one going down there," said Veld.

"... Wait... me?!" He looked over at Tseng for confirmation, and his mentor nodded. Reno blinked, processing this new information. Why him? Sure... he was a halfway decent swimmer, but... really?

"You're the most physically suited to the task," Veld explained, apparently noticing the confusion on his face. "The opening is... a rather tight fit. And quite frankly, you're the only Turk besides Kai who would have a chance of squeezing through it. That, and you're exceptionally good at thinking on your feet. Some recon has been done with drones but they could only do an external sweep to verify that access was even possible. We don't know for certain what condition the lab interior is in. Retrieving the data once you're inside may require a little creativity."

Reno pondered that for a moment, not sure he particularly liked the idea of squeezing himself into a mostly buried, underwater structure, fuck only knew how far below the surface, not even knowing what was waiting for him... because if he and Kai were they only ones small enough to get in there, no one was going to be coming to save his ass if he got stuck somewhere along the way.

"... So, uh... what exactly happens if somethin' goes _wrong_ 'n I can't get myself back _out_?" he asked.

"We come in after you the hard way," Tseng replied, "Though we'd prefer to avoid that contingency, as it would almost certainly result in the destruction of our objective... the research data... as well as preclude any attempts at salvage of the structure itself that Shinra might choose to undertake later."

The redhead finally shrugged. It wasn't like he was getting out of this... and in spite of the risk, a part of him was kind of intrigued by such a mission.

"When do we start?"

"Immediately," Veld replied. "You're off all other assignments, and Rude will take over your training duties with the rookies. You'll be working with Ashland as much as you're physically capable of for the next week... weekend included, so cancel any plans you've already made. The construction project is on hold, but it can't remain so indefinitely. We need to get this done as soon as possible." He turned to the retired Turk, "I'll get you all of the relevant information on the lab's location and condition, and a list of what the research departments want retrieved. Thank you for doing this, Ash. I know it's asking a lot."

Ashland chuckled softly. "To be honest... I'm kind of starting to look forward to it. Don't get me wrong... retirement's been a godsend. But a little adventure now and then keeps you young." He glanced over at the redhead and looked him over for a moment. "So... can you even swim?"

Before Reno could answer, Tseng laughed. "Oh, trust me... That's _one_ thing you won't need to worry about teaching him. It's his favorite training activity. In fact, it's quite difficult to get him _out_ of the pool, some days."

* * *

Reno plucked at the skin-tight rubbery "suit" he'd spent the last five or six minutes wedging himself into and frowned. He didn't like it. At _all_. It felt like a second skin... and not in a good way. He was, quite literally, going to have to peel it off when they were done. Plus the material didn't breathe, and standing in the warm, humid air that enveloped the concrete deck surrounding the company pool, he was starting to sweat profusely... which created not the most pleasant sensation when he moved.

"Tch... Never gonna understand why some people get so fuckin' turned on by rubber... This shit sucks," he muttered as he made his way over to the pool's edge. Tseng sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.

" _That_ was your first thought?" he queried. The redhead glanced up at him and smirked.

"No... my _first_ thought was that this thing feels like a fuckin' full-body condom."

"Just get in the water," Tseng replied, though his protege was fairly certain he was trying not to laugh at the pronouncement. Reno grinned and was only too happy to step off the edge of the pool and into the waiting liquid. As soon as he was engulfed, he felt better, the cooler temperature making the wetsuit more comfortable. He lingered below the surface for a moment, enjoying the pleasant silence, before floating back up.

"Well... _he_ certainly looks right at home," Ashland commented, as he joined the two Turks. "Good. That should make this a lot easier."

Tseng nodded. "I'll leave him to you, then," he replied, turning to go... only to pause, "I would strongly suggest _not_ working through meals, by the way. Unless, of course, you _wish_ to bring the wrath of Justinia Ward down upon you. She's quite particular about his weight."

"Is that cranky old bat _still_ flapping around Shinra Company headquarters?" the older Turk laughed. He shook his head. "I'll keep that in mind. Wouldn't want to remind her just how much she couldn't stand me back in the day, after all..."

"Tch... are we doin' this, or what?" Reno groused, impatiently as he paddled around in a slow circle, waiting for training to get underway.

"Cool your jets, Turkling. I'm comin'..."

The redhead groaned softly. Great. _Another_ asshole who liked that term.

"I'm _not_ a rookie, ya know..." he shot back.

"Heh... yeah? Well, you're going to have to prove that to me... 'cause you look like you're barely outta diapers," Ashland said, grinning back at him. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Oh... like I've never heard _that_ one before."

Tseng shook his head and resumed course towards the exit, leaving the redhead to his training.

* * *

Liam hit the ground hard, bowled over by a brutal roundhouse from Sykes. He'd seen it coming... but his escape had been blocked by Petra, and he'd opted to take the hit he was prepared for, rather than risk an attack he wouldn't have time to dodge from the other direction. As he slammed into the floormat, he was beginning to rethink his decision.

"... You okay?" Sykes asked, leaning over him, a look of concern on his face. Liam groaned softly as he staggered back to his feet.

"You know this is a _sparring_ match... right? You're not _actually_ supposed to be trying to kill me," he replied just as Remy was making her way over.

"Are you hurt?" she inquired. The rookie shook his head.

"No ma'am. I'm fine."

"Back to it, then," she replied with a sharp nod, "And _you_..." she added, looking over at Sykes, "... a little more control with those attacks, please. This is _practice_ , not an actual fight."

"Yes, ma'am," Sykes replied, somewhat sheepishly.

Things continued in much the same vein for another twenty minutes before Remy finally called an end to the training session. The afternoon briefing for the senior Turks had, apparently, been canceled, and she'd worked them right up until quitting time. The three rookies gratefully made their way to the locker rooms, and soon were cleaned up and back in uniform. As they boarded the elevator back to the Turks' office, Petra breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well... I don't know about you two, but _I'm_ ready for a nice long meditation session after that," she said, smiling. Liam snickered a little, but returned the smile.

"I'll pass on the meditation. I have a new book waiting for me at home... and I intend to spend the rest of my evening curled up on the couch with it."

"Either of you want to grab something to eat first?" Sykes asked, "I'm _starved_. Could use some company."

"Now that you mention it... I wouldn't mind a little something. I can never get into a good trance on an empty stomach," Petra replied, "Liam?"

The rookie hesitated. He was still a bit hesitant just joining in outside of work... Everyone else seemed to already know each other so well. Sykes and Petra had even been recruits together for awhile. _He_ hadn't known either of them while he'd been in the program. But then... he couldn't honestly say he'd gotten to know _anyone_ well as a recruit, really. He had a tendency to keep to himself outside of training. It was only since his promotion that he'd started actively trying to make friends. And he had to admit... he kind of liked having someone besides his books to hang out with.

Besides... he'd promised himself that, if he actually _made_ it into the Turks, he was going to stop being so damned antisocial all the time. And he _had_ been invited, after all...

"... Sure," he finally replied, "I could eat."

Sykes grinned and clapped him on the back... something he seemed to do a lot... and Liam braced himself for the impact. But this time, he mindful of the other rookie's smaller stature. Liam grinned back at him.

"Great!" Sykes proclaimed, "And while we're eating, Petra can tell us all about Ashland, right, Petra?"

The other rookie giggled.

"Well... I'll tell you what I _can_ ,anyway. To be honest... I didn't even know Ash had ever _been_ a Turk until I started thinking about joining up and asked him what Midgar was like, since I knew he used to live here. He was always just... one of the neighbors," she said with a shrug, "He doesn't talk about his past."

With that, she happily pressed the button that would take them down to the train station beneath the Shinra Building.

* * *

Reno flopped down on the bed, utterly spent, and hugged the pillow to his chest. Swimming was always a hell of a workout, but today had been _insane_. He'd barely had the energy to drag himself back upstairs to collect his things to go home, once Ashland was through with him. And by the time he'd actually _done_ so, he'd realized that he'd be lucky to even make it to his car, much less his apartment. Ultimately, the redhead had opted to just sleep at headquarters.

He was still a little unsure about this training. He was getting a crash course in underwater salvage, and they'd been at it for hours. It wasn't just regular swimming. It was learning to control his buoyancy... his movements while weighed down under the water... his breathing...

 _That_ had been the most exhausting of all, in his opinion. Ashland hadn't been satisfied with how long he could hold his breath. They'd spent far more time working on _that_ than anything else they'd touched on today. He'd managed a good forty seconds at one point. The former Turk had told him that, ideally, he wanted him to go a full minute.

Reno didn't really see the point... He was going to have a fucking air tank strapped to him, wasn't he? If he fucked up so bad that he was stuck holding his breath, a minute wasn't real likely to save him. It'd just prolong the inevitable.

For now, though, he decided not to waste brain power thinking about that. He was exhausted... and he had to do this shit all over again tomorrow. That thought in mind, he downed a candy bar he'd secreted away in the bag from his trip to Corel, and then curled up in bed.

He was asleep before he could even fully drag the covers over himself.

~end chapter 9~


	10. Long Days

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 10: Long Days**

 **by Desha**

Tseng made his way into the office earlier than usual the next morning, intent on catching up on some of the paperwork that seemed to have gotten away from him over the last few weeks. Having a brand new rookie to care for always seemed to put him a bit behind, and Liam was no exception. The young man seemed to be settling in at last, however.

Truth be told, he'd been a little concerned about him at first. For much of his first week on the job, he'd shied away from the other rookies, and most of the senior Turks, as well. The Turk lieutenant had, in fact, been on the verge of discussing this self-imposed isolation with his newly promoted Turkling, but that meeting had been unexpectedly preempted by Reno... who had dragged _all_ of the rookies, along with Rude and Cissnei, out for pizza – and likely beer, as well, though it was pointedly never mentioned – after work. Liam had been much more social afterwards... though still a quiet and reserved young man on the whole.

The Turk leader smiled slightly to himself. He'd learned later that Reno had noticed the same issue and taken it upon himself to rectify it. He really _would_ make an excellent second in command one day. His ability to read a situation – as well as the people involved – was truly a gift. But then... Tseng had recognized that much the first time they'd met. It was a large part of the reason he'd ultimately decided that he wanted him for the Turks, and _the_ reason he'd returned to the slums after the injuries from his previous trip below had healed to covertly take a second look at the boy.

The elevator arrived at the Turks' offices, and Tseng made his way out into the empty hallway. He enjoyed the peace and quiet their little slice of the Shinra Building afforded him before the others eventually filtered in. It was a nice way to ease into the day. _This_ morning, however, something felt a bit... off.

And it didn't take him long to spot the reason for it. As he made his way around the floor, looking for whatever it was that seemed so out of place, he came across the door to one of the small overnight quarters left wide open... and frowned as he spotted his protege thoroughly passed out on the bed inside, face buried against one of the pillows, still in uniform from the day before.

Tseng slipped into the room and laid a hand on the redhead's back, rather surprised when he didn't immediately wake. Reno was a notoriously light sleeper, and typically it took almost nothing to rouse him. He shook the younger Turk slightly, and was rewarded with a faint groan as he slowly rolled over, blinking up at him with bleary, tired eyes.

"Reno?" he queried, somewhat concerned.

"Mmph... what time is it?" Reno asked, yawning.

"Nearly seven thirty."

"... What're ya doin' here so late, boss?" He stretched slightly until his shoulder cracked discomfortingly, and Tseng winced. He really _did_ wish his former rookie would _do_ something about that... It drove him mad sometimes.

"Seven thirty in the _morning_..." the Turk lieutenant amended. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh... _Knew_ I shoulda ate somethin' besides a goddamn candy bar last night..." the redhead muttered forcing himself upright. He scrubbed his hands over his face and groaned. "Guess trainin' yesterday took more outta me than I realized."

Tseng folded his arms over his chest and fixed the redhead with a pointed look... leading Reno to roll his eyes.

"Tch... I _know_. No skippin' meals. I was just _really_ beat."

"Which likely only compounded the effects of not eating," the Turk lieutenant chastised him, before gently taking hold of his arm. "Come on. Let's get you fed... preferably _before_ Justinia gets word of this."

Reno snickered quietly. "What? Ya think I'm gonna rat myself out to the Doc?"

"Hmph... Hardly. But that woman doesn't miss much, and she's far too fond of you to let any rumor of ill-health pass without investigating. Which _you_ know perfectly well," he said, and then smirked, "So... let's go and find you some breakfast before _I_ somehow wind up in trouble again for neglecting you."

"Aw, come on, boss," the redhead teased, "I'm not your responsibility anymore..."

"Hmph... the law may see it that way. Veld may see it that way. Even Shinra Company as a whole may see it that way," Tseng replied, jokingly "But I can guarantee you that the good doctor does _not_. I'm quite certain that any illness, injury, or minor inconvenience that befalls you will somehow be entirely _my_ fault for the rest of my days, at least in _her_ eyes."

And... to be fair, Tseng was quite certain he would never be able to fully abdicate responsibility for the young man _himself_ , either. No matter how much his protege grew in both his personal and professional life, Reno would always be his first rookie on some level. He couldn't help but remain firmly attached to the precocious redhead.

"Heh... that's what ya get for basically adoptin' an underage slum rat," the younger Turk grinned.

"Mmm... I shall be sure to studiously avoid making _that_ mistake again in the future," he deadpanned. Reno laughed as they made their way towards the elevators.

"Ouch, man... You really know how to hurt a guy."

Tseng chuckled and shook his head. "I suppose I'll have to _treat_ you to breakfast now, to make up for that comment," he said, pressing the button for the parking deck.

"Or ya could let me drive your car to the restaurant..."

"I don't feel _that_ much remorse," Tseng returned, dryly, and Reno snickered as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Much of the remainder of the week was spent in the same vein as the beginning... though Reno made it a point to avoid letting himself get so completely worn down a second time. Still... he hadn't trained this hard for this long since his rookie days, and he was a little surprised to rediscover just how rough it really _was._ He'd _definitely_ let himself get a little spoiled since his promotion. He certainly had no great difficulty falling asleep each night.

It probably didn't help that Ashland was a real hardass when it came to ordering him around, too... though to be fair, Reno _did_ kind of like the guy. In addition, Ashland seemed to recognize that he was being hard on the redhead, and was trying his best not to push him _too_ far. But, that being said, they had a deadline, after all. Reno was supposed to be ready to try entering the lab by Monday. It was a real crash course he was getting.

On top of that, he was also worried about Kai. Everyone was. The senior Turk had been slowly recovering, but three nights ago, there had been an unexpected setback and an emergency surgery to remove a clot from her lung. She was hanging in there, but she still had a ways to go before she'd be back on her feet again.

At least she was _awake_ now, though. They'd finally brought her out of sedation yesterday, and though she was currently in a somewhat medieval-looking contraption that was allegedly meant to stop her from moving her injured shoulder and neck, she had been in a surprisingly good mood when Reno had gone with Tseng to pay her a visit last night after work.

Tseng had seemed... relieved. His mentor was a master at hiding his feelings, but the redhead knew him well enough by now to be able to tell when the man was worried. And he'd been _very_ worried since he'd found out just how serious Kai's injuries had really been. So had Reno, for that matter. Veld had rather noticeably understated things when he'd first called them in Corel... though, in all fairness to the Turk leader, that _may_ have been because he hadn't had all the information himself yet at the time.

Reno grunted softly as he struggled into his wetsuit once again. He'd never been a fan of skin-tight anything – not on _himself_ , anyway – and his opinion hadn't been altered much in its favor since starting this training. The rubbery material chafed when he wore it too long, leaving an ugly rash on the various places it rubbed the worst. His back and upper thighs seemed particularly sensitive to it, and he'd been forced to visit Medical twice now for relief at the end of the day. All things considered, he'd be glad when this was over. Learning how to do shit like this was cool and all... but having it all thrown at him at once, day in and day out, kind of sucked.

Plus, it hadn't slipped his mind that when he did this for _real_ , it wasn't going to be in a nice, temperature controlled swimming pool. It was going to be in the ocean. In the middle of the fucking winter. All alone. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was starting to feel more than slightly apprehensive about the idea.

Fortunately, if all went according to plan, he wouldn't actually be _in_ the water all that long. They'd take him to the lab site in a submarine... He'd only be out there long enough to get from the sub to the lab's airlock. Maybe fifteen minutes, on the high end. _Assuming_ everything went according to plan...

He could think of any number of things that could go wrong. For example, being grabbed by a giant sea monster and dragged into the abyss to have his body drained of vital fluids... which certainly didn't sound overly appealing. He paused momentarily in his efforts to zip up his wetsuit and shook his head, suddenly laughing.

"Man... I _gotta_ stop watchin' bad horror movies right before bed..." he snickered softly to himself. Or at the very least, avoid the ones that were tangentially related to upcoming missions. _Vampire Squids from the Depths_ was definitely _not_ a good choice for last night's entertainment...

* * *

Liam shook his head as he watched Sykes begin to make the same mistake he'd already made twice in training sessions before today's. A part of him desperately wanted to warn him... but his new friend would never learn to do it properly himself if people pointed out his mistakes before he made them. The rookie did, however, take a rather obvious, long step back. Sykes glanced up at the sudden movement, and blinked as a look of realization crossed his face. Too late, however... The device he was working on "exploded" seconds later.

"Not again!" Sykes lamented with a cough as smoke filled the air. There was a soft ripple of laughter behind them.

"Well? What'd yeh do wrong?" Sato asked, and Sykes sighed.

"I... forgot to connect a ground wire?" he ventured, and the senior Turk nodded. The rookie cringed and sank down onto a nearby stool. "You know... maybe it'd be safer for everyone involved if I just carried _Liam_ around with me in case I ever have to defuse a bomb."

The odd mental image of being folded up and stuffed into the older rookie's pocket like some sort of living multi-tool slipped into his mind so quickly and so unbidden that Liam couldn't help but laugh.

"Well... I guess that _could_ save me some money on travel expenses..." he snickered. Sykes glanced over at him and grinned in response.

"Heh... Alright yeh lot. We'll pick this up again next week. Off ta Rude fer range practice, then," Sato laughed.

"Hmph... off to sit back and let Petra hand our asses to us, more like," Liam chuckled, as they headed out into the hallway and started towards the elevator. He sighed softly. "You know... I _like_ Rude and all... but I kind of miss Reno teaching us. He explains things better."

Sykes grunted softly in agreement. "What do you think this big secret mission _is_ that they've got him working on, anyway? I heard he's been training with Ashland. Exclusively."

"I don't know," Liam replied, as they stepped into the elevator car. "But I saw him the other day as I was getting ready to head home. He looked like he was ready to drop. _Whatever_ it is he's doing, he's putting in a _lot_ of hours on it."

"Better him than us, I guess," Sykes snickered. "I put in enough hours _already_. Speaking _of_... um... how close are you to being able to take your helicopter certification exam?"

The elevator deposited them on the thirty-third floor, and the pair quickly disembarked.

"I still need another eighteen hours of flight time before I can even think about it... I did most of my simulator time as a recruit, but actual in-air hours? Not even close. Why?"

"... _Mine's_ coming up. I was kind of wondering if... maybe you'd help me review a little? I mean... I know what I'm doing, but... it never hurts to go over procedure. And you're better at that sort of thing than I am."

Liam, blinked, a little surprised by the request. It wasn't exactly often that he got asked for help... even _before_ he'd joined the Turks. His tendency to blend into the background was so great that no one ever thought to ask him.

"Er... Yeah. Sure. I can help you with that."

Sykes flashed him a wide grin, pushing open the door to the firing range. Rude and Petra were already there, waiting for them.

"Thanks."

* * *

"Uuuuggggggghhh..."

"Long day?" Rude asked, not looking up from his computer monitor. He had a few more intelligence reports to sort through before the weekend, and the day was almost over. Reno flopped into the chair at his own desk and leaned back.

"Long _week_ ," he replied. "And I don't even get a break for the weekend. Hey, ya mind doin' me a favor, pal?"

"Sure. What?"

"I think I'm just gonna camp out here in the office 'til Monday since I still got more trainin' to do. Ya mind runnin' by my place 'n shovin' some clothes in a bag for me? I'd do it myself, but I got a meeting with Veld 'n Ashland to go over shit for Monday after the afternoon briefing 'n I have no idea how long it's gonna take. Got a feelin' I'm just gonna want to eat somethin' 'n crash for the night by the time they're done with me."

"No problem. Want me to bring you dinner, too?"

The redhead grinned. "I would love you _forever_ if you did."

Rude snorted softly in amusement. "I'm starting to think you only like me because I keep feeding you. Kind of like a stray dog."

Reno laughed, and folded his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair far enough to gaze up at the ceiling. "Ya know... that's not so far off, when ya really think about it. Sure as fuck never had so many people lookin' out for me down in the slums. Doesn't exactly give me a whole lotta incentive to go _back_ to that life." He gave a soft laugh and added, "Hell, the way Kai's always pettin' my fuckin' hair, maybe I might as _well_ be a stray... She does it so damn much, I'm _almost_ startin' to like it at this point."

Rude snickered and stood up, rounding his desk. He circled around behind the redhead and smirked as he reached out and ran his fingers through his hair. The younger Turk growled, annoyed, and rolled his eyes, batting his friend's hand away.

"Cut it the fuck out, will ya?" he muttered, "I was jokin' about that."

"Anyway..." Rude chuckled as he resumed his seat, "How's the training going? Gonna be ready by Monday?"

"Think so. I mean... ready as I'll _ever_ be, I guess. Tch... hope this shit's worth it. Sounds like a whole lotta risk for not that much gain, to _me_." He shrugged. "But... whatever. Orders are orders. They tell me to wrap myself up in rubber 'n jump in the Shiva-forsaken ocean, guess that's what I'm gonna do." He sat up straighter a moment later. "Hey... since we're on the subject of food..."

"We are?" Rude teased.

"Tch... Well, we _were_ two minutes ago, before you decided I was the team puppy," Reno shot back, laughing, "Anyway, since we're on the subject of food, I was kinda wonderin'... Whaddya think about me makin' dinner for ya sometime?"

Rude paled slightly as the memory of the last time he'd eaten the redhead's cooking forced its way into his mind.

"... Reno. We've been down _that_ road before..."

The younger Turk rolled his eyes a second time. "For fuck's sake... You're _really_ never gonna let me forget about that, are ya? Geez, man... I learned my lesson. No questionable meat this time. In fact, I'll even go one step farther 'n promise no meat at all if you're really _that_ paranoid. Come on... gimme a second chance. I _swear_ I won't make ya sick this time. I just wanna do somethin' nice for you. I've gotten a lot better at it..."

"..."

Rude hesitated. As much as he trusted Reno in _most_ endeavors, he still very vividly remembered the aftermath of the last time he'd eaten something prepared by the former slum-dweller with the cast-iron stomach. He had, quite literally, never been so sick in his entire life. He _really_ didn't want history to repeat itself.

Then again... it hadn't been _entirely_ Reno's fault. His friend had been so used to devouring whatever he could get his hands on that he hadn't even stopped to wonder if the meat he'd used might have gone off. Particularly since he himself had apparently built up a bit of an immunity of sorts to such things over the years. And Rude couldn't hold one little mistake against the best friend he'd ever had forever... no matter _how_ many times he might end up puking afterwards.

"... Alright," he said at last. The redhead's grin widened.

"Awesome! How's Wednesday night sound? I'll make dinner... then I can kick your ass at chess for awhile, if ya want... Just a nice relaxin' way to wind down from this nightmare of an assignment."

Rude snickered softly. "You're going to kick my ass at chess, huh?"

To be honest... that's _probably_ exactly what would happen. He'd beaten the redhead a handful of times... but for the most part those few victories had been sheer luck. Usually, he got trounced. And he knew that Reno didn't _really_ enjoy the game the way _he_ did... he only played at all because Rude liked it. The fact that he was offering a match without being prompted was rare indeed.

"Okay... Wednesday it is," he agreed. "Anything I should stock up on?"

"Nah... I'll make whatever ya got work. I'm at my best when I gotta improvise," Reno replied, grinning.

"... You trying to make me rethink this decision _already_?" the older Turk said, jokingly. The redhead's only response was to flip him off. Rude laughed and began making a mental list of items in his kitchen he needed to restock before next Wednesday.

* * *

" _All_ of this?" Tseng queried, slightly shocked at the length of the list. There were well over thirty items. It would be a lot for the entire _team_ to wrangle, much less one young redhead with all of a week's worth of diving experience under his belt.

"As much of it as he can locate, yes," Veld replied. "The lab was evacuated just minutes before it was buried. They didn't have time to take _anything_ with them. And given that we may not have another shot at this any time soon, the various departments would like to recover as much as we possibly can."

It wasn't merely data that had made it onto the inventory list. There were at least dozen preserved specimens, some prototype equipment, as well as what looked to be a handful of personal items. Tseng made a note to go through it more thoroughly later and prioritize the requests. He didn't want Reno down there on his own any longer than he had to be, and he wasn't about to order him to risk his life for some scientist's family photos.

Still... it was going to take longer than they'd initially assumed. Pulling the drives from the labs servers and workstations and stowing them in a waterproof container was relatively easy. Hauling out several additional pounds of equipment and specimens would likely take multiple trips. Tseng glanced over at Ashland.

"Are you certain he's up for this?" he asked. "He's had so little time to prepare..."

"He'll do just fine," the former Turk replied. "We'll go over _everything_ again this weekend, just in case, but the kid takes to water like a damn fish... And if he gets into trouble, we're not going to be too far away."

"We?" Tseng queried raising an eyebrow. Ashland chuckled softly and shrugged.

"Once a Turk, always a Turk," he said, "I'd kind of like to see this through to the end, if you don't mind. Just... uh... don't mention it to the little woman when you drop me off in Cosmo Canyon after we wrap things up. That's a fight I'd rather _not_ have."

Tseng did his best to suppress a laugh. Ashland's wife had _not_ been overly enthusiastic about her husband returning to Shinra... even temporarily. It had taken more than a few assurances on the Turk lieutenant's part to convince her that he wouldn't be returning in a coffin... and even then she hadn't been thrilled when he'd said yes.

Veld didn't bother to hide _his_ amusement, nor did Ashland.

"I miss out on a joke or somethin'?" a voice queried from the open door to the briefing room, and Tseng turned to see that his protege had turned up early. The afternoon meeting wasn't due to start for another ten minutes.

"Nope," Ashland replied, good-naturedly, "Just taking bets on how much you're going to hate me come Monday morning."

~end chapter 10~


	11. To the Depths

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 11: To the Depths**

 **by Desha**

Monday morning found Reno on a helicopter bound for Junon, alongside Ashland and Tseng. He felt like he'd gotten all of five minutes of sleep the previous night... which probably wasn't that far from reality. He was nervous... and when he got nervous, his brain always seemed to refuse to shut up and let him sleep. He'd spent the night tossing and turning in a little cot in one of the office sleeping quarters until it was finally close enough to when he ought to have been getting up anyway to justify being awake.

Hell, he hadn't even needed his usual half gallon of coffee this morning, he was so keyed up on his own adrenaline.

It wasn't the dive itself that was worrying him. Not really. It was more just the thought of being completely isolated and on his own... which was a little odd, as that's how he'd spent so much of his childhood. This was a different kind of isolation, though. It wasn't the loneliness of being orphaned and left largely to his own devices. It was being dropped into a place where humans didn't even really belong and told to get his job done done before his air ran out. There was something unrelentingly chilling about that thought.

He and Ashland had spent the last two days going over everything he'd been taught the previous week... and in between lessons, he'd spent his time in an ice water bath, which had quite suddenly replaced the company hot tub on the far end of the pool area, acclimating his body to the temperature of the water he was soon to be submerged in. The wetsuit had helped – it was _nothing_ like when he'd fallen through the ice on the lake in Kalm – but he still emerged from the bath shivering every time.

Rude had helpfully informed him that it was probably because he had almost no fat on him. Nothing but a thin layer of rubber to keep him warm. And it certainly wasn't the _first_ time Reno'd cursed being so goddamned skinny.

He shut his eyes and took a breath, holding it for a moment, forcing himself to try and clear his mind. There was nothing to worry about. He could do this. It was a relatively short swim from the submarine to the opening into the underwater cave that sheltered the lab, then a reportedly tight squeeze through said opening, another short swim to the airlock, and he was golden.

Of course... _then_ he had to find all the shit Shinra Company wanted him to get for them. And get it back to the sub. And not drown or get eaten by the shark or something equally deadly. Hang on... _were_ there sharks around Junon? He hadn't thought to ask anyone until now...

There was a sudden pressure on either side of his neck, and he jumped slightly in surprise. It took him a moment to realize it was Tseng's hand, gently massaging the pressure point.

"Relax," his mentor said, voice somewhat staticy over their headsets.

"Easy for you to say, boss. Tch... aren't we there _yet_?" he groused, though his complaints were quickly forgotten as Tseng redoubled his efforts. His eyes drifted shut and he didn't open them again until Ashland's quiet electronic snickering filled his ears.

"Hmph... and I always thought _Veld_ spoiled _you_ ," he commented.

"I learned from the best," Tseng quickly returned, drawing a laugh from the former Turk.

"Hmph... I see why Veld had his doubts about your choice of first rookie," he commented... which caused the redhead's attention to snap immediately back to the conversation. Ashland smirked. "You don't seem the type, at first glance. Or second, for that matter. Bet you've spent a _lot_ of time proving yourself..." His gaze shifted to Tseng. "You always _did_ have masochistic streak... Had to make everything difficult."

"There was no great difficultly in training Reno," Tseng replied, more than a little defensively... at which point the aforementioned former rookie broke into laughter, despite his nervousness.

"Uh... you sure about that, boss? 'Cause I very distinctly remember bein' nothin' _but_ 'great difficulty' for awhile there..."

"You grew out of it," the Turk lieutenant affirmed, before teasingly adding, "... For the most part."

* * *

The drugs were wearing off again. Over the last couple of days she'd become _very_ adept at telling when they were wearing off. It started as a painful tingling sensation in her fingertips and slowly progressed to pure agony that stretched all the way up to her shoulder.

And it certainly didn't help that she couldn't move. The contraption they'd secured her in saw to that. It immobilized her arms, her upper body, and her head. Really, all she could do was scowl up at the ceiling and wait from someone to come and give her the next dose of pain meds.

She was on, she was pretty sure, day four of this shit. Or at least day four of being awake enough to recognize that she was in the hospital. She growled faintly at the small crack in one of the ceiling tiles. She couldn't recall offhand what said crack had ever done to her, but she was very displeased with it at the moment.

"Well... I was going to ask how you were feeling this morning, but I think you just answered my question," a far too chipper voice commented from the direction of the door.

Kai scoffed.

"I'm starting to wish those Hades-be-damned science experiments had just finished the job, sir," she muttered, annoyed. Veld settled into a nearby chair and patted her hand.

"You don't mean that," he declared, "But I'm sure you _are_ getting more than a little tired of... all this." He gestured to the device that kept her largely motionless. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

"Hmph... like something tried to rip an arm off," she snapped. "And I want more drugs." She sighed, shifted her eyes to one side, trying to get a better view of the Turk leader. It was only marginally successful. "Hey... do me a favor, would you, sir?"

"Of course," Veld replied.

"I heard from the staff that Rude's dropped by a couple of times since they stopped drugging me into a coma... but I always seem to be asleep when he's here. Tell him thanks for saving my sorry ass, okay? He really pulled me out of the fire out there."

"I'll be sure to tell him. He'll be glad when you're finally released. Everyone misses you at headquarters." He smirked slightly, "Well... except, perhaps, the rookies who are _not_ being forced to run the gauntlet on a daily basis in your absence."

"Ugh... You keep letting them slack off like that, I'm really going to have my work cut out for me when I get out of here..."

"I'm sure you'll get them back up to speed in no time... Though I _do_ wish you'd hurry up and heal. We're quite busy. I've even had to summon a Turk out of retirement to replace you during your convalescence."

"... What? Wait... _Ashland's_ back in Midgar?" she queried, somewhat shocked. It had to be him. He was, as far as _she_ knew, the only living retiree from the team... "I thought he said he was dedicating himself to family life in Cosmo Canyon once he left. How the hell'd you convince him to come back?"

Ashland had been one of her earliest instructors as a rookie and he'd retired shortly after Tseng had been promoted to full Turk, so she hadn't known him long... but she'd known him well enough to be curious about what might have drawn him back to Shinra after moving halfway across the world, and largely ceasing contact with anything related to his old life.

"I called in a favor. He's not really... _back_... per se. It's more of a consultancy. Your run-in with the zenenes came at a somewhat inconvenient time. I had an underwater assignment for you... before you nearly went and got yourself killed," the Turk leader teased, "I brought Ashland in to train someone else to do it."

"Hmph... this time of year? Well, unless they're diving off the coast of Costa del Sol, I think I _may_ have gotten the better end of this," Kai snorted.

Veld chuckled softly.

"Something tells me Reno might agree with that sentiment after this... It's near Junon."

Kai tried to turn her head to look at him, only to be held firmly in place by the irritating medical restraint.

"You're sending my baby Turkling?! On a cold water dive?! I don't care _who_ trained him, that's _not_ something you throw at a beginner!"

"Calm down, Kai," Veld said, placatingly, "He's in capable hands, and we're taking all precautions. He'll be fine."

The scowl quickly returned to her face, and Veld snickered quietly.

"You know... he's not a Turkling anymore. He hasn't been for quite some time. Aren't you ever going to stop calling him one?" he asked. Kai sneered at him... or did as best as she could manage from her present position, at any rate.

"He's a Turkling until I say otherwise," she proclaimed, stubbornly. She knew better, of course. The uncertain little redhead she'd met three – going on four – years ago had come a very long way in all that time. A part of her was reluctant to admit it, though. He still had so much wide-eyed innocence left in him, in spite of everything he'd been through. She didn't want him to lose that quality.

But he would, _one_ day. They _all_ did. She just didn't want him to end up cynical and jaded... the way _she_ so often tended to be. But she knew, deep down, that continuing to refer to him as a baby Turkling wouldn't protect him from that.

"If you say so," Veld replied, humoring her in her declaration. Kai rolled her eyes.

"Dear Odin, I _definitely_ need more drugs," she finally sighed.

* * *

When they landed in Junon, they were greeted by a small contingent of base security... and one Lieutenant Commander Viridia Nacelle. Reno grinned at the sight of a familiar face.

"Hey, Vir," he said, as he hopped out onto the snowy tarmac.

"On a first name basis with base security, eh?" Ashland laughed, easily recognizing the uniforms, as he climbed out behind him. "Now why does _that_ not surprise me?"

Viridia shook her head slightly. "Good morning, Reno," she replied, before glancing over at Ashland, "And... I don't believe I'd had the pleasure..."

"Parker. Ashland Parker. Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department... retired," he replied, offering a hand to her in greeting. Viridia snickered and shook it.

"They _let_ you guys retire?"

"Only those of us too old and feeble to be of any further use to the Company," Ash said, jokingly.

The security officer chuckled and then smiled widely as she spotted Tseng emerging from the aircraft as well... before quickly schooling her expression. "Tseng," she greeted him with a nod.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Commander... Is everything ready?"

Reno snickered quietly. It always amused him when those two tried to act "professional" around one another when subordinates were watching. Like anyone around here _didn't_ know what the pair of them got up to when they were alone... Tseng sharply elbowed him – a not so subtle request that the redhead forgo his usual suggestive commentary – as he took the lead, following their welcome party towards the large tunnel entrance that would lead them down to the underwater reactor and submarine docks.

The were herded down a long ramp to a small elevator... which took them down to yet another ramp... which led to a door that turned a corner to still _another_ ramp, and for a while, Reno began to wonder if it would ever end... but at last, they reached a large metal hatch. Two of their escort hauled it open, revealing... _another_ damned elevator. Reno bit back a groan.

This one was different than the first, however. It was more similar to the large platform lift that carried soldiers and equipment onto the base from Lower Junon. He followed suit as the others all boarded, and soon was, once more, traveling downward.

At the bottom, they stepped out into what looked like a utility corridor of some sort. The redhead couldn't help but be just a little disappointed. He'd never actually seenthe underwater reactor in person. He'd been _scheduled_ to tour this very facility with Rufus once... but the day's activities had been interrupted by Fuhito and Istev's bombing. The opportunity hadn't ever come up again before today. He didn't see what all the fuss was about. This was basically just like the inside of any _other_ mako reactor.

But then... he wasn't here for a tour. He was here to do a job.

The little parade continued down the hallway until they reached another hatch, which was dutifully opened by the security personnel... and Reno's jaw dropped.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't _this._ The drab, uninteresting tunnel gave way to a transparent, domed walkway that stretched out into the ocean. It was clear that they were already several meters down. He could only just make out a glimmer of morning sunlight filtering through the depths. As they moved forward, that meager light faded entirely, only to be replaced by bright spotlights shining out into the darkness, illuminating the seafloor around their enclosed path.

The redhead paused momentarily and watched as a large blue and silver fish lazily drifted by. As they went deeper, he was able to spot yet more sea life. Crabs scrabbled along among the rocks... The hinged shells of clams were strewn about the pebbly sand... Tiny silver fish flitted past in large schools. He even thought he might have caught sight of a dolphin very briefly in the distance, but it had been too far away and moving too quickly to really be sure.

"Reno... Keep up," Tseng's voice nudged him, and the redhead pulled his gaze away from their surroundings only to discover that he'd fallen a fair distance behind the rest of the group. He hurried to rejoin them.

It was like being in a giant fishbowl... only... kinda inside out. Reno couldn't help but be a little intrigued by the strange sights surrounding him. He'd only ever seen the ocean from the surface. There was a whole other world down here... He shook his head and laughed softly to himself. He'd spent the last few years wanting to see the whole world... and hadn't even _considered_ the fact that about half of it was underwater.

By then, they were nearing the end of the walkway, and Reno could see the dark silhouette of the Junon reactor looming a little farther on. It was an impressive structure... and he vaguely wondered how the hell you went about building something that big so far down. He didn't have much time to think about it, however, as the next thing he knew, he was being ushered through yet another large, metal hatch.

To his slight surprise, the doorway led directly into another elevator... though much different from the previous ones. The wall was lined with large, water-filled cylinders that bubbled violently when the button was pressed to set the car in motion. He supposed it had to do with equalizing the pressure... Ashland had mentioned something about that during training. The journey didn't take long... and this time, they seemed to be going upwards.

And when they _did_ arrive, Reno had to do a double take as he found himself standing in an enormous underwater dock.

"Holy shit..." he breathed and Ashland chuckled in amusement.

"Quite a sight, eh? Hmph... been a hell of a long time since I've been down _here_..." he commented.

They were standing on a long catwalk that looked out over large bays containing Shinra Company's submarines.

"Uh... Boss? Any chance in hell I can try drivin' one of _those_?" Reno queried, eyeing the the truly unique looking vehicles.

"Hmph... not on _my_ watch. Tseng's told me all about your so-called 'driving'," Viridia hurriedly replied, "Besides which... Our naval soldiers train for months just to qualify for a _chance_ to crew them."

"Tch... Anyone ever tell ya that you're almost as much fun as the boss is, Vir?" the redhead shot back, smirking teasingly.

* * *

"Sato... you're on monthly reactor check-ins," Veld said, and the Mideelian Turk groaned loudly. Liam glanced over at Sykes and Petra, somewhat curious, wondering what business the Turks had at the reactors.

"We do random spot-checks once a month," Petra explained in a whisper, "Just to keep normal reactor security on their toes."

"Bloody pain in the arse waste 'o time. And anyway... it's Remy's turn, inn'it?" Sato groused, arms folded over his chest. Veld looked over at him disapprovingly.

"Actually, it's _Kai's_ turn. But for obvious reasons, she is unable to see to it at present. Take our newest rookie. I don't believe Liam has been introduced to reactor security yet."

"... Aye, sir..." Sato replied, somewhat chastened.

"Speaking of our missing teammate," the Turk leader continued, "I checked in on her earlier this morning. She's awake and alert... and I'm sure would appreciate visitors, but try not to all turn up at once, please. Kai has also voiced her concern that the rookies aren't getting enough time on the gauntlet in her absence. Cissnei, see to it, if you would."

"Yes, sir," she replied, giggling as the other two rookies echoed Sato's earlier groan in unison. Liam grinned slightly. He'd _definitely_ gotten the better assignment today... though he was glad to hear that the diminutive senior Turk was well enough to be concerning herself with their training. Maybe he'd take Veld's suggestion and stop by after work tonight.

"Dismissed," Veld said with a nod, ending the morning briefing. The team gathered themselves and most set off to see to the orders they'd been given. Notably absent from this morning's briefing had been Tseng, Reno, and Ashland. In fact, the trio hadn't even been mentioned. Liam could only surmise that whatever mission they'd been training for was currently underway.

The rookie _still_ had no idea what it was they were doing. His suspicion was that his security clearance simply wasn't high enough to be told... but it didn't do anything to stem his curiosity. He'd even asked Petra if _she_ had any idea, given that she and Ashland hailed from the same hometown and their families had known one another for years. She'd replied with a shake of her head and the explanation that Ashland had never talked much about his life before Cosmo Canyon.

"Well? No use delayin' the inevitable. Let's get ta it, eh rookie?" Sato said, placing a hand on his shoulder and guiding him towards the door. Liam gave his fellow rookies a quick wave and put the thought of the mysterious top secret mission out of his mind for the time being. He had to admit... the reactors had always interested him. Getting to see the inside of one sounded... intriguing. Even if it _was_ just for a routine security check.

* * *

Reno was all suited up and ready to go. Vir and her security detail had left them once they'd boarded the submarine, and as the vessel had gotten underway, reality had started to set in with a vengeance.

He was _seriously_ going to do this. The redhead checked his air tank for the fourth time and wondered what in the nine hells had ever possessed him to agree to something this nuts. He was on a goddamned submarine, out in the middle of the goddamned ocean getting ready to jump into freezing cold water in a goddamned rubber suit.

He was out of his goddamned mind... but it wasn't like he could back out _now_.

"Relax, kid," Ash said, taking a seat beside the young Turk. "You keep stressin' yourself out like this and you'll blow through your oxygen in no time flat."

Reno looked up at him, an expression of irritation on his face. "Oh yeah... _that_ thought's really gonna calm me down."

Ashland chuckled softly. "Just don't overthink it."

A soft chuckle emanated from the other side of the room. The redhead glanced up as Tseng slipped through the doorway.

"Telling _Reno_ not to overthink something is... rather futile, I'm afraid. It's what he does best."

The younger Turk rolled his eyes and pointedly flipped his mentor off, drawing a laugh from Ashland.

"Look... You're not going to be doing anything you haven't already done a dozen times or more in the pool. It's just a... _much_ bigger pool," the retiree said.

Reno sighed and resisted the urge to check the tank one more time.

"In any event, we're nearly in position," Tseng stated, and passed a small case over to the redhead. "Are you ready?"

The younger Turk glared at the case.

"Ugh... I hate these things," he muttered, ignoring the question and hesitantly opening it. As expected, it was one of R&D's tiny in-ear receivers. He'd used them a few times... and they always drove him nuts. The worst had been a few months back when Sato had shoved it into his ear just a _little_ too far and then couldn't get it back out again. _That_ incident had resulted in a a trip to see Dr. Ward and the use of a camera just to _find_ the Ifrit-be-damned thing.

Tseng smirked faintly, and Reno had the distinct impression he was remembering that very incident. He'd been the one to order him down to Medical... after walking in on, not only Reno and Sato, but by then, most of the damn team, desperately trying to remove the device in the lounge.

"Tilt your head," was his only reply. He reluctantly complied, eye twitching at the slightly unnerving feeling of a pair of long tweezers slipping into his ear canal. Thankfully, Tseng had acquired a certain level of expertise at this over the years and it was over quickly. It buzzed faintly for a moment as it activated itself. It was only then that he noticed something else in the case.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Something new," Tseng replied, "Which, had I known about it prior to leaving, I would have had you practice with first, but it was a rather last minute addition. It's a sub-vocal microphone."

"... Yeah. You say that like I should have _any_ idea what that is," Reno snickered. Tseng removed it from the case, and to the redhead, it just looked like an inch-wide band of latex with some sort of circuitry stuck to one side. It was dutifully fastened – much too tightly, for his taste – around his throat. "Fuck, boss... you _tryin'_ to choke me?"

"It needs to be skin tight to function," the Turk lieutenant said by way of explanation, "It will work as a normal microphone in the open air. If you speak, we'll hear you. But it will also work while you're in the water when you sub-vocalize..."

"... How do I do that?" the redhead asked, confused. Tseng smiled slightly.

"I suspect you do it quite frequently without even realizing it. Most people do... when they read to themselves for instance. The sensors translate the very slight movements of your muscles, and electronically generates the words on our end." He flipped a switch on a handheld receiver. "Try it, please."

Reno blinked, not entirely sure he understood how the thing worked... but shrugged, and tried saying something without actually saying it. Nothing happened.

"You sure this thing's on?" he queried, dubiously, and his voice was immediately echoed by the speaker.

"Quite sure," Tseng laughed, and the younger man rolled his eyes and tried again. The receiver remained stubbornly silent. A sign over his mentor's shoulder caught his eye, and he remembered that Tseng had said people did whatever it was when they were reading. He supposed it couldn't hurt to try that...

" _Caution... contents... under... pressure..."_ the receiver slowly spat out after a brief delay. Reno eyed the thing curiously. That definitely wasn't _his_ voice. It sounded like a computer. Ashland snickered at his response.

"Obviously there are some limitations," his mentor added, "But... should you find yourself in trouble in the water, I think this is far preferable to silence."

He slipped around behind the redhead, and rested his hands on the young Turk's shoulders, squeezing gently... and Reno couldn't help but smirk vaguely. Not psychic, he always claimed... and yet Tseng always seemed to know when his protege was worried about something.

To be fair, that hadn't _always_ been the case. But they'd known each other for over three years now. Tseng was a lot better at reading him these days than he'd been when he'd first recruited him, and Reno understood his mentor better, as well. He had to admit... it was nice to be comforted without having to even say anything was wrong.

He was pulled from his quiet contemplation by a sharp chime, followed by the sub commander's voice informing them that they were in position near the dive site. Reno took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, glancing up at his mentor.

"Guess we better get started..." he said, nervously.

~end chapter 11~


	12. The Underwater Lab

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 12: The Underwater Lab**

 **by Desha**

He had to forcibly remind himself to fucking breathe.

Plunging into the icy water was a shock, even after a week of repeated ice baths back at headquarters. He'd never _really_ gotten used to that sudden chill that engulfed him completely, no matter how many times Ashland had made him do it. It was terrifying and disorienting and his first instinct was to bolt back through the little opening in the bottom of the submarine... back to the safety and warmth of the vehicle, rather than stay one second longer in the water.

After a few seconds, though, he adjusted to the cold somewhat, and was able to think more clearly. Bright lights shone out into the darkness of the ocean bottom, towards his destination. Reno double-checked his tether before starting towards the buried research lab. As he swam, he was joined by other denizens of deep. The little silvery fish he'd seen from the underwater walkway flitted past, their scales shimmering in the bright floodlights. He reached out for one, only for it to dart quickly away from his fingertips, the entire school changing direction in unison to evade their harasser.

He left the fish alone and moved on, making his way towards the narrow opening that was the first goal of his short swim. The lab was situated over a small crevasse in the sea bed. The landslide that had buried it had cut off access, but the more recent slide had opened up about a foot-wide gap into the crack in the planet... which in turn, led beneath the structure itself. That was the only way in or out, and as he drew closer, he could see that it was going to be a tight squeeze, even by _his_ standards of "tight".

On the bright side, though, everything seemed pretty secure. One of his biggest worries had been the damn opening collapsing on him before he was through it. Reno slid out of his air tank's shoulder straps and pushed it in ahead of him. It was much too narrow for him to wear it. According to the recon data, he'd have to go about seven feet before it opened up into a larger chamber. He took a moment to steady himself and wedged himself into the space.

It wasn't exactly easy. He didn't want to disturb things any more than he had to. It might have been secure... but this place had been buried not that long ago. He had no desire to push his luck. His journey was a slow, steady process of moving the tank forward a little ways, and then carefully wriggling himself after it, moving the tank, wriggling, moving the tank... until he fell into a rhythm. He had a momentary scare when his tether got hung up on some rocks near the entrance, and for a few seconds he was worried he'd have to backtrack, untangle the damned thing, and start all over. Thankfully, a few sharp tugs pulled it free.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he popped out into a wide chamber. The lights from the sub were virtually useless, serving only to illuminate the crack he'd come through, and little more. He eased his air tank back on and unclipped the flashlight from his waist, turning it on and flooding the chamber with pale yellow light.

Another several meters brought him to the first of the lab's support columns, and from there, his path was an easy one. He kicked his feet, propelling himself upwards towards the airlock on the underside of the structure. Turning the handle took some effort, but the door popped free with an audible hiss, and he was able to push it inward. Reno hoisted himself up, into the abandoned lab and finally was able to breath a sigh of relief.

"I'm in," he said, in the darkness of the airlock.

"Good," Tseng's voice replied, in his ear, "Let's make this quick, shall we?"

* * *

Rude leaned back against the wall of the elevator, arms crossed over his chest, as it descended towards the Sector 0 train station beneath the Shinra Building. The morning briefing had started late... and that meant that he was late getting underway to his _next_ meeting of the day. Hopefully the trains weren't running behind, as well. He liked to be punctual when meeting informants. Especially new ones.

Especially new ones in _Wall Market_. Most of the Turks' previous connections in the sector had been old friends of Tres... and though his late mentor had done an admirable job of introducing the younger Turk to them, many hadn't been quite as willing to trust Rude as they had a fellow-slum dweller. As a result, they'd lost a lot of intelligence in the area after Tres' death. Rude had been doing his best to build that back up for months now.

Initially, he'd considered appealing to Lira... but Reno had rather adamantly nixed that idea almost as soon as Rude had run it past him out of fear for her safety. And though he very much would have liked to have had her on board, he understood the redhead's reluctance to let him ask for her help. She was as good as family to the younger Turk, and even Rude had to admit that he wouldn't want someone he was that close to working as an informant. Besides... Wall Market was a busy place, and a lot of people were looking to make some quick gil. He had plenty of other potential candidates.

Like the one he was meeting this morning. In fact, this particular informant was one of Don Corneo's entourage and had the potential to be extremely valuable indeed... _if_ it didn't turn out to be too good to be true. Rude wasn't naïve enough to think that his luck was _that_ good. Corneo's men were well-paid and extremely loyal. For one to defect like this... well... Tres had once worked for Corneo himself, so it wasn't exactly unheard of, but Rude was understandably cautious. It was too great an opportunity, though, to err on the side of safety and not take the meeting.

A part of him wished Reno had been available to come with him, however. He wouldn't have minded a little backup in Corneo's territory, and Reno knew the place at least as well as _he_ did by now. As he stepped out into the station, he wondered how his friend's assignment was going. Neither Reno nor Tseng had bothered coming into the office this morning. They'd left for Junon early, and by now the redhead had to be in the lab.

Oh, yes... Rude knew all about the lab. He wasn't technically _supposed_ to, but... nothing stayed secret around him for long these days. Reno hadn't seemed at all surprised when the bald Turk had known exactly what his mysterious training was for. The files had been classified well above Rude's security clearance, which normally would have made them inaccessible... but apparently the Board had _also_ designated them as need-to-know, and that gave him a bit of a loophole. As the de facto head of intelligence for the Turks, Rude "needed to know" by default. That classification automatically granted him access to the files. From there, it hadn't been too hard to piece together what Reno was being sent to do, particularly after he'd reviewed Ashland's personnel file, as well.

The next train to Sector 5 arrived at the platform, and Rude hurried to scan his pass and step on board. As he settled into a seat, he glanced down at his watch. So long as there were no delays between here and catching the train to the slums over in Five, he should _just_ make his meeting on time.

* * *

The air inside the lab was cold. Not as cold as the water had been, but Reno couldn't help but shudder as he stripped off the hood that had protected his head from the ocean water and tossed it into the pile with his fins and mask and gloves. He picked up his light and looked around.

There didn't seem to be any major damage... at least not in this section. Everything looked to be intact... nothing was leaking. It was just dark and deserted and cold. And more than a little eerie. He snickered softly to himself. It reminded him just a little too much of a movie he'd seen last week.

" _What's wrong?"_ Tseng's voice asked over his earpiece.

"Heh... nothin'. Just wonderin' when the bloodthirsty alien's gonna jump outta the air vents at me..." he replied.

" _Reno... focus,"_ his mentor chastised him... though the redhead distinctly heard a loud snort of laughter from Ashland in the background. _"Remember... the drives with the research data are your top priority. Anything else is secondary."_

"Yeah, boss... I know. Get in, get whatever shit I can find, get out. I got this. Don't worry."

Now that his feet were back, safely, on dry land – in a manner of speaking – his prior concerns about the mission had been pushed to the back burner. Sure, he still had to get _back_ to the sub eventually... but for now, he was in much more familiar territory. Dark, empty corridors... _that_ he could handle.

He moved slowly along one long hallway, footsteps echoing far too loud for his taste in the still air, and paused outside of a door labeled "Power Room".

"Hey, boss? Whaddya s'ppose the odds are of the power still workin' down here? Any point in me tryin' to turn on the lights?"

" _I see no harm in trying... though I don't know that you'll have much luck. The facility has been offline for years."_

Reno pushed open the door and shone his light around the cramped room. The far wall looked to be a control panel of sorts, with lines of switches. As he drew nearer, he saw that they were labeled with what looked to be the various names of sections of the lab.

" _Might_ _actually_ _ **not**_ _be such a long shot,"_ Ash's voice cut in, _"I'll admit, I've been out of the loop for a good long time, here, but back in the day, if a facility like this was evacuated, part of the procedure was to kill the power. Both to prevent electrical damage_ _ **and**_ _to make sure that there was some emergency juice left in the batteries for a recovery op."_

"Well... here goes nothin', then..." he responded, and flipped the switch labeled "Airlocks". Nothing happened. He stepped back and peered out into the hallway, looking down the passage in the direction he'd come from. Everything remained pitch black. He shook his head. "Heh... Figures. Just my luck I'm stuck wanderin' around in the dark."

" _You turn the mains back on first?"_ Ashland asked.

"Umm..." Reno stammered, scanning the labels on the panel, "I'm not seein' a 'Mains' on here..."

" _Big panel full of toggle switches? Labels for the different parts of the lab?"_ he queried.

"Yeah. That's what I'm lookin' at."

" _Check the wall above the panel. It's a fat red switch... sometimes more than one... usually with a big-ass Caution sign next to it. Might be protected by a cover."_

Reno shifted his flashlight upwards and looked for the switch, but all that was there were a bunch of dials and dark screens. When he looked to his right, however, he spotted a little metal door at eye level with a yellow and black caution sticker right over the word "Main Power".

"Think I found it," he said, grinning, as he opened it. Inside, as Ashland had described, were three fat red switches. He flipped the first one on, and jumped slightly as the panel beside him buzzed loudly and lit up. The second had much the same effect, except this time the lights in the hallway, as well as overhead, flickered to life. "Heh... _Hell_ yeah. Now we're in business..." he said, flipping the third switch... which promptly erupted in a shower of sparks. He yelped and literally jumped back several feet from it.

" _Reno?!"_ Tseng's voice prodded, the note of concern more than evident.

"I'm fine..." Reno muttered, glaring at the panel. "Stupid thing just tried to electrocute me, that's all..."

" _Probably a short somewhere... Did it kill everything?"_ Ashland inquired.

"Nah... I still got lights in here." He turned back to the other panel and started flipping the rest of the switches. Most of the indicator lights next to them lit up when he did so. About a third of them stayed dark. "I'm not exactly an expert on this electrical shit... but I'm guessin' I got power to _most_ of the lab now... 'cept whatever that last main switch was s'pposed to turn on. Eh... good enough."

He clicked his flashlight off and ventured back out into the hallway.

* * *

The bar in Wall Market was... surprisingly busy for the time of day. Not packed, but there was certainly a steady flow of customers. Rude had settled himself at a table in one of the back corners. Apparently he wasn't the only one running a little late today. His contact had yet to arrive... and he vaguely wondered if he'd decided to back out.

If would hardly be a shock if he had. The guy was planning on turning snitch on Corneo, after all... and Corneo ran this place. You double crossed him, and you didn't just quietly disappear. You got made an example of. Painfully.

The Turk sighed softly. He'd had a feeling this might happen. Even for the pay he was offering, ending up on Don Corneo's shitlist wasn't a risk most people would be willing to take. He decided to give the guy ten more minutes. If he didn't show, he was heading back topside.

In the meantime, he leaned back in his chair, and drank his tonic water... grimacing slightly at the taste. He wasn't fond of it on its own. Too bitter. But he wasn't about to order a whiskey while he was on the clock, either, and bartenders tended to frown on their patrons occupying space without buying anything.

His mind drifted momentarily to Reno's plan to cook for him in a couple of days. He'd decided that it couldn't possibly go any worse than the last time. Him ending up with the planet's worst case of food poisoning was a fluke. He was even _kind_ of starting to look forward to it. Near death experience aside, the food last time hadn't actually _tasted_ bad. And if the redhead really had been practicing, like he'd claimed to have been, this could actually turn out to be an interesting meal.

Maybe his friend would even start to get into the hobby. It _would_ be nice to have a fellow foodie around.

He snorted softly as he laughed to himself as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Reno was _never_ going to be a foodie. He'd literally eat anything you put in front of him. Rude was pretty sure the word "picky" wasn't even in his vocabulary. Still... if he was starting to becoming even vaguely interested in cooking, it would certainly give them something new in common. There wasn't anyone on the planet he enjoyed spending time with more than the redhead. The thought of combining his favorite pastime with his favorite person was... appealing.

And... maybe if _this_ little culinary experiment worked out, next time they could invite Cissnei to join them.

He'd been trying to ignore it – his last relationship had gone down in flames rather spectacularly, after all – but the better he got to know Cissnei, the harder it got. The plain and simple truth was that... he liked her. As more than just a friend.

And it was _very_ clear that, despite his efforts to pretend not to notice her flirting for over a year now, she still had an interest in _him_... he just hadn't quite talked himself into acting on it yet. A part of it – a _big_ part – was that, if things turned out the same way they had with Margaret, he wasn't sure how they were going to handle having to continue working together.

He was starting to think that the risk might be worth it, though. Cissnei was funny... sweet... pretty... smart... and she could kick his ass six ways from Friday, if she wanted to. Best of all, he would never have to worry about her making him choose between having her in his life, and remaining friends with the redhead, the way Margaret had. She loved Reno as much as _he_ did.

He smirked slightly at that thought. She and Reno really did get along wonderfully. Maybe a little _too_ well, sometimes. He remembered an assignment about six months back, in Nibelheim. There had been an incident between some of the staff at the Shinra manor and the townsfolk. He'd been on assignment in Cosmo Canyon at the time, making him closest Turk to the little mountain town, and so he'd been sent on ahead to try and quell the tension... or at least keep it from boiling over before more help arrived from Midgar.

When he'd arrived... well, it hadn't quite been the emergency he'd envisioned, by that point. The two primary instigators had already settled their differences the old fashioned way. The pair had gotten drunk, beaten the hell out of each other, drunk some more, and passed out in the town square. All that had been left for Rude to do was pay the bar tab out of the company expense account. They were the best of friends by the following afternoon... once they'd sobered up and recovered from their mutual hangovers.

But, of course, by the time he'd learned that the two drunken idiots had been taken home to sleep it off, it was a little late for his backup to turn around and head home. The staff at the manor had made the situation sound so dire that Veld had dispatched Cissnei, Reno, _and_ Tseng. The Turk leader hadn't been _at all_ pleased to learn that it was essentially a false alarm. Plus, because they'd each been pulled off of their _own_ assignments, their arrival in Nibelheim had ended up being quite late at night. Rude still wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed to sleep through the sound of a helicopter landing...

… but he'd done just that. The next thing he knew, he was being awakened by furniture flying across the room, unearthly moans that seemed to echo throughout the entire mansion, and a dark figure in the corner holding an axe. Still half asleep, and thus thoroughly convinced that the place was haunted and/or inhabited by an axe murderer, he'd made a rather hasty exit from his bedroom... only to run straight into Reno laughing hysterically in the foyer and Tseng sitting calmly in a nearby chair, doing his best not to look amused by the other Turks' antics. Cissnei had joined them moments later... still brandishing the axe, along with a sphere of Gravity materia.

From then on, it was decided that it would become customary to make rookies spend the night alone in the "haunted house" on their first mission to Nibelheim.

Rude chuckled softly at the memory as he finished off his tonic water and looked at his watch again. He sighed. The guy was a no-show. What a waste of a morning. Reluctantly, he stood up and headed for the door. He wasn't really _surprised_ that his would-be informant had gotten cold feet, but he _was_ disappointed. Having someone on the inside with Corneo's organization would have really been a godsend. The guy was a pain in the ass at the best of times, and even Tres had sometimes struggled to keep tabs on his activity.

But, it was what it was. Rude made his way out onto the street, leaving the little bar behind him as he headed back towards the train station. Hopefully he could still salvage at least _some_ of the morning... though by the time he got back to the office, it would likely be nearing lunch time. If so, maybe it would be more prudent to simply swing by one of his favorite cafes for an early meal, and then make the best use possible of the afternoon. Just because his informant had ghosted him didn't mean that his plate wasn't full. He had plenty to keep him occupied while he waited for the next opportunity to secure a new avenue of information in Wall Market.

That thought in mind, he rounded a corner into a short alley, taking the quickest route to the station. He'd only taken a few step down the narrow passage when a something struck the back of his skull with a sharp crack and everything went dark.

* * *

"Ya know... if Shinra ever wanted to get into the movie business, this place would make a _great_ set for a nice sci-fi horror flick," Reno snickered as he extracted the last of the data drives from its housing.

" _I suspect they might have some difficulty getting the requisite equipment and personnel down there,"_ Tseng's voice replied in his ear. _"How much progress have you made?"_

The redhead consulted the list he'd been given, and checked off the drives.

"Well... I got the research data... and I picked up that prototype cutter they wanted on the way over here from the power room. Fucker's heavy as shit, by the way. Gonna have a whole lotta fun hauling _that_ thing back with me. It looks like I can get into most of the individual labs and the staff quarters, but the specimen room's locked down tight, and there's no power in there."

" _Don't waste your time trying, then,"_ his mentor replied. _"Go after the remaining equipment on the list. If you can find those in a timely manner, see to the low priority items as well, but if not..."_

"I know what 'low priority' means, Boss," he laughed. "I'll do a quick sweep of the staff quarters, but I'm not on a fuckin' scavenger hunt down here."

" _Good. I don't want you in there any longer than you need to be."_

Reno smirked slightly.

"Yeah... you've mentioned that a few times, sir..."

That was at _least_ the third time Tseng has said that to him just since they'd left this morning. The man had developed a protective streak a mile long... particularly where either the rookies or his protege were concerned... but he was usually far calmer than this. Of course, he was _also_ usually in a position where he could come to the rescue if need be. He had no issues sending his youngest Turks off into danger... but he had a tendency to fret until they returned. Reno had a feeling that being so far separated from him was wearing on his mentor's nerves a bit.

He'd been that way for... well... since his sister's death, really. And the redhead didn't begrudge him his concern one bit. Tseng had lost a lot that day, and it had taken him a very long time to recover from it. Reno wasn't entirely certain he'd ever _completely_ forgive himself, to be honest. Some wounds just cut too deep.

It wasn't _all_ bad, though. Tseng was... warmer, now. Less uptight. Oh, he was still the disciplined and polished professional he always had been, but nowadays he was a little less hesitant to let people see his softer side on occasion. And though Reno desperately wished that it hadn't taken almost destroying his friend and mentor to get there, he liked the change and was pretty sure the others did, too.

Reno finished securing the drives in their waterproof container and then picked up the rather hefty cutter he'd recovered. No sense in lugging the whole mess all over the damn lab. He'd haul this shit over to the airlock, and then go check the other areas he could access.

It didn't take him long to drop off his first load, and then he was off to the individual research labs. As he rounded a corner, though, he stopped short, freezing in place, eyes locked onto the shadows at the darkened end of the hallway. He swore that he'd seen something move. He remained there, utterly still, ears straining for the faintest sound... eyes locked on the darkness, searching for even the hint of movement.

After a long few moments of seeing and hearing nothing, he finally dared breathe again, and swore softly to himself.

" _Reno? Is something wrong?"_ Tseng queried.

"Tch... nah, it's nothing, Boss. Just been watching too much shitty horror lately. Imagination's runnin' away with me... Oughta just stick to porn when I can't sleep," he chuckled, and continued on down the corridor. Still... the fine hairs on the back of his neck continued to prickle with the uneasy sensation of being watched and he couldn't help but occasionally glance down at that dark area every now and then until he finally slipped into the first of the research labs...

~end chapter 12~


	13. A Real Life Shitty Horror Movie

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 13: A Real Life Shitty Horror Flick**

 **by Desha**

"So... You and I haven't had much of a chance to catch up, what with me busy training the kid. How have _you_ been, Tseng?" Ashland asked, as he leaned back against a bulkhead, waiting for further word from the redhead. Tseng chuckled softly and at last took a seat.

"Well enough," he replied. "I assume Veld told you of our... losses... last year?"

"Mmm... yeah. I was sorry to hear about that. Didn't sting quite the way it did back when I still knew the team, but... always hate to hear we lost someone. And I was downright _gobsmacked_ to hear about the traitor. Never would've thought a _Turk_ , of all people, would go rogue."

"Nor I," Tseng agreed, "It was painful for us all... but it was especially hard on Cissnei. The Turk in question was one of her best friends. Between his betrayal and his death, I was rather worried about her for a while. She has no family but us, after all." He smiled for a moment. "Fortunately, we are a very _close_ family. Reno and Rude, in particular, saw to it that she recovered quickly."

"And what about you? I heard tell you had your _own_ recovery to deal with..."

"I... would prefer not to discuss that," Tseng replied, in a somewhat clipped tone. "Suffice it to say that, like Cissnei, I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by those who refuse to let me wallow in my own self-pity for too long."

Ashland nodded in understanding. "Fair enough," he said, and then grinned, "So... speaking of family... tell me a little more about the kid. You really dig him up in the slums and then storm into Veld's office demanding to train him in the field the very next day?"

Tseng snorted in contempt, and rolled his eyes. "Your former partner tends to exaggerate more than _slightly_ when it comes to that story. Yes... I met Reno in the slums. And then spent over a year observing him _before_ making my exceptionally well-thought-out and thoroughly documented case to Veld. There was no storming involved."

The former Turk laughed and shook his head. "Oh, really? Because _Veld_ said you were positively champing at the bit to get your hands on the kid. Said you wanted him for your First and no one else."

"Oh, for Leviathan's sake..." Tseng groaned, "I was certainly _enthusiastic_ at the prospect of a new recruit... and a First Rookie... but I was hardly 'champing at the bit'. I was simply convinced that Reno would make an excellent Turk." He shook his head slightly, and glanced up at Ashland. "Though I _will_ admit to being rather insistent once I had finally made the determination that he would benefit us. He was... a rather unique case. Reno was on his own for a very long time, and from an exceptionally young age. He was used to relying solely on himself, and he desperately needed someone to mentor him... which is why I didn't mark him for the recruitment program. I don't think he would have done well in that particular environment, and I wanted to see to it that he got a fair chance at success. And, in point of fact, I was _absolutely_ right about him."

Ashland snickered and strolled over to the Turk lieutenant, taking a seat next to him.

"Always gotta do things the hard way, don't you, Tseng?" he teased, "But why _him_ , if you don't mind me asking?" he queried, and Tseng raised an eyebrow in challenge. The older man laughed again. "Put that damn eyebrow back where it belongs. I'm not saying anything against the kid. From what I've seen, I don't disagree with your assessment at all. I'm just curious."

The Wutaiian Turk leaned back in his seat, silent for a moment.

"It's... difficult to explain," he began, doing his best to put into words something that had been almost entirely instinct from the start. "To be honest, I was all but certain the first time we ever met. He saved my life... though I don't think he fully realized that at the time."

"Do tell..." Ashland prompted, an undisguised look of interest on his face. Tseng chuckled and made himself more comfortable. The older Turk always _had_ been one for gossip. It seemed that some things never changed.

"I was on assignment in the slums. The details aren't important, but the end result was that I was badly injured and being hunted. It was late and I needed a place to hide. I eventually staggered into a bar in Sector 3," he began, and then laughed softly, "In retrospect, a _bar_ may not have been the wisest choice... but not many respectable businesses are open after midnight, even in the slums. I suppose the sight of other people being there was simply too great a temptation. Had my pursuers caught up to me alone, I doubt I'd have walked away from it, and I had no particular aspirations to die that night."

His hand unconsciously went to his right side. He still bore the scars from the bullet that had struck him there before he could flee the ambush... and from the one that had lodged itself in his shoulder during his escape. All things considered, it was a small miracle he'd even _made_ it to the bar. He'd been outnumbered, and caught off-guard. By all rights, he _should_ have died that night. It was only by luck or fate that he'd managed to evade them and slip into the bar unnoticed.

"When they walked through the door a short while later, Reno very quickly surmised that it was me they were after. He hid me. He professed to them that he hadn't seen me, and... was attacked himself when they tried to intimidate him into revealing me. And he did all of that without me even having to ask for his help. He was a child of just fifteen at the time, and not only capable of instantly assessing a situation with great accuracy, but also willing to put himself in harm's way for the sake of a stranger. I slipped out the back shortly after the bar's owner arrived with a shotgun. They never even realized I was there because of Reno." He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I _still_ very nearly bled to death before I finally made it topside... but I wouldn't have even stood a chance if it hadn't been for his timely intervention."

Ashland snickered. "Hmph. Well... you certainly can't say he didn't earn his place. Little unconventional... but I'll be the first to admit that sometimes something just _feels_ right. So... no regrets, I take it?"

"Reno has _more_ than met my expectations. He's far exceeded them, in fact. I _will_ concede that he can still occasionally be a bit... wild... but frankly, I cannot imagine having made a better selection."

He wasn't exaggerating, either. The redhead had proven himself a dozen times over by now. The pride Tseng took in his young protege's achievements was a triumph not only for Reno, but for himself as well. But more than that, Reno meant more to him, personally, than he could put into words.

Ashland regarded him for a moment and then laughed, shaking his head.

"You know... _you_ were a bit wild back in the day, too, as I recall..." he said, pointedly, "Or have you forgotten all those times Veld had to forcibly remind you to keep that temper of yours in check before you went off on one of the higher ups?"

Tseng glared at him. "I have been _trying_ for many years to repress the memory of the follies of my youth... but of late, a certain _someone_ keeps reminding me." He sighed softly, "Just how many more... _stories_... have you told my protege, anyway?"

"Oh, just one or two," Ashland chuckled, ignoring the Turk lieutenant's annoyed expression. "Oh, come on, Tseng. I tease, but you weren't really _that_ bad. You were just a kid learnin' the ropes. Every Turk goes through _that_ stage. And I'm sure you've got some stories of your _own_ now that'd make that little redhead of yours blush."

Tseng couldn't stop the laugh that escaped at that declaration.

"Ash... there is very _little_ in this world that makes _Reno_ blush." 

* * *

Reno had amassed a small collection of random equipment, but suddenly found himself standing in front of a gigantic hunk of electronics labeled "Plasma Separator". He consulted his list and shook his head as he confirmed that the item _was_ indeed one of the high priority requests.

"You have _got_ to be fuckin' with me..." he muttered. A moment later, his earpiece buzzed faintly as Tseng reopened the channel.

" _Is there a problem?"_ the Turk lieutenant inquired. The redhead laughed.

"Tch... nah, it's nothin'. Just wonderin' how the fuck someone can be so completely outta touch with reality. I'm standin' in front of that plasma separator thing. Damn thing's bigger than _me_. No way in hell I'm gettin' it outta here. Definitely can't moveit on my own. Hell, I'm not sure Rude and Sykes _combined_ could move it more than a couple feet at a time."

He heard his mentor chuckle softly. _"Some of the science staff aren't exactly the most... pragmatic... of people. Are you nearly done?"_

"Yeah... just about. I'm gonna do a walkthrough of the living quarters, 'n see if I spot anything on the list, and then I'm headin' back to the airlock with the shit I _can_ carry."

" _Alright. Let us know when you're ready to depart."_

"Will do," the redhead replied, taking one more look at the over-sized machine and shaking his head again. As he made his way back out into the hallway, however, he froze momentarily before spinning around to look behind him. That uneasy feeling of being watched was back. He'd initially dismissed it as his imagination playing tricks on him, but now... now he was all but certain that he wasn't alone down here.

"Uhh... Boss?" he said, dropping the volume of his voice, "There's nothing left down here that'd be... ya know... _alive_ still... right?"

A shiver went down his spine... and it had nothing to do with the air temperature. He slowly turned around, half-expecting to see some bloodthirsty creature mere inches from his face... but the hallway remained empty.

" _There was no_ _ **mention**_ _of living specimens... What's going on?"_

Reno was just about to answer when he heard it... A slurping, sucking sound, like walking through gloopy mud. He turned in a full circle, trying to find the source, but the sound echoed in the empty corridor, making it impossible to pinpoint.

"... I dunno," he replied, "But...uh... I don't think I'm alone..." Something from above him dripped onto the back of his hand, and the redhead blinked, staring at it in confusion. The glob of purplish-black slime quivered, almost as though it was alive, and he instinctively flung it aside. Dread growing, he slowly lifted his gaze upwards. "Oh, _shit_..."

Whatever the hell it was, it was in the air ducts. The vent above his head was already blocked off entirely by the gelatinous goo that was slowly seeping through the slots in the cover.

" _Reno?!"_

"Yeah... _definitely_ not alone, boss..." he said, backing away from the opening.

His footsteps echoed off the metallic walls of the research lab, ringing out loudly in the still air... but not loudly enough to cover up the loud _splat_ as whatever the thing was exited the vent and landed on the floor of the corridor. The redhead paused for a brief moment, eyeing the creature. Maybe this wasn't as bad as he thought... Maybe it was harmless.

It was... like a mound of living jelly. He could see tiny protrusions from its center that looked like makeshift arms... and as more of the slime dripped down from above, the thing grew larger and larger. A moment later, it opened its eyes... or what Reno supposed were its eyes. They were more like pitch black pools embedded in the side of the thing more or less where the head would be. A slit opened further down the body, like a mouth, widening as it made a sort of gurgling scream. By then, the blob had grown to roughly half his own height and was still expanding.

"Oh, _hell_ no... Nope. No fuckin' way. I'm outta here."

He'd seen enough movies to know how _this_ sort of shit ended. Screw the list. He had no weapons... no protection... no backup... and he was being chased by some sort of slime creature. Fuck. That. He hightailed it back in the direction he'd entered from.

The lab, from his understanding, was largely dedicated to the biologics department... so _whatever_ that thing was, it was almost certainly something they'd created. And given that Hojo was head of the biologics department, it was almost certainly dangerous, as well. It was the Ifrit-be-damned zenenes all over again.

" _Reno..._ _ **what**_ _in Leviathan's name is going on?"_ Tseng demanded, and he could faintly hear Ashland in the background ordering the submarine's crew to prepare for an emergency rescue.

"Boss, I'm not sure you'd believe me right now even if I told ya..." he panted, as he rounded a corner. Just a little farther to the airlock. Behind him, he could hear the squelching sound of of gelatinous pursuit and the creepy-as-all-fuck gurgling noise the thing emitted from its gaping maw. Reno skidded around another corner, racing past the power room. Almost there...

It was only then that he noticed a puddle of blackish slime on the floor in front of him, as well. By then, however, he was running full tilt down the corridor. He tried to stop, but it was too late... and as soon as his bare feet came in contact with the slime, he slid and went down, hard. The redhead tumbled to a halt several feet later, slamming into a wall.

"Ow..." he groaned, forcing himself upright. Before he could stagger back to his feet, however, the creature, too, rounded the corner, sliding its way down the hallway, leaving a trail of goo behind in its wake. He'd had no idea it could move so fast!

Reno dragged himself up with the help of the wall, and flinched in pain as a burning sensation seared the bottoms of his feet where they'd come in contact with the slime. His hand burned, too, where that first glob had landed on him, and the skin was red and blotchy with narrow ribbons of black beneath the surface. Great... Shit was probably eating him alive or something. The creature was getting closer, though, and it was more than evident that whatever the hell it was doing to him was the least of his problems at the moment. He ignored the pain as best he could and stumbled his way into the airlock. Before his could shut it, though, a dripping tendril of goo shot out from the thing's body, wrapping around his face and neck.

The redhead yelped and dug his fingers into it, trying to pull it away, to no avail. It encircled his head, covering his nose and mouth, leaving him unable to breath. In desperation, Reno threw himself against the airlock door, forcing it to shut on the long, slimy tendril. He heard the creature howl... though whether it was in pain or in anger he didn't know. And he didn't give a shit. Once severed from the main body, the tendril's grip on him loosened and he was able to claw it away from his mouth, gasping for air as he did so. He hurriedly spun the valve on the door, sealing it shut. He could still hear the creature on the other side.

He paused for a moment, to catch his breath... and suddenly realized that it was far harder to breathe than it _should_ have been. His fingers immediately went to his face, and he could feel raised welts where the slime had touched him. They continued down around his neck, as well.

"Fuck... Boss? You still with me?" he asked, hoping that the damn microphone hadn't been damaged in the attack.

" _Yes, I'm here,"_ Tseng's voice replied, and the younger Turk breathed a sigh of relief, _"What's happening in there? Are you alright?!"_

"Tch... if your idea of bein' alright is almost gettin' eaten alive by some kinda Jell-O monster, then yeah. Never better," he replied, and coughed harshly as he started pulling his air tank on. "You, uh... might wanna have the medical assholes standin' by, boss. I got that thing's slimy shit all over me 'n it burns like hell... and it's makin' it kinda hard to breathe..."

" _Understood..."_ his mentor replied, _"We'll be waiting for you. Please... be careful."_

Reno tried pulling on one of his fins, only to find it far too painful on the irritated skin of his feet. He tossed it aside, and grabbed his mask instead. _That_ was going to hurt, too, he was sure, but he needed to be able to see. His gloves, he simply left in the pile, not even bothering to try.

The last thing he snatched up was the bag with the data drives... because there was no way in hell he was coming back empty handed after all _that_. He slipped the strap over his shoulder, carefully settled the diving mask over his abused face, and slid into the opening in the floor and into darkness.

The ice-cold water felt surprisingly good on his damaged skin. So good, in fact, that he very nearly abandoned the tether that was supposed to guide him back to the submarine. Thankfully, his more rational mind took over before he did something that stupid, and he quickly clipped it back onto his belt before starting towards the narrow exit from this hell hole. He reached the crevasse and slid the air tank's straps off before he eased himself into the uncomfortably close space.

Just seven feet or so... Then he'd be in the clear. He could do this. He was almost there.

The moment he'd convinced himself of that however, there was a loud rumble somewhere behind him, and Reno found himself showered by tiny rocks and shells and other bits from the bottom of the ocean. He lost his grip on the air tank he'd been dragging along behind him, and nearly panicked as it was quickly covered in a layer of debris. The only thing that saved him was the fact that he still had the regulator in his mouth. He could still breathe.

Reno swallow sharply and forced down the rising panic. It was still okay... he wasn't trapped. All he had to do was pull the tank loose, and get the hell out of there. He tugged at it experimentally. It didn't so much as budge. The Turk mentally groaned. He tried again, pulling harder this time, and the only reward he received was another shower of small stones.

'Okay... Don't fucking panic...' he thought to himself, 'Do _not_ fucking panic. I'm fine. I can still get outta this... The sub's not _that_ far away..."

He turned his head to glance out at the bright spotlights mounted to the underwater vehicle. He had maybe another two feet to go before he was out of the opening, and then it was a clear shot to the sub. thirty... maybe forty seconds of swimming, tops. He could do that without the air tank. And if he couldn't... well... they could always reel him in with the tether line. Preferably _before_ he drowned...

The seafloor above him rumbled again, and he realized that he didn't really have a choice here. He had to move _now_... or risk getting buried when all that shit up there finally gave way and sealed up the entrance to the lab again.

" _Boss?"_ he queried, trying out the sub-vocal mic, _"You still there?"_

It took several seconds for a response, and for a moment, Reno was worried Tseng hadn't heard him. He'd forgotten to account for the time it took for whatever the tech was that translated for him to kick in.

" _I'm here,"_ Tseng replied.

" _Tank's stuck in the opening. Gonna have to leave it behind and swim for it."_

He heard Ashland order someone to be ready to start the winch.

" _Tell us when you're clear. We'll pull you in,"_ Tseng's voice said. Reno took several deep breaths and then reluctantly removed the regulator. He hurried to to wriggle his way out of the narrow space. It took far longer than he'd anticipated. Near the end, he got stuck, and for a brief, terrifying moment, feared the worst... that he was trapped just out of reach of his air supply and wedged in too firmly for the sub to yank him free. It took him several _more_ seconds to work himself loose.

" _Okay, I'm clear,"_ he said, lungs starting to ache from lack of oxygen, _"Get me outta here!"_

His mask was beginning to fog up, by then, the edges of his field of view clouding as the slack in his tether was slowly taken up. The next thing he knew, he was yanked bodily forward, moving through the water far faster than he could have managed on his own... but still far too slow given that he was desperately holding his breath. He reached forward, gripping the line tightly as he drew closer and closer to the sub. His lungs were practically on fire now, and he wanted nothing more than to inhale. His body was begging for oxygen. He coughed violently, expelling a cloud of bubbles into the cold water. It took everything he had left to forcibly ignore his body's instinct to breathe in.

His vision clouded further, and with a growing sense of urgency, he realized that it wasn't the mask this time. He was dangerously close to passing out.

" _... Hurry..."_ he managed.

* * *

It only took about a minute to haul the redhead back aboard the submarine. It was, Tseng was quite certain, the longest minute of his entire life. Time didn't seem to speed up any, either, even _after_ his protege was hoisted into the safety of the vessel, limp and unresponsive. The medical officers converged on him immediately, effectively cutting Tseng off from the younger Turk.

Ashland's hand came to rest on the Turk lieutenant's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He didn't acknowledge it. All he could do was stare silently at Reno's slack expression and unmoving body. The skin around his nose and mouth was an angry red. The welts continued down, wrapping around his neck as well. He could see further evidence of injury on the younger Turks' hands and feet, and wondered what in the Nine Hells Reno had run into down there. There was _nothing_ in the briefing about the lab housing any dangerous specimens... though it surely _had_ to have been one of Hojo's many experiments. That facility had been cut off for years, and it was highly unlikely that a foreign organism could have gotten inside. A surge of rage cut through him like a knife. How _dare_ Hojo and his ilk endanger one of his Turks like this?! Why hadn't they been warned?!

His anger was tempered only by his mounting concern for the redhead, who, in spite of the team's efforts, lay still and, so far as he could tell, not breathing.

Suddenly, Reno coughed violently, expelling a mouthful of seawater before pulling in several deep, shuddering breaths, interspersed with still more coughing.

"Oh, thank Leviathan..." Tseng breathed, as blue eyes slowly opened and locked onto him a moment later. He pushed his way forward, close enough to rest a comforting hand on the younger man's chest. By now, the redhead was shivering from the cold. "You're alright," he said, reassuringly, "You're safe."

Reno, coughed again, closing his eyes.

"I _am_ gettin' hazard pay for this shit... right boss?" he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"And at _least_ a few days additional vacation time, if I have anything to say about it," Tseng assured him, laughing softly in his relief.

* * *

His head was spinning... and at first, he had no idea where he was, or how he'd gotten here. It took several minutes of intentional focus to remember. The alley. The loud crack. The sharp pain in the back of his head.

He looked around at his surroundings, but the small room held few clues for him to decipher. He lifted a hand to massage his throbbing temples, only to realize that he was restrained by heavy chains.

Rude _still_ had no idea where he was. But he was fairly certain that he hadn't come here willingly...

~end chapter 13~


	14. An Ounce of Cure

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 14: An Ounce of Cure**

 **by Desha**

Tseng had been able to do little more than follow in silence as Reno was carried off of the submarine on a stretcher. He hadn't been any _more_ useful once they reached the medical bay on the base, or while the doctors there were evaluating him. And now that he was stable and sleeping, he found that there was still nothing he could do for his protege.

His moment of relief on board the sub had been a short one. Though Reno was breathing and conscious, his condition had quickly deteriorated. His breathing had become labored, and he'd begun complaining of pain in the areas where his skin was red and inflamed. That, combined with what was likely a mild case of hypothermia, had left him a shivering, wheezing mess the entire trip back to the docks.

Tseng had been able to do very little to comfort him, and nothing at all to actually _help_ him.

The diagnosis upon their arrival back at the base had been equally as concerning. Some sort of unknown toxin. Tseng had immediately sent word to Veld, demanding to know _exactly_ what Hojo's team had been breeding in that lab. He hadn't yet received a definitive answer from his mentor... only a reassurance that he'd find out.

Reno had been able to describe some sort of... blob-like creature before unconsciousness had claimed him. Tseng had never seen anything like that in Hojo's labs back in Midgar... but admittedly, he seldom had cause to enter those spaces and some of the scientist's research was so highly classified that even _Veld_ wouldn't have had the required clearance to know about it without a specific reason.

Meanwhile, the doctors in Junon could only treat the younger Turk's symptoms as they appeared. He was presently on oxygen to help with his breathing, multiple IVs trickling fluids into his body in the hope of diluting the toxin, and salt water compresses... as that seemed to be the _only_ thing that alleviated the painful burning sensation in the damaged skin. His young friend was so pale and still, laying in that bed, and Tseng could do _nothing._

He was drawn from his feeling of utter uselessness as the door behind him opened. Tseng turned to see Viridia making her way into the room.

"I only just heard what happened, or I'd have been here sooner. How is he?"

"Stable, for the time being," the Turk lieutenant replied, "There's little more they can do until we know what in the Nine Hells poisoned him..."

"Where'd your other friend run off to?"

"Ashland has taken over communication duties with Midgar for me for a short while. I'm _ostensibly_ supposed to be getting something to eat," Tseng said, shaking his head, "For... obvious... reasons, I don't have much of an appetite at the moment."

Viridia slipped her hand into his, squeezing gently. "Is there anything _I_ can do?"

"Not at present, I'm afraid. Though I wouldn't mind some company, if you have some time to spare."

The lieutenant commander gave him an understanding smile and pulled up a chair. "I'm due for a break anyway," she replied.

Tseng sighed softly and let his shoulders slump. "I hate seeing him like this," he said, eyes locked on the sleeping redhead, "The reason for it never seems to matter... Just knowing that he's injured. It never gets any easier, particularly when he's so completely unresponsive and out of it." He finally shook his head, forcing himself to redirect his gaze back to the woman beside him. "Sometimes... I truly wonder if dragging him into this life was far crueler than leaving him where I found him."

Viridia looked over at the redhead and smirked.

"You know... I don't think he's quite as out of it as you think. And judging by his expression, I'm pretty sure he's got his _own_ opinion on being left where you found him," she snickered. Tseng looked up in surprise, only to find the young Turk unexpectedly awake and openly glaring at him. He managed a slight smile and reached over to stroke his hair.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Like shit," the redhead replied, his voice weak, "... 'n it's _still_ better than bein' stuck in the goddamn slums."

"Alright," the senior Turk chuckled, "You've made your point..."

"They figure this shit out yet?"

"They're working on it," Tseng assured him, "Veld is in the process of demanding answers from the biologics department. Whatever it was that attacked you, we will, hopefully, soon have an antidote."

Reno nodded slightly, and let his eyes slowly close. "Tch... wake me up for lunch, then..." he murmured before drifting off again.

Tseng's hands clenched into fists at his sides. This all could have been avoided if that worthless excuse for a human being, Hojo, had simply disclosed that there could be something dangerous still alive in that lab! When he got his hands on that slimy excuse for a scientist...

"Uh oh... I know _that_ look," Viridia said, teasingly, "Just who are you plotting to kill?"

The Turk lieutenant gave a somewhat mirthless laugh. "It's better I don't tell you. Plausible deniability, and all..."

She leaned in, wrapping her arms tightly around her lover.

"He's going to be alright."

"You can't know that..." Tseng replied. But he let her hold him anyway. Viridia somehow had a way of soothing him even when he was all but convinced he couldn't be soothed... and right now, he needed that. The sat like that for several minutes, watching the redhead sleep. Eventually, though, the door to the room opened again, and Viridia was forced to release him.

"How's the kid?" Ashland queried, striding into the room.

"No better than when you left," Tseng said with a shake of his head.

"Well... I've got _some_ good news, at least," the retired Turk replied, closing the distance between them. "Veld says Biologics recognized the description of the specimen. They've got an anti-toxin in storage in the Midgar labs. Someone from company medical's on their way here with it now." He paused for a moment, hesitating. "That's... the _good_ news." 

"Dare I ask what the _bad_ news is?"

"... Bad news is we're under a time limit," he answered, running a hand through his hair. "It starts damaging organs if you wait too long to do something about it. _Permanently_ damaging them. It's getting here as fast as humanly possible... but it sounds like we're gonna be down to the wire on this."

Tseng slowly exhaled as he sank back into his chair. That... was _not_ what he had hoped to hear.

* * *

"Sir?" Remy queried, after knocking softly on the door frame of his open office. Veld glanced up, holding up a finger to tell her to wait, before turning his attention back to his phone.

"Keep me apprised. I want to know the _second_ she lands in Junon." He snapped the phone shut, and shook his head, finally glancing up at his subordinate. "Yes?"

"Sorry to interrupt, sir... but..."

"The job doesn't get put on hold just because a Turk is injured," Veld sighed, "What's happened now?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. Maybe nothing. I just... have a bad feeling. Rude left hours ago to meet with a new informant. He hasn't checked in and I can't get ahold of him."

The Turk leader frowned. "Where was he going?"

"Wall Market..." Remy replied, a note of concern in her voice. And she was sure that Veld shared that concern. Wall Market was Don Corneo's domain, and the Turks, generally, were not entirely welcome. Typically, it wasn't a _major_ problem for them... but if Rude had somehow run afoul of the sleazy son of a bitch...

"Take Cissnei and go look for him. Be discreet. No uniforms."

"Yes, sir," Remy said. She hesitated a moment. "Is... there any word on Reno?"

"Medical is flying out an antidote from biologics. We won't know anything for awhile yet."

"... Yes, sir," she replied with a nod of understanding. She quickly slipped back into the hallway, and headed for the lounge. She'd seen Cissnei there not long ago. To be honest, she would have preferred to remain _here_ and wait for news... but as Veld had said, their job couldn't just be put on hold because one of their own had been hurt. Particularly when _another_ Turk might very well be in trouble as well. She _hoped_ she was just being overly cautious. It was entirely possible that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for Rude being out of contact. He might still be meeting with the informant and simply not answering... or he might be in a dead zone down below where his phone couldn't get a decent signal. They were rarer these days than they used to be, but it happened on occasion.

And of course, she couldn't _not_ think about Reno, too. She couldn't stop herself from worrying about him... even if he did occasionally drive her up the wall. And... well... she knew him on a rather more _intimate_ level than the other members of the team, even if that knowledge _had_ come about entirely by accident and probably never should have happened to begin with. She hated to admit it, but she had developed a bit of a soft spot for the little imp, and hated thinking about him being far from home and seriously injured.

She peered into the lounge, and as she'd expected, Cissnei was there, talking to Sykes and Petra. The two rookies looked rather upset... and Remy immediately suspected that the younger Turk had just finished informing them about what had happened to the absent redhead.

"Cissnei?" she interrupted, and the younger woman glanced up.

"Oh! Remy... Is... Is there any news yet?"

Remy shook her head. "Nothing as far as his condition... though they _do_ seem to have found an antidote to the poison. It's on its way to Junon now... But I'm afraid you and I have an assignment that needs handling. High priority."

Cissnei quickly disengaged herself from the pair of rookies and hurried to follow the senior Turk. Remy led her down the hall.

"Veld wants us in street clothes," she informed her, "We're heading down to Wall Market."

The young Turk can to an abrupt halt at the proclamation. "Wall Market? But that's where –" she began, only to cut herself off, "Remy... did something happen to Rude, _too_?"

"That's what we're meant to find out..." Remy replied.

* * *

Reno had stayed motionless, feigning sleep, even as the conversation carried on around him. It wasn't so much that he was _trying_ to deceive anyone – he legitimately could barely keep his eyes open – but when Ashland had returned with news, he hadn't wanted to interrupt. And he was glad he hadn't, because he had a feeling that the former Turk might not have been so blunt if he'd known the redhead was still awake.

Permanent organ damage? A part of him wanted to know _exactly_ what that might mean. Was he going to end up a fucking cripple, stuck in bed for the rest of his life? … Or was this shit just going to kill him outright? Was it gonna be quick? Or was he looking at a slow, painful death that dragged on for weeks? Or months?

 _That_ thought, he grudgingly admitted to himself, kind of terrified him. He didn't want to waste away, getting worse and worse until his body finally just gave out on him. If this was it, he wanted it over fast. And he wondered... if it _really_ came to that... was he just going to lay there and wait for it? There was _always_ another option, after all. He could always end it himself.

The thought vaguely sickened him. He'd always been staunchly against a person taking matters into their own hands like that. His mother's suicide had given him first hand experience with how indescribably painful that could be for the people who had to go on living. But if it were _really_ hopeless...

For perhaps the first time in his life, he understood why there _might_ be times when it could, at the very least, _seem_ like the preferable alternative.

And then he mentally chastised himself for letting his mind drift so needlessly to such a dark place. He wasn't fucking dead yet, and as far as he _knew_ he wasn't even dying. Nor was he in any particular hurry to do so.

By then, he suddenly realized, the conversation in the room had ceased... and he wasn't sure if it was because the others had run out of things to say or if they'd simply left him to rest, still thinking he was asleep.

"Oh fer _Titan's_ sake..." a familiar voice grumbled from the other side of the room, and the redhead's eyes snapped open. "Doesn't this place have proper visiting restrictions? Out of my way, and keep out from under foot, the lot of yeh!"

He was greeted by the sight of Dr. Ward striding purposefully across the tile floor towards his bed, some sort of case in one hand, and the other occupants of the room darting out of her path towards him. After her initial admonishment, she seemed to ignore the others, save to send Tseng scurrying from his chair with an irritated glower, and focused her attention entirely on the redhead.

"Alright, yeh little troublemaker... Just how in Hades' name did yeh manage ta go 'n do _this_ ta yerself, then?" she sighed and Reno very nearly laughed in sheer relief.

"Wasn't on purpose, Doc..." he replied, tiredly.

"Hmph... Well, not ta worry. We'll soon set yeh right."

The entire time she was speaking to him, she was also pulling an IV bag filled with a pale blue, transparent liquid from the case she'd carried in and hanging it next to the plethora of similar containers suspended from a pole by his bed. A few short moments later and it had been been hooked up to one of the tubes running into his right arm, replacing whatever they'd been giving him before.

"There, now..." she said, starting the drip, "We'll just let that infuse fer a wee bit."

That done, she moved closer to him and lifted one of the salt-water soaked cloths from his neck, bending over to inspect the damage and clucking in disapproval.

"Yer a right mess, my little headache..."

"Believe me, I noticed," Reno responded.

"Is he going to be alright?" Tseng finally asked from the corner the aged doctor had shooed him into.

"It's going ta depend on how well he responds ta the anti-toxin... but assuming it's as effective as Biologics led me ta believe, I think we've made it before any permanent damage was done," the doctor said and then fixed her gaze on Ashland, "And just what are _yeh_ doin' here yeh old coot?"

Ashland rolled his eyes in response. "Who are _you_ callin' an old coot, ya decrepit harpy?"

" _Decrepit_ am I?!" Dr. Ward all but growled. "Right... that's it, then. Visiting hours are officially over. All of yeh, out 'n leave me ta see ta my patient."

Tseng, for a very brief moment, looked as though he was considering arguing with the cantankerous doctor... but quickly thought better of it.

"I'll return to check on you later, Reno," he said, before ushering Viridia and Ashland out of the room. Ward gave an annoyed sniff and then turned her attention back on the redhead. Reno managed a faint smirk.

"So... I guess ya know Ashland from back in the day, huh?"

" _Yeh_ mind yer own business 'n focus on getting better," she commanded as she took a seat at his bedside. Her tone softened and she reached out a hand, lightly caressing his shoulder. "Are yeh in any pain?"

"Everything that shit touched is still kinda burnin', but it's not as bad as it _was_..." Reno replied, "Am I _really_ gonna be okay?"

"Everything Biologics briefed me on says yes. And yer young 'n healthy, besides... yeh'll be in bed a few days, but I think yeh'll fight it off. If yeh do as I _say_ fer once."

"Tch... When don't I do what you tell me to?"

"Hmph... Yer nigh on a month overdue fer yer annual physical. Which I've reminded yeh about at least four times now."

"... I've... ya know... been busy."

"Yeh wouldn't come down ta Medical fer the flu shot I recommended fer yeh before the holidays, either."

"Didn't have the flu," Reno said, a teasing note in his voice.

"And yeh _still_ haven't gained that twenty pounds I've been telling yeh that yeh need since I met yeh."

"I'm a freak of nature, remember?" he replied, finally grinning slightly. As much as he hated doctors in general... Ward had the uncanny ability to put him at ease, even when things seemed like they couldn't get any worse. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much, in spite of her chosen profession. He was glad she was here.

Dr. Ward chuckled softly. "Hmm... Yer certainly _something_ , anyway."

* * *

Tseng pressed his palms against his face, in an effort to relieve the pain that was slowly building behind his eyes. He hated stress headaches. Thankfully, the primary source of said stress had been removed. Reno had the medicine he needed and would soon be back to normal.

"Hell of a morning, eh?" a voice addressed him, and the Turk lieutenant grudgingly released the pressure on his face and lowered his hands. Ashland held out one of the two mugs of coffee he was carrying to him. "They were outta tea in the mess hall. You'll have to make do with _this_ swill. Where'd that pretty security officer disappear to?"

"Lieutenant Commander Nacelle had to return to her duty shift," he replied, accepting the hot beverage and taking a sip, grimacing slightly. The older Turk was right. It was swill... though somehow _still_ better than the motor oil-like sludge that Veld preferred to drink and subsequently subjected their office to when no one managed to beat him to the coffeemaker in the morning.

Ashland chuckled, knowingly.

"Oh, we're back to 'Lieutenant Commander', now, are we?"

"That _is_ her current rank," Tseng replied, and the former Turk snorted in laughter.

"Don't play dumb, Tseng. It's beneath you. I _saw_ her sitting there with you when I walked in. Holding you. Comforting you. I have a sneaking suspicion you two don't address one another by rank in private," Ashland said, and then paused and grinned, "Good for you."

The Wutaiian Turk rolled his eyes and didn't dignify the comment with a response. He got more than enough comments like _that_ from his protege. Ashland took a seat beside him. The chairs in the little waiting room were... surprisingly comfortable. Considering the overall utilitarian nature of the military base's medical bay, it had been a rather pleasant discovery, seeing as Tseng would likely be spending quite a bit of time there for awhile.

"Gotta admit... that kid's somethin' else," Ashland continued, "Injured... poisoned... damn near drowned... and he _still_ managed to complete his mission. The science departments'll be happy to have those data drives back."

"Hmph... I hope they were worth the price. Reno will be recovering for a _least_ a week, according to the good doctor. We're extremely fortunate he _will_ recover. Things could very easily have turned out differently."

The retired Turk nodded in agreement.

"Yep. They sure as hell could've." He shook his head and sighed. "And I got a nice reminder why I decided to try and forget about Shinra after I retired. There were a lot of good days. A lot of good friends. But there were a lot of painful losses, too. It got to the point that I just couldn't take losing any more than I already had." He turned his gaze on Tseng. "I'm glad the kid's gonna be alright. And I'm glad I could help the team out one more time... but... please don't come askin' me to do it again. My Turk days are behind me. I'd... like them to stay there."

"I understand," Tseng replied. And, truly, he _did_. Ashland had been a Turk for years before Tseng had been recruited. He'd seen many of his compatriots come and go. Lost many close friends. Had nearly been killed several times over. Somehow he'd survived all of that long enough to get out of that life and live in peace with a family all his own. He couldn't blame him for not wanting to be pulled back in again when he had so much to lose.

"Hmph... Doesn't mean I'd turn down a purely social visit once in awhile, though," Ashland added, with a slight smile. "You _and_ the kid are both welcome the next time you're in Cosmo Canyon."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Tseng replied, with a faint smile of his own, "Thank you for everything you've done, Ashland."

The older man nodded and got to his feet, leaving Tseng on his own for awhile.

* * *

He couldn't be certain how long he'd been there. It _felt_ like hours... but it was hard to mark the passing of time, just sitting there, alone, in a silent room with no windows. The throbbing in his head had dulled to a moderately painful ache by then. That, at least, make it a little easier to think.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much to tell him why he was here, where here was, or who had brought him.

In all the time he'd been stuck here, chained to the wall, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of his captors. They'd certainly been thorough about searching _him_ , though. His weapon was gone. So was his PHS, his folding knife, his keys, his handcuffs, the lockpicks he kept in the hidden pocket inside his jacket, his tie and his shoelaces... Even his sunglasses were missing. _Anything_ that might have been even remotely useful had been confiscated before he'd ever woken up.

He was on his own – trapped – with nothing to help him.

~end chapter 14~


	15. The Missing Turk

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 15: The Missing Turk**

 **by Desha**

"Sweet mother 'o Titan, I hate reactor checks..." Sato announced as he and Liam made their way into the lounge. "Boring as all Hades..." He paused upon seeing the other two rookies. "What's up with _yeh_ two. Yer lookin' like Veld told yeh he's takin' away yer puppies. 'N where the bloody hell's everyone _else_?"

Sykes and Petra looked at one another for a moment before the female rookie finally spoke up.

"Veld's in his office. Or at least he _was_ a little while ago. Rude left for _somewhere_ after the briefing, Remy and Cissnei were sent off on a 'high priority' assignment, and... Reno and Tseng... aren't back yet..." she said, and the senior Turk caught a distinct undercurrent of worry in her voice.

"Mmhmm... 'n just what is it yer _not_ tellin' me, lass?"

"Reno got hurt," Sykes offered, "We... No one's _told_ us anything! Veld's been holed up in his office, all the other senior Turks were in the field until _you_ walked in, and Petra and me have just been sitting here useless!"

Sato blinked in surprise at the frustrated barrage of information. What in the name of Odin's toenails had been going on since he and the newbie left this morning? He hadn't exactly expected to return to a nearly empty office and a couple of rookies who were practically beside themselves.

"Alright, alright... Don't yeh go gettin' yer titties in a twist. I'll see if I cannae find out what's goin' on. Wait here," the Mideelian Turk hurriedly replied before turning on his heel and heading straight for Veld's office. Just as he was about to knock, however, the man himself appeared in the doorway, a look of intense displeasure inscribed across his features. Veld stopped just short of walking straight through the other Turk.

"Sato... Thank _Shiva_ ," he breathed, and the Mideelian raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Things _must_ be bad if _I'm_ gettin' that sort 'o welcome..."

"To put it mildly," Veld acknowledged, "There was a... mishap... during Reno and Tseng's mission. Apparently Reno has been poisoned by something we're relatively certain was developed by the biologics department, and he and Tseng are both delayed in Junon. _Rude_ has gone missing in Wall Market, and Remy and Cissnei are out looking for him. And _I've_ just been ordered to report to the board room for Kjata only knows what... Hold down the fort here and handle any new assignments that come in. Use the rookies if it's something you think they can handle with minimal supervision, and if _anyone_ checks in with an update, send a message to my phone immediately. And for Titan's sake, don't blow anything up!"

"Yeh can count on me, sir," Sato replied, following his superior to the elevator. "Er... the rookies are more'n a wee bit worried 'bout the redhead, though. Anything I can tell 'em ta put their minds at ease?"

"The last I heard, he was stable. The anti-toxin had arrived from Midgar and was being administered. That was nearly an hour ago, and I'm afraid that's all I know at the moment. If you can get ahold of Tseng, feel free to ask for an update... but as I recall, the Junon medical bay is rather strict about PHS usage on the ward. He may not answer immediately," he said, stepping aboard the elevator and pressing the button for the sixty-sixth floor. The doors slide shut, leaving Sato in charge of both headquarters _and_ a group of worried rookies.

He sighed.

"Guess it's Turkling-sittin' duty fer me, then..."

* * *

"... This place _always_ creeps me out," Cissnei noted as she and Remy stepped out of the train station and into the sector proper. She hadn't had the "pleasure" of visiting Wall Market many times, but the few times she _had_ , it was always the same. People – mostly men, but not a few of the women as well – looked at her like she was a piece of meat on display. No matter where she went, she felt eyes on her. It put her on edge.

"I'm not exactly a fan, myself," Remy replied in distaste as she pointedly avoided crossing the path of a particularly skeevy-looking denizen of the redlight district who was unabashedly staring at the two women, one hand in his pants pocket. "Come on. Rude usually meets his Sector 6 informants at the bar on the main street. We'll start there."

Cissnei obligingly followed the senior Turk down the main boulevard. Wall Market was an... _odd..._ place. It was full of pimps and prostitutes, perverts and the occasional junkie... but the businesses in the sector positively _thrived,_ most places were reasonably clean and in good repair,and crime was minimal compared to other parts of the Slums. Don Corneo was, by all accounts, a remorseless, cruel, twisted excuse for a human being, but he kept the whole damn place in line. He'd turned his little corner of the Slums into what could almost be considered a tourist destination, enticing even those who lived above to come and experience the carnal pleasures of places like the Honeybee Inn or the smaller, less expensive whorehouses that made up a significant portion of the sector's business community. If his business model hadn't been so thoroughly predatory, she might have even been tempted to be impressed.

They passed by a small eatery and then a clothing shop before finally reaching the little bar. A bit farther down the street, she could see Corneo's personal compound... a surprisingly opulent dwelling, considering they were deep in the Slums. She trailed Remy through the door to the bar, looking around at the afternoon crowd. The place was, by no means, packed, but they seemed to be doing steady business, in spite of the relatively early hour.

Rude had once told her that he preferred to have his first meeting with informants in bars they happened to be regulars in whenever possible... because the bartender's reaction to them walking through the door often told him _exactly_ how big a pain in the ass they were going to be. It was a trick he'd apparently picked up from his mentor. Remy had said this was a newly recruited contact... so the meeting location made a lot of sense.

But, that begged the question... What had gone wrong? Rude was no fool, and he'd been doing this sort of thing for quite some time now. And he _certainly_ wasn't stupid enough to let some stranger lure him off somewhere. Had something happened to him on the way _to_ the meeting? Or had he vanished afterwards?

Cissnei hung back while Remy walked up to the bar, keeping an eye on the patrons. No one looked particularly suspicious. In fact... at least a few of them didn't look like slum dwellers at all. They were too well dressed and positively oozed a touristy vibe. Almost certainly Plate residents down for a good time. A few moments later, Remy returned to her side.

"Anything?" Cissnei asked.

"He was here. The bartender said a man matching Rude's description came in a little before ten and ordered a drink, sat around at one of the tables for about half an hour, and then left. I'd guess that his contact was a no-show," the senior Turk replied.

"Then he would have headed back to headquarters, wouldn't he?"

"One would assume," said Remy, "Which means that something happened between here and the office that prevented that."

So... where, then, had their missing Turk taken an unexpected detour? Remy seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Alright... We'll check with the other businesses on the street. Perhaps he stopped in one of them," she continued, "I'll take that little diner we passed on the way here. You start with the boutique. Surely _someone_ saw _something_."

* * *

Reno moaned softly as he experimentally flexed his fingers. Every last inch of skin that slimy shit had touched still felt as though it were on fire. Though at least he could breath normally again. _That_ had had him freaked the hell out for a little while. It had felt like some fatass was sitting on his chest.

"Still a wee bit sore are yeh?" Dr. Ward asked, glancing up from the article she was reading in some medical journal. The redhead had asked what it was about, earlier, out of curiosity... but based on her summary, it was _way_ over his head. There really wasn't much Ward could do for him at the moment, besides keep him company... but the woman had stubbornly refused to leave him to his own devices.

"How long's this shit gonna take to heal?" the Turk groused.

"Likely several days. Maybe a week," the doctor replied, and the answer was met with yet another groan. Several days to a _week_? Great. That was _all_ he needed.

"Tch... guess I'm not gonna be cookin' for Rude after all..." he muttered. His hope had been that when the Doc had said he'd be spending the next few days in bed, she was erring on the side of caution, and that, _really_ , once the medicine she'd given him got to work, he'd be back to normal in a day or so. Apparently not. "The fuck am I gonna do stuck layin' on my back in bed for a goddamn week or more?"

"Language," Dr. Ward chastised, and the redhead rolled his eyes.

"Doc, I am in _no_ fuckin' mood to censor myself right now just 'cause you don't like hearin' a few bad words," he grumbled, in irritation... Irritation that only grew when the doctor chuckled lightly.

"Well, now... yeh must be feelin' at least a _wee_ bit better if yer back ta yer usual complaining about _that_."

"Leave me the hell alone. I feel like shit..." he muttered, pointedly turning away from her.

"Hmph... Yer a terrible patient, yeh know," Dr. Ward teased. Reno turned back to her, glaring.

"Yeah, well... you're a terrible doctor!" he spat back. Ward stared him down, raising an eyebrow in challenge, and the young Turk immediately cringed. He hadn't really meant that... he just felt lousy. "... I'm sorry," he murmured. To his surprise, the doctor barked a sharp laugh.

"Apology accepted. I meant that, though. Yeh really _are_ a terrible patient, my little headache," she replied, reaching out a hand to gently stroke his hair for a moment. "Being under the weather turns yeh downright _mean_. Lucky fer yeh, I've dealt with far worse in my day."

"Tch... Like who?" he asked, somewhat self-deprecatingly. He'd be the first to admit – when he felt better, that is – that Dr. Ward was right. He could be a real asshole when he didn't feel so great. Being laid up and and in pain _did_ seem to bring out the worst in him.

Ward chuckled softly. "That obnoxious pain in my backside yeh dragged out of retirement fer one. Yeh've got nothin' on _that_ old goat."

"Heh... Let this petrified cow keep talking and she'll tell ya all about how the day I retired and moved halfway across the world was the best day of her Ifrit-forsaken life," a voice added from the door. Reno glanced over and spotted Ashland standing there, arms crossed over his chest. Ward narrowed her eyes at him.

"Visiting hours are _over_ fer the day," she said, coolly.

"Well, too damn bad," Ashland replied, plopping into the chair on the opposite side of the redhead's bed. "There's flight headin' for the general vicinity of Cosmo Canyon in an hour, and I plan on being on it. Just wanted to say goodbye to the kid."

Ward's eyes narrowed further. "Don't yeh take that tone with _me_ , Ashland Parker. Yeh've got ten minutes. _Ten_. And if yer not out of my hair by then, I'll drag yeh ta that plane _myself_."

With that, the doctor gathered up her reading material and swept from the room in an angry rush. Reno eyed the former Turk.

"... What'd you ever do to piss off the Doc like _that_?" he asked when she was out of earshot. Ashland somewhat sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and flashed him an awkward grin.

"We were... uh... somethin' of an item once upon a time," he replied. "Things didn't exactly end on the _friendliest_ of terms."

Reno blinked. "... Wait. You and the _Doc_?"

Ashland laughed outright at the vaguely grossed out expression on the younger Turk's face.

"I'll have you know Justinia was a damn fine lookin' gal back in the day..." he said, fondly, and shook his head. _"_ And just as big a know-it-all pain in the backside as she is _now_."

"So... if ya hated her so much, why'd ya get together with her in the first place?" the redhead asked out of somewhat morbid fascination. Ashland grinned widely.

"Never _could_ resist a challenge," he laughed. "Anyway... _you're_ on the mend and, like I said, there's a plane heading for home... so I just stopped in to say goodbye. You take care of yourself, kid. Stop by if you're ever in my neighborhood again. And keep that mentor of yours on his toes. Can't have him getting _too_ comfortable, now, can we?"

Reno snickered. "I think the boss would disagree with ya on that... _Pretty_ sure he'd love it if I never got myself into trouble ever again."

"Sounds like a terribly _boring_ way to live if you ask me," Ashland said with a wink.

* * *

Cissnei hadn't had any luck at the boutique. Or the weapons shop. Or the gym. At last, she'd thought to stop and talk to a few of the women on the street corners. The first three hadn't panned out... but the fourth... _she_ thought she'd seen someone who looked like Rude heading down a nearby alley awhile ago. Maybe.

It, admittedly wasn't _much_ to go on, but she supposed it was better than nothing... so Cissnei had hurried off in the direction the young woman had pointed her in. A few steps in, she realized that she recognized the route. It was a shortcut Rude used to get to the Sector 6 train station. He'd showed it to her one of the few times she'd ventured down here with him as backup.

'Okay...' she thought, 'So he was definitely heading back to the office... The question is, did he make it to the train, or –'

Something crunched loudly underfoot, interrupting her train of thought, and she instinctively looked down.

"... Oh, no..." she breathed, _hoping_ it wasn't what she was almost certain it was. Her stomach dropped as she bent down and picked up the familiar, and now bent and cracked, frames. She reached for her PHS and dialed Remy's number.

"Remy here," the senior Turk answered on the second ring, "Did you find something?"

"... Yeah... I did," Cissnei replied, clutching the broken sunglasses protectively, "And it's _not_ a good sign..."

* * *

Tseng and Ashland had stopped briefly at the base's mess hall for a quick lunch before the Turk lieutenant had at last escorted his old friend to the tarmac to catch his ride home. He had to admit... he was a little sad to see him go. But he also understood the desire to take his leave. The entire mission had seemed to have brought up a lot of less than pleasant memories for the man, and though things had turned out alright in the end, Ashland seemed to want nothing more than for it to be over and done with once and for all. Tseng had dutifully tried to relay the former Turk's desire not to be tapped again for assistance in the future to Veld shortly after the plane had left, but his call had been sent directly to voicemail. He assumed that he'd been called into a meeting or some such request that required a do not disturb to be enabled.

It was of no consequence. He could simply tell him when he returned to Midgar.

Which, if Dr. Ward had her way, would likely be sometime this evening. She was already seeing to the necessary measures to have Reno transferred to Midgar General Hospital as quickly as possible. He couldn't stay in _Junon_ anyway, even if the base's medical staff objected. He would need a second dose of anti-toxin eventually, and it was, at present, in the process of being manufactured back home. He would receive it far sooner in Midgar than he would if they had to courier it to Junon again.

Besides which... as much as he wished he could stay with the redhead until he was well again, he would be needed back at the office sooner rather than later. Justinia, too, had other patients to tend to and would have to return. He didn't want to both leave Reno here alone _and_ remove him from her personal care if it wasn't strictly necessary... and he doubted Reno would be thrilled with such an arrangement, either.

As he made his way back across the tarmac towards the medical center, he couldn't help but think just how incredibly fortunate they'd been. Yes, Reno had been badly injured... but he somehow managed to survive not only the initial attack, a near drowning, and being poisoned... but also managed to be poisoned by a toxin for which an antidote was almost immediately available. The redhead frequently joked that he had truly awful luck – and indeed, some very odd and unfortunate things _did_ tend to befall him on a fairly regular basis – but the truth was, he was perhaps one of the luckiest people Tseng had ever met. He always seemed to walk away from it in, more or less, one piece. Still... in the back of his mind, a part of him worried that such luck as Reno experienced wouldn't last forever.

He generally tried to keep that part of his mind firmly under control, however, for his own sanity. It had been a long, grueling process, over the course of more than a year and a half now – and countless therapy sessions – but the ghosts of the past seemed to haunt him far less these days. At least, in so much as his every waking hour was no longer consumed by the fear that his protege could be unceremoniously taken from him at any given moment. He still felt very much to blame for his sister's untimely death, and doubted that _that_ would ever change. It had, though, become something that he could live with. He really had no other choice, after all. He couldn't change the past. He could only learn from it.

And he did _not_ intend to make the mistake of putting company loyalty before his family ever again. Not even if it conflicted with a direct order.

"Well, _you_ look like you're deep in thought," a voice commented, and Tseng looked up to find Viridia suddenly standing in front of him. "Anything I can help with?"

Tseng smiled warmly. "No... I was just seeing Ashland off. And thinking about how fortunate we really _were_ today."

"How's Reno?"

"Doing well. He's improved enough to resume his usual constant complaining about being stuck in bed, apparently. Justinia intends to transfer him back to Midgar this evening."

"That's good to hear... though I suppose that means you won't be joining me for dinner, then," the security officer said with a sigh, and Tseng chuckled.

"I fear not."

"Well, when that redhead of yours is back on his feet again, I expect a raincheck," she teased. "But for now... _I_ have a patrol to oversee. So just in case I don't manage to catch you before you leave..."

Viridia leaned in an kissed him softly for a moment, before pulling away and smiling.

"And I _expect_ you back soon," she added, "Preferably _not_ for a mission that lands you or one of your subordinates in the medical bay."

"I'll try my best," Tseng replied, laughing softly, "but I make no promises."

Viridia grinned and turned to go back to work. "Tell Reno to get well soon, okay?" she called over her shoulder. Tseng smiled as he watched her go, before resuming his course towards the medical facility. He only made it a half dozen steps or so when his PHS rang. He frowned slightly as he noted the caller ID.

"Tseng here," he answered, "What is it, Sato?"

"Dunnae shoot the messenger," the Mideelian Turk replied, "Veld's tied up with the Board fer the next hour or two, so I'm just relayin' what Remy told _me_. Assumed yeh'd want ta be kept in the loop."

"What's wrong?" Tseng asked. His first thought was that something had happened to one of the rookies during training... If Veld was busy elsewhere and Remy had been required to escort one of them to medical, it would explain why it was _Sato_ that was contacting him, rather than one of them.

"Rude went missin' earlier taday," Sato said, "Remy 'n Cisseni went down ta Wall Market lookin' fer him... Remy just checked in. They think he mighta been ambushed on his way back. They dunno if he was taken captive or... worse. All they found were his sunglasses in an alley."

Tseng swore under his breath.

"Alright... Inform Veld the _moment_ he returns to the office. I'll leave for Midgar as soon as possible."

"Aye, sir. Will do," said the other Turk, "Any updates on the redhead, while I've got yeh? The rookies've been a wee bit concerned..."

"Reno is doing quite well, all things considered. He'll be out of commission for a week or so, but he's recovering."

"Er... are yeh goin' ta tell him? 'Bout Rude, I mean... Yeh _know_ how close those two are. He'll drive himself outta his head worryin' 'bout him 'n not able ta help..."

Tseng was silent for a moment. Sato was absolutely right. Reno hated being stuck in bed even at the best of times. Knowing that his friend might be in trouble would make things far worse for him. He sighed and shook his head.

"Yes, he almost certainly will... but I think he has a right to know," he said at last. "I'll be there within the hour."

With that, he snapped the phone shut and doubled his pace towards the medical bay. It was a forty-five minute flight back to Midgar, with a six or seven minute pre-flight to go through. That left him, if he intended to meet his self-imposed deadline, just under ten minutes to tell Reno that his best friend was missing and that he was leaving the younger Turk here, hurt and alone, to assist in the search.

* * *

He could hear voices.

It was the first sound, besides the intermittent hum of the heating system and the rustle of the chain securing him to the wall that he'd heard since he'd woken up there. They sounded like they were several rooms away, and he briefly debated calling out for help. Ultimately, though, he decided it it was far more likely that the voices belonged to his captors than to anyone who might be willing to help him.

His head still ached. And he'd discovered a lump the size of his fist on the back of his skull, so the reason for the pain was fairly obvious. Someone had come up behind him in the alley, clobbered him over the head, and dragged him off to Shiva knew where. It was Wall Market... he could be damned near _anywhere_ , really. Hell, he could have been tossed into the basement of the Honeybee Inn, for all he knew.

That particular thought disturbed him. Wall Market... well, Wall Market wasn't exactly a bastion of upstanding citizens, but _violent_ crime, at least, was fairly low in the sector. Don Corneo saw to that... because if people from the Plate were too worried about being mugged, or kidnapped, or raped, they'd stop coming down here, and that would put a sizable dent in his profits. The fact that someone had brazenly, in broad daylight – or as much daylight as Wall Market _ever_ got, anyway – attacked and kidnapped him almost _had_ to have been sanctioned by the Don. And given that he'd been down here to _meet_ someone who was ostensibly prepared to turn informant on Corneo...

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became that the whole thing had been a setup from the start... though to what end, he didn't know. It seemed foolish, however, from Rude's perspective. Granted, Corneo and the Turks were never on the friendliest of terms – and at the moment, Corneo was particularly annoyed with them as they'd shut down a weapons buy on his dealer's end not too long ago – but so long as they more or less steered clear of one another, they tended to reluctantly tolerate each other. Enough to – very occasionally – even work together, when it benefited them both.

There was just no _good_ reason for Corneo to kidnap a Turk.

But if not Corneo, then who? No one else had that kind of pull down here. At least not in Wall Market. In the other sectors, _maybe_ – some of the gang leaders over in Two wielded a fair bit of power, locally – but Don Corneo did _not_ take kindly to other people encroaching on his home turf. Those who tried tended to disappear. Had someone grabbed him with the explicit intention of taking him away from Wall Market and out of Corneo's territory?

Rude huffed in frustration. He couldn't figure this out without more information. He just didn't have enough to go on. His thoughts turned, instead, to escape. The chains were solid, and he had nothing to pick the locks with. Something told him that brute force wasn't going to cut it in this instance.

With any luck, _someone_ back at headquarters had noticed that he hadn't checked in. He still wasn't sure how long he'd been here, but surely he'd been gone long enough to raise some concerns by now. He'd just have to bide his time... wait for a either rescue or an opportunity to get _himself_ out of this mess.

~end of chapter 15~


	16. The Search

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 16: The Search**

 **by Desha**

 **Author's Note:** I had some spare time this week, so... bonus chapter!

* * *

The phone rang. And rang. And rang. And finally dumped him into the voicemail system again. Reno scowled at his PHS, and had to forcibly stop himself from flinging it across the room in frustration. He knew it was futile... the others would have been trying to reach Rude, too, and obviously _they'd_ had just as much luck as he'd had. But given that it was about the _only_ damn thing he could do at the moment, he persisted in calling ever couple of minutes, anyway.

Tseng had broken the news to him not even half an hour ago... and then had rushed back to Midgar to help look for the missing Turk. And as much as Reno had wanted him to stay, he wanted his friend _found_ more. Besides... the Doc was taking _him_ back to Midgar, soon, too, anyway. He'd just have to be patient.

He fucking hated being patient. Especially when he _was_ a patient. It was a double dose of two of the things he hated most in life.

Reno was pretty sure there wasn't anything he loathed more than being in the hospital and knowing that someone he cared about was in trouble. It had happened a couple of times before today... the worst example of which being his bout of appendicitis while Tseng had been off dealing with the fallout from his sister's death. It left him feeling helpless and useless... and scared and alone.

And how in the hell could Rude just... vanish? The guy was huge. Well... compared the redhead, anyway. He could kick ass like nobody's business... and yet somehow he just walks down an alley and disappears?

It had to have been planned. It just _had_ to be. Rude was a fucking Turk, for Shiva's sake. He wouldn't get taken down by some random lowlife slum rat in Wall Market. He knew how to watch his back. He knew how to tell when someone was following him. Whoever had taken him had to have done it completely out of the blue. An ambush... or maybe some kinda ruse.

He sighed and wished that there was something – anything – he could do. Reno eyed his phone, thinking for a moment. _Maybe_ there was...

The redhead dialed again... but a different number this time. It was the middle of the day, so she was probably busy, but hopefully she'd check her voicemail on her next break. He was, therefore, a little surprised when the call was answered on the very first ring, and a familiar voice greeted him.

"Hey, _you_..." Lira giggled, and he could literally hear the wide grin in her voice, "You miss me or somethin'? 'Cause I'm off a little early tonight..."

"Heh... Normally, I'd take ya up on that offer. But that's not why I'm callin'," said Reno. "I need a favor..."

"Like I said... I'm off a little early tonight," the woman teased, and had the situation not been so dire, he would have laughed.

"I'm serious, Lira. I need a _big_ favor. Rude's missin'. He disappeared this mornin' down in the Market."

His friend was silent for a moment. "What is it you want _me_ to do?" she asked, a little nervously.

"Nothin' that's gonna getcha in trouble... Just... ya know, ask around. Quietly. See if any of the girls down there mighta seen what happened to him, or overheard someone talkin' about takin' down a Turk."

"O-okay, Reno. Sure. I can do that. I'll let you know if I find out anything."

"Thanks, Lira... I owe ya big for this."

"Damn right, you do... and I _intend_ to collect," she replied, somewhat teasingly, before turning serious, "Don't worry. I know _all_ biggest gossips around here. If anyone knows anything, I'll find out."

The redhead smiled in spite of himself. "You're the best, Lira."

"And don't you forget it!"

He briefly considered letting her know what had happened to _him_ ,as well... but ultimately said his goodbyes and hung up before he could regale her with _that_ nightmare of a story. He didn't want her worrying about _him_. He was fine. Rude was the one who needed help.

Once he'd ended the call, he laid there for a few minutes, just staring at the device in silence. It took a great deal of effort to resist dialing Rude's number again. He sighed in defeat, and hoped that he would hear from Lira or Tseng or... _anyone_... soon. Preferably _good_ news. The door to his room opened and Dr. Ward entered, accompanied by a handful of additional personnel.

"Alright, yeh little troublemaker," she began, striding purposefully across the room, and pausing at his bedside, "No giving the medical staff a hard time. We don't have the time fer jokes. I had ta call in a favor or two ta get yeh onta the next transport ta Midgar and we've got exactly six and a half minutes ta get yeh packaged up and ready ta go because they're not going ta wait fer us..."

Reno blinked in surprise.

"We're leavin' _now_?" he queried, decidedly pleased by the news. _He'd_ thought he'd be stuck waiting half the damn day.

"Not if we don't make that flight. Now, yeh behave 'n let these lovely medics do their jobs. I'll have none 'o yer usual gripes."

For once, the redhead was only too happy to comply with the doctor's instructions.

* * *

"But... why can't _I_ help?" Liam asked, as he trailed Sato down the hallway. Both Sykes _and_ Petra had already been sent off join the search, and now Sato was leaving, as well... but Liam was being left behind. The senior Turk shook his head and sighed, but didn't slow his pace.

"Because yer not ready ta be in the field yet," he responded, before finally stepping into his office and collecting an empty bag... which he then proceeded to fill with any number of what the youngest of the rookies could only surmise were improvised explosives. The rookie raised an eyebrow.

"... What are you going to do with all _that_?"

"I dunnae know yet, now, do I?" Sato replied, pausing a moment, to apparently consider the benefits of the – obviously modified – grenade in his hand before shrugging and tucking it into the bag as well, "Yeh never know what sort o' things yeh might need 'til yeh need 'em." The senior Turk finished up and turned to him. "I know it's a right pain in the arse, bein' stuck here at headquarters... but Wall Market's no place fer a wee rookie who's only been on the job a few weeks."

"That may be the most _sensible_ thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth, Sato..." a voice interrupted, before Liam could comment further. The rookie jumped with a squeak of surprise, turning to find Tseng standing directly behind him. "Is Veld still with the Board?"

"Aye... Checked in a wee bit ago. There's apparently goin' ta be some big ta do happenin' in Wutai with the opening of the new reactor next month and they need Veld ta give 'em options on security right bloody now fer some Titan-forsaken reason..."

"The others have already left for the Slums, then, I take it?"

Sato nodded. "Sent the rookies off ta meet up with Remy 'n Cissnei right after I called yeh. Just got the okay from Veld ta join 'em myself 'n leave the newbie in charge 'o the office."

"Sir... Isn't there _anything_ I can do to help?" Liam interjected. He understood why he wasn't being tapped to assist in the search down below... but surely there was _something_ he could do instead of sitting around being useless. Tseng started to voice a denial, and then seemed to reconsider.

"... Actually... I _do_ havea job for you," he replied. "Reno is still in Junon, but will be returning to Midgar in due course. I'd like you to meet him at Midgar General and... keep him in line and out of trouble if at all possible." The Wutaiian Turk smirked slightly. "If he complains, you may inform him that I've ordered you to babysit and that you have my express permission to use whatever means necessary to insure that he behaves himself. It certainly wouldn't hurt to check in on Kai and update _her_ on the current situation, as well."

Liam blinked, slightly confused. "Babysit, sir?"

"Reno is... not typically most pleasant of patients," Tseng replied, and Sato cackled in response.

"If that'un ain't the understatement of the century..." he snickered.

"He occasionally needs a reminder to be civil. Just try and keep him from irritating the medical staff _too_ much, please. Dr. Ward is attending him, but I doubt she can be present in the room every second."

"Er... yes, sir..." Liam said, somewhat dubiously. He wasn't entirely convinced that this "assignment" wasn't just meant to keep him from going stir crazy – after all, why would a senior Turk need a babysitter? – but at least it was something to do.

Besides... he'd been worried about his fellow Turk since they'd heard he'd been injured. And he _had_ intended to visit Kai tonight, anyway...

* * *

The distant voices he'd been hearing off and on for the last little while were moving now. Towards him, he was almost certain... though they certainly didn't seem to be in any hurry. Rude strained to pick out the actual words, but it was difficult. They were still muffled. He did, however, distinctly hear a loud laugh.

The Turk frowned, and warily eyed to door to his little prison. He'd managed, over the last half hour or so, to work one wrist free of the shackles that kept him restrained... though his partial freedom had come at a rather painful price. He was pretty sure it had resulted in a broken, or at least badly sprained, thumb – how Tseng managed that little trick without causing himself permanent damage was a mystery to him... – and he hadn't _dared_ attempt it with the other hand.

Still... one free hand was better than nothing. He had hoped, initially, that having a better angle on it would let him pull the chain from the loop anchoring it to the wall... or perhaps, more accurately, pull the loop itself loose... but it had proven surprisingly solid.

He sighed and shook his head. There _had_ to be another way. The voices outside drew closer until he could finally make out what they were saying.

"Think the fucker's awake yet?" one man asked.

"Tch... hard as you walloped him? Fuckin' bastard's _probably_ dead by now. Which is okay by me... Saves me the trouble of doin' it myself later."

Rude's eye narrowed. He knew that voice. He'd only spoken to him a few times, and it had always been on the phone, but he recognized it nonetheless. It was the son of a bitch he was supposed to have been meeting this morning. So... it _had_ all been a setup.

A key turned in the lock and Rude hurried to hide his handiwork as best he could and laid down on the floor, feigning unconsciousness. The door creaked on its hinges as it swung inward and someone stepped inside.

"Heh... See? Told ya that ya scrambled the fucker's brains."

His partner in crime laughed. "Man... when the boss said he wanted us to take out a goddamn Turk, I thought this job was gonna be _hard_. You think this plan of his is actually gonna work?"

"It's workin' _so far_ , ain't it?" the first assailant replied. He kicked sharply at Rude's side, and the Turk had to force himself to remain still and unresponsive in spite of the suddenly pain. "Tch... Good thing we don't need a live one."

His footsteps retreated and the door shut behind him. Rude heard the click of the lock, but still waited several seconds before finally sitting up. He winced as his recently abused ribs protested.

What the hell was Corneo playing at, sending his men to kidnap... and apparently kill... a Turk? Rude just couldn't see the logic in it. He had to know that Veld would never let something like this just slide, now matter _how_ much power the Don wielded down here.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and got to his feet. Right now, the why didn't matter. If he didn't find a way out of here soon, he was a dead man. His captors had made _that_ much, at least, perfectly clear.

* * *

Liam peered into the room, not entirely certain if he should knock first, or simply walk in. The door _was_ open, after all. Mostly. He'd just decided that, if nothing else, the _polite_ thing would be to knock... when Kai turned towards him, scowling at first, before recognition dawned and her face split into a wide grin.

" _Finally_! One of my baby Turklings came to visit!" she said, enthusiastically. Liam smiled slightly himself and slipped into the room.

"Yes, ma'am..." he replied and Kai rolled her eyes.

"Would you quit it with that _yes, ma'am_ crap already?" the injured Turk groused, groping for the little remote by her side and pressing the button that raised her up a bit in bed. "Ugh... Thank Holy they finally let me out of that Shiva-be-damned contraption earlier. Do you have _any_ idea how boring staring up at the ceiling all day is?"

"No, ma'am..." Liam said, automatically, and then flushed bright pink, as he realized she'd _literally_ just asked him not to do that not ten seconds ago. "Er... I mean... No. I don't. But it _sounds_ prettyboring."

" _So_..." Kai said, looking at him intently, "You're not here just to get out of gauntlet training, are you? Because I distinctly remember telling Veld to make sure _someone_ put you rookies through your paces while I'm out."

"Er... n-no. Actually, I'm here because Tseng sent me to check on Reno. But he's not here just yet."

The senior Turk blinked. "Reno?" Her eyes suddenly narrowed, suspiciously. "What happened to Reno?"

"To be honest, I'm not really sure. We kept asking, but no one would tell us much, and then the whole thing with Rude... and all I really know is that he was injured on a mission in Junon... and then Veld got called up to meet with the executive board and everyone else went to Wall Market!" he proclaimed as some of the building frustration from that morning finally boiled over. He was vaguely aware that he was rambling and likely not making a lot of sense, but he couldn't quite stop himself. Kai blinked again and motioned for him to come closer.

"Poor baby Turkling... What in Hades' name did I _miss_?" she asked, a slightly mystified expression on her face. Liam finally took a breath and started from the beginning.

"Okay... so... Reno and Tseng and a former Turk named Ashland went off to Junon for a mission this morning and Reno got hurt, but Tseng said he's doing okay, and that he's on his way here, now. But Rude went missing down in Wall Market, so everyone basically dropped what they were doing to go look for him," he explained... and then added, with no small amount of annoyance, "Except me, because apparently I'm 'not ready to be in the field yet'... So Tseng sent me here to babysit Reno and check in on _you_."

"Ugh... I _told_ Veld that sending Reno on that dive was going to bite us in the ass. He hasn't had _nearly_ enough training for that sort of work!" the senior Turk ground out, angrily. "And now _Rude's_ missing?"

Liam nodded in confirmation and Kai sighed.

"I just _knew_ my day was shaping up to be much too pleasant..." she muttered, before forcing herself further upright and wincing as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"And just where d'yeh think _yer_ going?" a somewhat familiar lilt demanded from the doorway, and Liam turned away from the senior Turk just in time to see one of Shinra's medical staff striding quickly into the room. She was the older doctor from the Medical Suite on the ninth floor. Warren or Ward or something along those lines. He hadn't personally been a patient of hers as of yet. All he really knew about her was that... she was a little scary.

"To make a phone call," Kai replied, stubbornly, "In case _you_ haven't heard, your favorite patient got hurt on the job today."

The doctor folded her arms over her chest.

"Of course I've heard. Where do yeh think I've _been_ all afternoon?" she said and then motioned to someone in the hallway. "By the way... yer getting a roommate."

Liam had to shift off to one side as a gurney bearing a particularly annoyed-looking redhead was wheeled in... though his expression softened a bit when he spotted the two Turks in the room. He was a bit of a mess, the rookie noted, with angry red marks that covered the lower half of his face, and his hands, as well... almost like burns, though not blistered like he would have expected burns to be. He was quickly transferred to the empty bed on the other side of the room, and the orderlies that had brought him took their leave.

"What in the Nine Hells happened to _you_?" Kai asked, asked when they were gone, "I thought this was a diving accident!"

"Tch... if by 'diving accident' you mean gettin' attacked by some kinda poisonous jelly monster... then, yeah, I guess you could call it a diving accident. Remind me again why we keep Hojo 'n his goddamn experiments around?"

Kai shook her head in disgust. "Ugh... you, too, huh? That son of a bitch is going to single-handedly take out half the team by this time next week at this rate."

"Alright, enough..." the doctor cut in. "Kai... back in bed, this instant. Yer not meant ta be up and about yet. Reno... lay back and relax. And... just who are _yeh_?"

She eyed the young rookie somewhat suspiciously, and Liam shrank slightly under her gaze. Kai snickered as she obeyed the doctor's order and climbed back into bed.

"Oh... that's Liam," the senior Turk replied, grinning, "He's the fresh meat."

"Ah... right, yer newest rookie," she nodded, clucking her tongue, in what Liam strongly suspected was disapproval as she shook her head, "Younger 'n younger..."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Come on, Doc... Kid's like two years older than _I_ was when _I_ got recruited..."

"Hmph! And _yeh_ were hardly more than a wee babe yerself, back then," the doctor shot back, and turned to Liam, "Well... In any case, I'm Dr. Ward. It's nice ta finally meet yeh properly. Just here ta say hello ta _this_ pain in my backside then?" She nodded towards Kai.

"Er... Actually... Tseng sent me to check on Reno and... um... babysit?" he replied, and couldn't help back feel a little silly repeating the Turk lieutenant's choice of words. The redhead scowled and rolled his eyes a second time... and Kai broke out into nearly uncontrollable laughter.

"And Veld keeps trying to tell me that you're _not_ my little baby Turkling anymore..." she teased, and Liam cringed slightly as the redhead's irritation noticeably deepened. _Maybe_ he shouldn't have mentioned that last bit...

"Kai, I fuckin' swear, you keep callin' me that and I'll –" Reno growled, only to have his threat drowned out as the laughter continued... leaving the redhead to glare sulkily at her until she quieted down a few moments later. "You _finished_ yet?"

Kai sniggered softly, but didn't otherwise reply.

"Tch... _good_ ," Reno muttered, before turning on Liam, "There any word on Rude yet?"

"Er... no, sir. Not really. Remy and Cissnei found evidence that he may have been ambushed, but that's the latest I've heard. Everyone's down below, looking for him."

The older Turk deflated slightly at the news, but only sighed.

"Right... _both_ of yeh, lay down and get some rest," Ward said during the lull in conversation that followed, "Reno, yer due fer another dose of the anti-toxin soon. I'm going ta go and see if it's arrived yet. And... Liam was it?" The rookie nodded and she smirked slightly. "Keep an eye on him fer me. Nothing but trouble, that one..."

"Remind me to fuckin' murder Tseng later. Tch... _babysitter_..." the redhead muttered to no one in particular as he finally settled back against the pillows.

* * *

Lira tapped softly on the heavy wooden door that led to Rose's office in one of the Honeybee's side corridors. A moment later, a voice from within called out, telling her to enter.

"Rose? Er... Could I ask a favor?" she queried, slipping inside and shutting the door firmly behind her. She'd talked to all of the girls, but none of them had seen or heard anything about a Turk disappearing in Wall Market.

"'Course, darlin'... One of the regulars causin' trouble for ya again?" the matron of the brothel answered, smiling at her. Lira couldn't help by smile back. Rose always looked out for. She looked out for _all_ the girls. The woman didn't tolerate trouble under her roof, and dealt with anyone, customer or employee, who violated her house rules swiftly and harshly.

"No... It's not a customer. A friend of mine... well... a friend of _his_ went missing this morning somewhere in the sector."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Honey, let's not beat around the bush. I know all about your _friends_. This has somethin' to do with that Turk of yours, don't it? The little redhead that brought ya here?"

"Yes, ma'am..."

"And I suppose the one that's come up missing is workin' for Shinra, as well..."

Lira nodded. "Yeah. He's a Turk, too."

"Lira, honey... you _know_ how I feel 'bout gettin' involved with Shinra... 'specially the Turks. I don't say anything against you hangin' around with one of 'em on your _own_ time, 'cause I know you two are close... but _we_ work for Don Corneo, and the Don don't like those bastards sniffin' around down here."

"I know. But Reno's – he's not _officially_ askin' for help on behalf of Shinra _or_ the Turks. He's just askin' a friend for a favor," she said, hurriedly, and sighed, "But... no one seems ta know _anything_. I just thought that maybe _you'd_ heard somethin'."

Rose shook her head. "'Fraid not, darlin'. And even if I _had_... I have to admit, I'd be a little hesitant to share. Don't sound like there's any good in it for _us_."

Lira's shoulders drooped in defeat. She'd kind of expected that reaction. Rose didn't do anything that might cause her or the Honeybee's girls problems... unless the benefits significantly outweighed the risks. She wasn't _above_ passing on information to Shinra's Turks on the rare occasion they came calling, but only when there was a clear gain in it. There didn't seem to be any gain at _all_ in helping them now.

"Hmm..." Rose hummed softly, and Lira glanced up at her, "A Turk goin' missin' in our own backyard, though... _That_ ain't good for business, either. Sounds like somethin' maybe the Don oughta be made aware of... assumin' he ain't _already_ aware of it for one reason or another. I'll pass it along... just in case he _ain't_." She paused momentarily, before adding, "'Course... if your missin' Turk's gone 'n got himself on the Don's bad side, there's nothing you or I can do 'bout _that_."

"Thanks, Rose," Lira replied with a relieved smile. The woman was right of course... If Rude's disappearance had been orchestrated by Corneo, he was likely already dead, and digging any deeper than she already had might put _her_ in the same state if she wasn't careful. But if Corneo _wasn't_ behind it... well, he probably wouldn't be too happy with the responsible party when he found out who it was.

"Tell your Turk friend you ain't heard nothin' for now. It's true enough, anyway. I learn anything I think's _safe_ to pass on, I'll let ya know."

Lira nodded, and taking that as her dismissal, made her way back out to the Honeybee's foyer.

"Ugh... About time!"

Lira turned and saw her friend Meika storming towards her, the antennae of her bee costume waving wildly above her head.

" _Seriously_ , Lira! Where have you been? We've had clients waiting in the Group Room for like five minutes now, and you _know_ they don't tip as well if we keep 'em waitin' too long! Come on, already!"

"Sorry, sorry... I'm comin'..." she groaned, and hurried after her.

~end chapter 16~


	17. Lost & Found

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 17: Lost & Found**

 **by Desha**

Tseng stepped off the train and onto the Wall Market station platform, Sato mere steps behind him. Neither Turk was in uniform at the moment... but Tseng, at least, was well known enough to a few of Don Corneo's minions that he might be recognized anyway. At the moment, however, that was the least of his concerns.

Rude had been missing for hours. And with each passing minute, the odds of finding him alive dropped lower and lower. Worst of all, they didn't even know for certain who was responsible. Remy, when last he spoke to her, was leaning heavily towards it being Corneo himself. The Don and the Turks weren't on the best of terms at the moment, owing to an operation about a month ago that had stopped a cache of weapons from reaching the sector – later discovered to have been stolen from Fort Condor. Corneo had, of course, denied all involvement... but had closed ranks, and now, any time one of the Turks happened to be spotted venturing into Wall Market, they were met with a rather frosty reception, at best.

Tseng had his doubts, however. For one... Corneo wasn't stupid. He knew that crossing Shinra would result in serious consequences. Hell, Shinra Company, for all intents and purposes, was in business with the bastard. There was a reason Sector Six had been the first of the Slums to be connected to the Plate via the train system, and it had nothing to do with luck. And while Shinra certainly took their cut from Corneo's dealings down below, they _also_ provided him with any number of financial opportunities he benefited from. There was no question about that. If the Company really _wanted_ to, it could make life very hard for the Don.

But even if he _were_ foolish enough to pull something like this... what in Leviathan's name did he have to gain from it? Even Reno had seemed somewhat perplexed when that question had arisen during their admittedly brief conversation prior to Tseng's departure from Junon, and the redhead could usually come up with a reasonable scenario for just about anything...

Sato, meanwhile, was convinced that Corneo's men were staging a coup. Take down a Turk, and frame Corneo... then move in and take over after the Turks retaliated. It was, Tseng reluctantly had to admit, an idea that he couldn't dismiss out of hand as, for once, one of the Mideelian Turk's conspiracy theories had some merit. He was fairly familiar with the Don's assortment of henchmen, however. The majority of them weren't exactly inclined towards subterfuge. True, Tres – perhaps the finest intelligence specialist the Turks had ever had – had once worked for the crimelord as well, but the late Turk had very much been the exception, rather than the rule. And the ones who _might_ have the brains to bring such a plan to fruition were excruciatingly loyal.

Still... he supposed it was at least _possible_.

As he and Sato made their way out into the sector proper, the Turk lieutenant's gaze fell on a pair of familiar figures. Cissnei and Petra quickly spotted _them_ as well, and calmly crossed the street, joining them. Cissnei held out a PHS before Tseng could even say anything.

"It's Rude's," she said, without preamble, "Sykes found a little boy playing with it. He said a 'nice man' gave it to him about an hour ago."

Tseng frowned. Rude had disappeared quite some time ago. So either this mysterious person had stumbled upon the phone and decided to gift it to a random child... or they'd taken it from it's owner and had been holding onto it for most of the day, only now deciding to dispose of the evidence.

"Was he able to describe this man?" he asked, trying to turn the device on, only to receive no response from it. He flipped it over and noted that the battery had been removed... probably to prevent anyone from answering it. They'd been calling it regularly since Rude had gone missing.

"Sort of..." Cissnei replied, "He's only six years old... He called him the 'picture man'."

Tseng raised an eyebrow.

"Sir... I think he meant he had tattoos. Possibly several of them, if it made that much of an impression," Petra interjected, and Tseng nodded. It did, after all, make sense from a child's point of view.

"A reasonable assumption... though it doesn't narrow our search much, I fear. There are multitudes of individuals sporting body art in this sector. Where are Remy and Sykes now?"

"Staking out Corneo's compound," Cissnei replied, "He's been sending his people out all over the sector for the last hour or so. We're not sure why. Remy thinks that if he's the one behind this, _someone_ is eventually going to slip up, and she wants to –"

The younger Turk was unceremoniously interrupted by her phone. It took her a moment to recover, but she hurriedly reached into her pocket and pulled it out.

"Speaking of Remy..." she said, answering the call. "Cissnei here... Yes, Tseng and Sato just arrived." She paused a moment, listening to the reply. "Alright, we're on our way."

"I take it something's happened?" Tseng queried as the woman tucked her PHS away.

"Yes, sir. Someof Corneo's men returned to the mansion about five minutes ago... and a much larger group just left. In a _hurry_."

"... Then we had _better_ go and see where they're rushing off to," Tseng said.

* * *

Reno growled low in his throat and tried to ignore the enormous needle that had been stabbed into his left arm just minutes ago. Apparently they had to start a whole new Ifrit-be-damned IV for his next dose of medication. Now he had fucking needles in _both_ arms! The same pale blue liquid from the last time slowly dripped from one of the bags on the pole next to his bed, feeding into his veins.

He heard Kai giggle softly from her bed on the opposite side of the room.

" _What_?" he snapped, annoyed, and the rookie in the chair beside him jumped in fright, having been startled from his quiet reading of the book he'd brought with him. Kai laughed.

"You are just such an absolute _delight_ when you're sick, you know that?" she teased, grinning. The redhead rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off, Kai."

"Hmph... _yer_ one ta talk, Kai McNamera..." Dr. Ward commented, as she stepped into the room. She paused beside Reno, studying the IV for a moment, before nodding. "I'd say another fifteen minute or so, and then yeh'll be done. How are those welts feeling at this point?"

"Itchy," Reno grumbled, rubbing at his cheek with the back of one hand... and then immediately wishing that he hadn't, as it only made it worse. It had started shortly after they'd hooked him up to the medicine, and seemed to be slowly growing in intensity. His eye twitched in response.

He supposed it was better then the constant burning sensation, but _still_...

"Hmm... _Interesting_..." a new voice commented from the doorway. Reno blinked and had to shift slightly to his left to peer around the doctor. He immediately cringed upon seeing his newest "visitor".

"... P-professor Hojo?" Dr. Ward stammered, blinking in confusion at the new arrival.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm merely here to observe the specimen," Hojo said, dismissively, "My staff didn't have the opportunity to conduct _human_ trials before the lab was evacuated, you see... This is quite the opportunity. Quite the opportunity, _indeed_."

Reno glowered in response to being deemed a "specimen"... and a part of him wondered if the son of a bitch conveniently "forgetting" to mention the existence of the slimy creature that had _put_ him in this state had been a little more intentional than anyone had realized. He sure as hell wouldn't have put it past him, anyway.

Dr. Ward frowned and turned fully to face the man, arms folded over her chest.

"My _patient_ is in need of peace and quiet... not being stared at like a Titan-forsaken lab rat. I'm going to have to _respectfully_ ask yeh ta leave."

"Hmm? Oh, no, no, no! I can't do that... I simply must see the reaction to the second dose first hand," Hojo protested, and the doctor suddenly went very still.

" _What_ reaction?" she demanded, her irritated tone turning decidedly icy. Reno felt a chill settle over him. What the _fuck_ had Hojo done to him _now_?

"Well it's quite difficult to say, really," the bespectacled scientist replied, clasping his hands behind his back. "As I told you, no human tests were ever conducted... but the live animal tests... Oh, now _those_ were quite remarkable."

Reno blinked in an attempt to clear the sudden blurriness from his vision, but it didn't seem help. Instead, everything around him took on a slightly grayish hue. He sat up slightly, and the room suddenly tilted violently.

"... Doc? I don't... feel so good..." he managed, weakly, before sagging back against his pillows. He was only dimly aware of Dr. Ward's renewed focus on him rather than Hojo...

* * *

There were only two of them... easy odds, under normal circumstances. But at the moment, Rude had only one free hand and was essentially on a rather short leash. Still... he might still be able to pull it off. Odds were pretty good that their weapons consisted of blunt objects, or, at best, a blade or two. Firearms weren't especially common down here, owing to their hefty purchase price. If they were your everyday, average slum rats, they _might_ be armed with something more deadly than a baseball bat or a switchblade... but it was relatively unlikely.

Though... if they were _Corneo's_ men, that logic went right out the window. The Don was well funded, and not shy about outfitting his goons with guns.

He'd decided, however, that he'd have to risk it. He had a sneaking suspicion that the next time they came to see him, it would be to get rid of him. They'd made it pretty clear that he was never meant to walk out of here alive. And given that the only real advantage he had right now was that he wasn't as disabled as they believed him to be, the prudent thing to do would be to kick their teeth in and run.

There was still the little matter of being chained to the damn wall, though. If he was going to get out of this alive, he needed to take them down, hard. Hard enough that they wouldn't be getting up until he got loose and was on his way back topside.

With his current limitations, he could only reach to about the middle of the room. He'd have to let them get close. They likely still thought he was half brain-dead, anyway, so that, at least, should be easy. The difficulty came in the actual takedown. He needed to get them both in range at the same time. If one of them hung back by the door, he was fucked. He _might_ be able to take the keys to his chains off the first guy, but knocking him out, finding the keys, and setting himself free... all before his partner had time to react... was going to be tricky, even under the best of circumstances, if it came down to that.

Still... it was a plan at least. And it if didn't work, at least he could say he went down fighting.

He heard the distinctive sound of footsteps coming toward his little prison again, and hurried to lay down in the same position they'd last seen him in. He couldn't rush this. He had to be patient and wait for them to get close.

Before he had the chance, however, a loud _bang_ echoed in the small space, and Rude's eyes snapped open instinctively. At first, he'd thought it was a gunshot... but the sound of shouting and the stomping of feet from beyond the door didn't exactly seem reminiscent of a firefight. A moment later, he found out _exactly_ what the sound had been... as the door to the room was violently kicked in, slamming hard into the wall beside it with a near identical _bang_.

* * *

"Reno?! Reno... can yeh hear me?!" Ward demanded, peering into the redhead's eyes with a small penlight. Liam had jumped to his feet in response to the senior Turk's sudden... well, he wasn't sure _what_ ,exactly had happened. One moment, he'd seemed perfectly fine. The next, he'd gone white as a sheet and his eyes had rolled back in his head as he slumped over.

Kai, too, was out of bed and rushing to Reno's bedside, in spite of the doctor's halfhearted protests. But where Kai was inclined to lend whatever help she could, Liam seemed to be... frozen.

He could only watch in silence as additional medical staff flooded the room... and it wasn't long before he was shoved bodily out of the way to make room for more equipment and personnel. His stomach twisted unpleasantly, as he wondered if this was it... if this was going to be the first time he had to watch someone die. Liam had known from the start that death was part of the Turks' repertoire. He'd known that he would be expected to kill for Shinra Company... possibly even die for them. Death was to be as much a part of his life as living was. Somehow, though, he felt woefully unprepared for the reality.

He shook his head violently, trying to banish the thought. Midgar had the best medical facilities on the Planet. Reno _wasn't_ going to die.

Liam's gaze, however, shifted away from the frenzied spectacle in front of him, unwilling to risk being wrong about that and having to watch. It fell, instead, upon a lone figure hovering at the foot of the redhead's bed.

 _Hojo_ certainly didn't seem to have any problems watching. He was, Liam realized with a sudden chill, watching with a disturbing intensity. And the faintly maniacal grin on his face didn't exactly help to assuage the young rookie's fears...

* * *

Rude was on his feet in an instant, fists poised to fight, even though his odds suddenly seemed to have been significantly reduced. He could still hear shouting from down the hall, and now he was faced with two rather angry-looking men... both of whom had guns aimed at him.

And _one_ of whom he recognized.

"... Kotch."

The mohawked slum rat smirked at him, and lowered his weapon. Kotch snickered loudly as he strolled calmly over to the Turk.

" _You_?!" he asked with an incredulous laugh, "Of all the asshole Turks it coulda been, it's _you_?! Oh, man... that's fuckin' _hilarious_..."

Rude's eyes narrowed. Kotch was a relatively new addition to Corneo's inner circle... but Rude was entirely too familiar with him, all the same. He was a pain in the ass... but unfortunately a smart and very resourceful one. His older brother worked security at the Honeybee.

"What's Corneo want with me?" he asked, ignoring the taunts. Kotch laughed again and stuck his weapon into the waistband of his pants. He walked up to the imprisoned Turk and patted him condescendingly on the cheek.

"Ya got it all wrong, Rudy-boy..." he replied, grinning from ear to ear. "The Don didn't order this. In fact, it's your lucky day. We're here ta _save_ your sorry ass."

Rude snorted in disbelief, which only seemed to amuse Kotch further.

"Hey, I'm serious," the henchman said, still grinning. A moment later he tossed something at the Turk. Rude's hand instinctively shot out to catch it... and he blinked in surprise as he saw that it was a key. He eyed the other man with deep suspicion as he slipped it into the lock that held the chain tight around his wrist, and turned it. It was something of a shock when said lock actually opened, freeing him.

"What's the catch?" Rude queried, still not convinced.

"Heh... there's always gotta be a catch with you, don't there, Rudy-boy..." Kotch sniggered. "Chalk this one up to Don Corneo's... _generosity_. The Don don't want dead Turks stinkin' up the place. And he _definitely_ don't like it when _certain_ individuals think they can dump one in his backyard so he ends up takin' the fall for it."

"..."

"No need ta go thankin' me or nothin'..." Kotch smugly cackled, as he turned and headed back through the door, "Knowin' that _I_ had to come rescue _your_ sorry ass from a bunch of pathetic wannabes is reward enough."

Rude rolled his eyes and somewhat hesitantly followed the man out into the hallway. The second of Corneo's goons took up the rear. They made their way out into a small living room, its front window overlooking a deserted street. Several more of Corneo's men were standing over the pair of would-be kidnappers, who were kneeling, their hands behind their heads, next to a third individual. The Turk's eyebrows rose in surprise. He recognized _him,_ as well. Kotch smacked the third man hard on the back of the head as he walked past him.

" _This_ fuckin' dumbass is the one that had the bright idea ta grab ya..." he sneered, "Know 'im?"

"Hmph... yeah. I know him," Rude replied. He was one of the gang leaders over in Sector 4... with his own little burgeoning "empire" built in much the same mold as Corneo's. He was ruthless and determined and not at all shy about how much he coveted the Don's territory. Kotch smirked and drew his gun, pointing it at the man's head.

"Don Corneo sends his regards," he said, and pulled the trigger.

"Fuck!" one of the gangster's cohorts shouted, as his boss' blood sprayed over him before he could scurry out of its path. The other man simply stared, mouth slightly agape, as their employer's body fell over onto its side on the floor with a dull thud. Kotch chuckled sadistically. The blood-spattered man looked up at him. "D-don't kill me... I was just followin' orders..."

"Tch... So am I, dickweed," Kotch noted, before turning his gun on him as well. "Heh... Asshole picked the wrong moron to take orders from, ya ask me."

He turned, at last, to the final man... Rude's potential informant. Kotch sighed and tapped his gun against his cheek.

"Ivan, Ivan, Ivan... What the _fuck_ were ya thinkin' tryin' to fuck over the Don _and_ double-cross the Turks at the same damn time? You really think somethin' _this_ dumb was acutally gonna _work_? How fuckin' _stupid_ are ya?"

The would-be informant dropped his gaze to the floor.

"No answer, huh? Well... suit yourself..." Kotch continued, and pulled the trigger a third time. Ivan fell onto his side, dead. Kotch snapped his fingers and headed for the exit. "Come on, boys. We're done here," he said, before turning back to Rude. "The Don says to let _your_ boss know he wasn't in on this shit. He ain't lookin' for a fight with the Turks."

"... Noted," Rude grudgingly replied. He took one final look down at the three dead men before shaking his head and stepping over one of the bodies on his way out. As he walked out onto the street, he was met by the rather welcome sight of most of his _own_ team arriving... guns trained on Corneo's men, and looking _very_ ready to start shooting.

"I'm fine," the bald Turk hurried said, "Wasn't Corneo. Some idiots from Four tried to set him up. These... fine gentlemen... were just escorting me out."

"Hmph... We'll just be goin' now," Kotch said, brushing past the heavily armed Turks. Remy looked as though she might move to stop him, but Tseng motioned for her to stay put.

"Let's go," the Turk lieutenant said, frowning in annoyance as he holstered his own weapon. "Preferably before we end up owing Don Corneo any _more_ favors today."

Kotch snorted in amusement and disappeared into the shadows of a nearby alleyway with the rest of his men. When they were gone, Tseng rounded on the younger Turk.

"We'll be discussing your proclivity for going into the slums without backup later," Tseng informed him, in a decidedly displeased tone... though it quickly softened, "For now, however... are you injured at all?"

"... Just a splitting headache from almost having my skull knocked in," he replied, pausing for a moment before muttering softly, "And I think I may have broken my thumb trying your handcuff escape trick..."

The Turk lieutenant forced down a somewhat amused smirk, before quickly regaining his composure.

"Then I think a brief stop at Midgar General is in order," Tseng said, "There is a very _anxious_ redhead who was quite concerned about you when I left him. By now, he's probably driving himself, along with most of the medical staff, up the wall... Remy, you and Sato see to, what I'm sure, is quite the mess inside."

Rude blinked and, for the first time, realized that Reno wasn't there amongst the other Turks backing Tseng up.

"What happened to Reno?" he asked, somewhat concerned himself. Tseng shook his head, and guided the younger man off towards the train station.

"... I'll let _him_ tell you. I'm not entirely sure you'd believe _me_... _I'm_ not entirely sure I'd believe me. As our resident B-movie connoisseur himself noted, it sounds like the plot of a particularly bad horror movie."

Rude snickered softly. "Sir... If Reno's involved, I'd believe just about anything."

* * *

Liam had been trying, for almost twenty minutes now, to reach Veld, but the Turk leader was apparently still in his meeting with the executive board. He finally gave in and sent a text message instead, hoping that he might have at least some suggestion of what he should be doing.

He'd been rather unceremoniously shooed out of the hospital room, and though he could easily have stayed just beyond the doorway, and listened to what was going on, he'd quickly found that he simply... couldn't. Instead, he'd retreated to a small lounge down the hall and started his attempts to contact Veld. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Realistically, it was _Tseng_ he _should_ be calling. A part of him was, however, dreading that conversation.

Aside from the fact that the Turk lieutenant was mid-mission... Reno was his personal protege. Hell, if Sato was to be believed, the redhead was destined to be the next second in command eventually. How in the Nine Hells was he supposed to tell his superior that he'd taken a turn for the worse? He was just a rookie! He wasn't supposed to _have_ this level of responsibility yet!

Liam shook his head and groaned. It had to be done. He _was_ supposed to be "babysitting" the senior Turk, after all. The whole point of him being here was to keep an eye on things while Tseng was busy elsewhere. He at last dialed Tseng's number...

And then jumped with a faint shriek as a phone began to ring directly behind him.

He heard an undisguised snicker as he turned and found not only the Turk lieutenant, but Rude, as well, walking towards him.

"Hmph... One of these days you're going to permanently traumatize a rookie, sir..." Rude commented.

"Sir," Liam breathed, not entirely sure if he was relieved to see him, or terrified of having to deliver the bad news in person rather than over the phone. Tseng frowned slightly.

"Why were you calling me? What's happened?" he asked, ignoring Rude's teasing. Liam shook his head.

"They kicked me out, so... I'm not really _sure_ what's going on at this point. Reno passed out after they started giving him the second dose of anti-toxin, and Hojo said he was here to... see the reaction?"

" _Hojo_ is here?" Tseng all but hissed, eyes narrowing in anger. He didn't wait for confirmation from the rookie. He simply stormed off, fists clenched, towards the redhead's room. Rude said nothing, but hurried after him, and after a moment's hesitation, so did Liam.

"What have you _done_ to him?!" he heard Tseng demand from inside just before he reached the doorway himself, and he cautiously peered around the corner. The Wutaiian Turk was staring Hojo down, an expression of utter rage on his face. Liam swallowed harshly. He'd never seen _anyone_ look quite so ticked off.

Hojo, meanwhile, seemed almost absurdly calm by comparison, looking the imposing Turk over with a sneer.

"Merely what I was _asked_ to do," the scientist replied. "I have supplied an antidote to Project 472's poison. Nothing more. I am here to observe whether or not a human test subject's response to treatment is in line with previously conducted live animal testing. It has proven quite... enlightening."

"Get out," Tseng growled.

"I am _still_ collecting data on this specimen," Hojo replied, annoyed. "I will _leave_ when I am finished."

Tseng suddenly lunged at the bespectacled man, and only the fact that Rude was quick enough to restrain him prevented what Liam suspected very well might have been Hojo's untimely demise.

"Tseng!" Rude shouted, holding his superior firmly in place as he struggled against his captor.

"Enough!" Dr. Ward demanded, at last tearing herself away from her patient long enough to turn her displeasure on the newcomers. "I frankly don't care right now if yeh beat one another senseless, but take it inta the hallway or I'll call security ta toss all three of yeh out!"

"Hmph... Fine. I'll leave," Hojo replied, unperturbed. "I _do_ ,however, expect a full report on the specimen's prognosis and outcome. And its lab results!" He paused and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, eyeing Tseng with disdain. "And I will be lodging a formal complaint with _your_ commanding officer." With that, he brushed past the two Turks and into the hallway, ignoring Liam entirely as he made his way towards the elevators. Rude refused to release Tseng until he was certain the oddball scientist was well out of his range. By then, Kai had made her way over to the group.

"Do _not_ tell me to calm down," Tseng ground out, before she could even open her mouth. Kai smirked.

"Wasn't going to. I kind of _like_ seeing you make a complete ass of yourself once in awhile," she teased. "But before you have an aneurysm... or kill someone... you can relax. He's alright."

Tseng eyes immediately went to Reno, and Liam suddenly realized that there was far fewer staff present than when he'd left. It was now only Dr. Ward, and a single nurse.

"What happened?" the Turk lieutenant queried, as Liam finally slipped back into the room. As he did so, he could see that Reno was awake... though looking more than a little out of it.

"Just had a bit of a scare, is all," Ward replied. "His blood pressure dropped unexpectedly and he lost consciousness fer a wee bit. He's a might disoriented still, but he seems ta be fine. We'll keep him on fluids and oxygen until I'm certain he's not going ta give us a repeat performance." She turned suddenly towards Kai. "And I thought I told _yeh_ ta get back inta bed!"

The diminutive Turk rolled her eyes, but wordlessly complied with the doctor's order. Dr. Ward shook her head.

"Not a _one_ of yeh follows medical advice. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother ta give it in the first place..." she muttered, and turned back to her other patient. "Are yeh with us yet, my little headache?"

The redhead groaned softly.

"I say yes, can I get outta here already?" he asked, somewhat woozily. Ward snorted an unimpressed laugh.

" _Yer_ not going anywhere."

Tseng made his way over to his protege's bedside, Rude trailing behind him, and the younger Turk perked up slightly.

"Heh... You still in one piece, Rude?"

"... More or less," the bald Turk chuckled. Ward's eyes narrowed and she studied him for a moment.

"He will likely need an x-ray of his hand," Tseng supplied, before she could ask. "And you may want to rule out a concussion, as well. He took a rather hard hit earlier."

The doctor clucked her tongue disapprovingly and circled around the bed, seizing Rude by one arm.

"Hmph... at least _this_ one usually does as he's _told_. Come on, then. Yeh can visit later. Let's see ta yeh," she said, leading him out of the room. Rude grudgingly went with her.

Reno leaned back against his pillows as Tseng took a seat at his bedside.

"Hey, boss?" he asked, still sounding a bit groggy, "You know how you said you'd get me some extra vacation days for this shit?"

Tseng smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, yes... I _do_ recall saying something along those lines."

"Can I take 'em soon as the Doc clears me? After today, I could _really_ use a nice _long_ weekend in Costa del Sol... or... ya know... maybe a week or three?"

"I'll see what I can do," the senior Turk chuckled.

"Hey!" Kai interjected from the other side of the room, "Now wait just one Shiva-forsaken minute. _I'm_ stuck in bed 'cause of one of Hojo's experiments, too, ya know... I almost lost an arm! He just got a little poisoned. How come _he's_ the one who gets a trip to the beach?"

Tseng turned towards her. "He _asked_ first." And then he smirked. "And frankly, I like him more," he teased.

"Have I ever told you you're an asshole, Tseng?" Kai snickered, rolling her eyes.

~end chapter 17~


	18. The Kitchen Incident

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 18: The Kitchen Incident**

 **by Desha**

Reno was released from the hospital after a week. By day three, he'd felt more or less okay – and by day five, he was practically bouncing off the walls – but after his reaction to the anti-toxin... and, alright, if he was being honest, the two additional times the same thing had happened afterwards... Ward didn't seem too keen on letting him out of her sight for more than a hour or two. He knew it was for his own good. That didn't make him hate it any less.

On the bright side, though, he had Kai for company. The senior Turk was improving quickly, and by the time Ward was ready to turn _him_ loose on Midgar once again, Kai, too, was slated to go home soon. _She_ was still going to be on medical restriction, however, and hadn't even been cleared for so much as desk duty. At least Reno was allowed to go back to work... even if he wasn't cleared for field work yet.

Rude had been in to visit him almost daily... in part to make sure the redhead was recovering, but also to express his gratitude. Apparently it had been Lira's inquiries that had alerted Don Corneo to the fact that a Turk had been kidnapped in his territory, and led to the subsequent, and unexpected, rescue op.

Rude, too, was on somewhat restricted duty, owing to a broken thumb... but apparently _that_ wasn't enough to get oneself yanked out of the field. His friend had merely been instructed to keep it splinted and take it easy during training sessions.

"Ready to go home?" the bald Turk asked, grinning slightly, as he strolled into Reno's hospital room shortly after work on Monday.

"I was ready to go home three fuckin' _days_ ago," the redhead replied, scowling in the general direction of the various pieces of monitoring equipment he'd finally be unhooked from. "Thought Tseng was pickin' me up."

"He was... but Veld needed him for a last minute security detail. Scarlet wanted to pay a visit to the Corel reactor to see the materia production facility firsthand. He'll be back on Wednesday. I volunteered to come spring you."

Reno grinned widely. "Thank Ifrit. I am _dyin'_ to get outta here."

"Aww... Sick of my company already, baby Turkling?" Kai snickered from across the room.

"I'd be a lot _less_ sick of ya if you'd stop _callin'_ me that," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I have a fuckin' name, ya know. It's _Reno_. Ya know... just in case you forgot, seein' as you haven't actually _used_ it all week."

Kai giggled and leaned back against her pillows. "Oh, I haven't forgotten it. I just love how exasperated you get when I refuse to call you by it," she teased. Reno sighed and turned to Rude.

"And everyone says _I_ get annoyin' when I'm in the hospital. Be glad you didn't have to put up with this shit all fuckin' week, pal..."

Rude chuckled, shaking his head, and glanced over at Kai.

"You gonna stop by the office tomorrow?"

She wouldn't be working, of course... but everyone was anxious to see her back on her feet.

"Count on it!" the diminutive Turk said with a grin. "Hope all my _other_ little Turklings are ready to get back to work. You guys better not have let 'em slack off too much..."

The redhead groaned as he headed for the door. "Kai, do you ever think about anything other than torturin' the rookies?"

"Not if I can help it!" she called after him, laughing.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Reno was splayed out on his couch... in much the same position he'd been in since the moment he'd returned home. He briefly raised his head just enough to peer over the back of the piece of furniture, into his little kitchenette.

"You sure you don't want some help?" he queried.

Rude snorted softly. "Reno... Your kitchen's so small I barely fit on my own. I don't think the two of us together could even _move_ , much less cook."

The redhead silently acknowledged the point and laid back down. "... I _could_ just order a pizza, ya know. You don't gotta do all this... 'specially with your hand all fucked up."

"You've been eating hospital food for a week," Rude said, definitively, "I'm making you a decent meal, end of discussion. Besides... I went shopping specifically _for_ this."

"Tch... suit yourself, man," he snickered. "But, uh... speakin' of cooking... Raincheck on me returnin' the favor? I still wanna do it."

Rude grinned as he rummaged through one of the drawers in search of a spatula. "And here I thought for _sure_ I'd escaped the threat of almost certain death by food poisoning..."

"Hey!" the younger man returned, sitting up and glaring at his friend. "I _thought_ you were gonna let that go..."

"I said I'd let you try and redeem yourself," he replied, smirking teasingly, "I never said I'd forget. Friday good for you?"

"Friday's perfect. Tch... I'll show ya," Reno muttered in response... and then turned his attention towards the oven. "Hey... what are you makin' me, anyway? It smells fuckin' _amazing_..."

"Hanger steak with charred scallion sauce and a nice shaved fennel salad."

Reno blinked. "What's a fennel and why would you put somethin' that needs shaving in a salad?"

Rude couldn't stop the laughter that escaped from his lips as he turned to face the redhead.

"And you wonder why the thought of you cooking again scares me a little," he sniggered, and tossed him a small white bulb with bright green, somewhat fuzzy looking, stalks growing out of the top. " _That's_ fennel. It's in the carrot family."

"Weirdest carrot _I've_ ever seen," the redhead said with a shrug, before tossing it back to the chef. He sighed quietly and shifted position so that his arms were flat on the back of the couch, chin resting on top his hands. " _Man_ , is it ever nice to be home... I gotta tell ya, I'm _really_ lookin' forward to sleepin' in my own bed tonight."

"What? You haven't spent _enough_ time in bed this past week?" Rude joked. The redhead rolled his eyes.

"It's not the same, and you know it," he shot back. "Tch... 'sides which... I don't think I got a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep the whole time I was there. Assholes _insist_ on buggin' ya every hour or two to make sure you're not dead. Fuckin' pain in the ass. Oh... hey, that reminds me... You still up for a birthday trip? 'Cause Tseng came through and got me some extra vacation time."

Rude glanced over at his friend and shook his head slightly. "I don't think I'm ever going to be able to follow your brand of logic. How did we manage to go from fennel to hospital procedures to your birthday in under ten sentences?"

The redhead just shrugged. "Seemed perfectly reasonable to _me_. So... birthday trip? We said maybe Icicle Inn... ?"

"No Gold Saucer this year?" Rude teased. That had been his _nineteenth_ birthday... and though Rude had had a good time, keeping up with his friend had proven a definite challenge. Especially once the hyperactive teen had made it to the various food vendors that populated the amusement park and overindulged in their sugar-laden fare.

"Heh... Well, I _was_ considerin' that, _too_ ," he admitted, sheepishly. "I kinda want to go someplace new this year, though."

The bald Turk snickered. "You've _been_ to Icicle Inn."

"I'm not countin' the mission where it was snowin' so hard I couldn't see five feet in front of me the whole time I was there. Or the _other_ mission where it was snowin' so hard I couldn't see five feet in front of me _and_ we almost got our asses handed to us by those Zenshou guys," the redhead grinned. "'Sides... I didn't get to try snowboardin' either of those times, 'n that's half the reason for even _going_ to Icicle Inn."

Rude raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's the other half?"

"All the hot chicks on the slopes who are gonna need _someone_ to keep 'em warm after a long day of skiing..."

"Should've known," Rude snickered, shaking his head before turning back to his steaks.

* * *

Liam stared blankly at the elevator's control panel for a moment before he realized that, if he wanted to actually go anywhere, he was going to have to press a button. He shook his head and reached out, tapping fifty-eight. The doors began to slide shut in response.

Dear _Kjata_ , he was tired. Monday had been... hellish. The pace of his training was starting to pick up, and sparing with Tseng in the morning had been downright brutal. So had the gauntlet in the afternoon, after Tseng had left on assignment... which Cissnei had made the rookies each run twice. And Remy had put them through almost an hour of running afterwards... and _then_ , he'd been tapped to join her on an overnight stakeout. To make things worse, he hadn't slept well at all when he'd finally been able to _get_ to bed last night, in spite of being utterly spent. Consequentially, he felt like he was asleep on his feet this morning.

The elevator doors were nearly shut when an arm suddenly wedged itself in between them, forcing them open again, and a familiar figure slipped inside.

"Damn, kid... you look like the fuckin' walking dead," Reno said, when he caught sight of the rookie, "You feelin' alright?"

Liam sighed, and nodded.

"Yes, sir... I had stakeout duty with Remy last night. I'm just tired," he replied, and groaned "... _so_ _tired_..."

The elevator chimed, depositing the pair on the Turks' floor, and Reno guided the exhausted rookie out into the hallway and towards the lounge.

"Heh... come on, rookie. _You_ need coffee."

"... But I don't drink coffee..." Liam replied.

"Yeah, well... I think ya need to _start_ ," the redhead snickered, "Unless someone changed the schedule while I was out, you're with Sato first thing today. Last thing I wanna get stuck doin' on my first day back is scrapin' a rookie off the walls 'cause he fell asleep before he could disarm a bomb." He paused for a moment. "Well... actually the _last_ thing I wanna get stuck doin' is catchin' up on my paperwork. But _that's_ probably unavoidable."

Liam laughed quietly at the joke, as Reno deposited him on the couch in the lounge. Before he knew it, the rookie had a mug of steaming black liquid in his hands. He took a sip... and promptly gagged.

"What in the _nine hells_ is _in_ this?" he asked, suddenly very much awake. The redhead took an experimental sip from his own cup and grimaced.

"This is what Veld calls coffee," he replied, in disgust, "Ugh..."

"And just what's _wrong_ with my coffee?" the Turk leader's voice demanded from the doorway. Reno turned just in time to see him strolling into the room. Veld poured a cup for himself, and downed close to half of it.

"Tch... Nothin', sir. Ya know... other than feelin' like somethin's eatin' away at your stomach lining after ya drink it..."

"Hmph... Your generation has been _spoiled_ by the infinite number of expensive coffee chains on every street corner. This is _real_ coffee. Not some prissy little mochalatteccino or whatever it is you kids order these days," Veld replied. He refilled his mug and turned to leave... but not before glancing back at the redhead with a slight smile. "Welcome back."

"Heh... a better welcome woulda been coffee that doesn't look like it's gonna climb out of the pot and come after you, sir..." Reno jokingly called after him and Liam was almost certain he heard the senior Turk chuckle as he brushed past Remy on his way out. The redhead's attention immediately refocused on the new arrival. "... _Please_ tell me you're gonna share."

It took Liam a second to recognize what the woman was holding... and when he did, he almost laughed. Remy calmly pulled one of several large styrofoam cups from the tray and handed it over to her fellow Turk.

"Of course. You're the whole reason I stopped on my way in this morning. I couldn't bear the thought of subjecting you to... _that_... after having been in the hospital for a week. It very well might send you _back_ , and we're shorthanded enough with Kai still on medical leave," she replied, and glanced over at the rookie on the couch, "And I thought Liam might need it, as well. It was a rather late night."

The redhead blinked.

"When'd _you_ go so soft?" he asked, suddenly grinning, "First time _I_ got stuck on stakeout duty with you, the next day ended with you torturin' me in a flight sim set to Impossible."

"And you know perfectly well what you did to _deserve_ that. I can always take that back and pour it down the sink..." the senior Turk said, warningly.

Reno shook his head, in a blatantly over-dramatic denial, clutching the cup to his chest. "No! No, I swear, I'll be good! Just... don't take my coffee away, Remy!"

Remy snorted softly in laughter. "Knock it off."

She handed one of the drinks to Liam before taking her leave to, presumably, pass the remaining beverages around to the rest of the team. Liam glanced over at his superior as he sank down onto the couch next to him.

"Er... what did you do to deserve it, sir?" he queried, curious. Reno laughed, and took a drink.

"Ya know... _normally_ , I'd be the first to tell ya... but as a general rule, I try 'n avoid pissin' off Remy. _One_ hospital stay's enough for me," he said with a somewhat teasing grin.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Reno was largely tied to his desk, catching up on the paperwork he'd let pile up before his injury. Occasionally, he was given leave to help with training – usually on the firing range, or as a stalking target... things that didn't require much in the way of physical exertion – but most of his on-duty time was spent in his office.

By Friday afternoon, he was actually looking forward to coming into work on _Monday_ more than he was the weekend... because, with any luck, on Monday morning, Dr. Ward would officially clear him for field work, and he could go back to pointedly ignoring his stack of unfiled reports and requisition orders.

He glanced up as Rude made his way into their shared office and settled himself into his chair with a deep sigh.

"What's up?" the redhead asked. Rude shook his head.

"Istev..."

Reno's eyebrows went up at the mention of the name. They'd been looking for that rat bastard of a bomber for _almost_ two years now... but every time they'd come close to finding him, he slipped through their fingers. It annoyed the ever-living crap out of the redhead that Istev still hadn't been brought to face justice for what he'd done... but he knew that it was a lot more personal for Rude. Istev hadn't just murdered several of his friends... he'd killed his _mentor_. That wasn't something you could ever just let go.

"Lemme guess... we got a lead, and it was already too late. _Again_."

Rude nodded, and Reno echoed his sigh.

"We'll get him, Rude. Might take awhile, but _one_ of these days, we'll get him, and we'll make him pay."

"Not today, though," Rude replied. The redhead smirked slightly.

"Nope... not today. _Today_ you get to sample a gourmet dinner, courtesy of yours truly, instead!"

And eyebrow rose slightly behind the bald Turk's dark glasses.

"That reminds me. I still need to give Medical a call and tell Dr. Ward to be on standby tonight..."

"Oh, ha fuckin' ha," Reno responded, dryly. "Just trust me. It's gonna be great!"

"Why? Did you decide to have dinner catered instead of cooking it yourself?" the other Turk snarked. Reno folded his arms over his chest and glared at his friend.

"Ya know... I'm gettin' just a _little_ sick 'n tired of everyone thinkin' that I'm some kinda menace in the kitchen. Tseng's cooking is _way_ worse than mine."

Rude finally cracked a smile and raised his hands, placatingly. "Alright... alright. I'm sorry. I said I'd give you a second chance, and I meant it. I'll quit teasing you."

"Good," Reno said, his usual grin returning, "'cause I got some _great_ plans for tonight..."

* * *

He really wasn't sure what had made him think this was a good idea. Oh, sure... he'd told himself that the first time was just a fluke. The result of inexperience and a willingness to eat just about anything. A one-off tidal wave of miserable luck.

Now that it was actually happening, though, all he could think about was just _how much time_ he'd spent in the bathroom after his last run-in with Reno's "cooking prowess".

But it was too late now.

Rude sighed as he sat, somewhat nervously, on his couch, half-watching a rerun of last week's Shadow & Sword. He'd intentionally set the volume low so that he could at least _hear_ what was going on elsewhere in his apartment... The redhead had barred him from his own kitchen until he finished.

"Yo, Rude... got any more butter?" a voice called out from the other room.

An eyebrow rose slowly behind dark lenses, as he mentally cataloged the current contents of his refrigerator, wondering what the hell he meant by 'more'. Three pounds wasn't enough?

"... Just what's in the fridge," he responded, fighting the urge to go and check on his friend's progress. Had he not explicitly promised not to ruin the surprise, he would have done just that.

"Tch... 'kay. Nevermind, then. I can manage..."

He shook his head and tried to pay attention to the show. Whatever he was making, it couldn't _possibly_ be as bad as last time. But then... he didn't think _anything_ could be as bad as the last time. By the time it was finally over... and it hadn't been _completely_ over for nearly three days, though thankfully the vomiting had subsided comparatively quickly... he'd lost six pounds and had had to postpone his Hell Week. His friend, meanwhile, had been perfectly fine, in spite of having ingested at least twice the amount Rude had.

"Hey, um... what exactly are capers?" Reno asked, poking his head around the wall. Rude cringed. He'd gotten into his specialty ingredients. He really should've hidden those. Shiva only knew what sort of culinary havoc the man could wreak if he decided to start mixing things he didn't even recognize into whatever the hell it was he was making.

"... They're pickled flower buds... taste a little like green olives. Sort of."

His friend stared at him somewhat incredulously for a moment. "Seriously? People eat _flower buds_? Weird. So anyway... flour. _Not_ the kind that grows in a garden. Where should I look?"

"Pantry... left side, third shelf from the bottom."

"Thanks!" Reno said, grinning, and vanished again.

Flour was pretty safe. Surely he couldn't do too much harm with flour and butter. Even if, for some Ifrit-forsaken reason, he decided capers would make a good addition to the dish, it wasn't likely to poison him again. Maybe it was something simple. Rude _prayed_ it was something simple.

He decided then and there that if it looked _too_ questionable, he just wasn't going to eat it... no matter how much Reno begged him to try it. Rude heard his blender suddenly start churning away at something, accompanied by a string of profanity, and the immediate cessation of the appliance.

"... Everything alright?"

"Uh... yeah. Everything's fine. Not a problem. But, um... just outta curiosity, do ya think that somethin' kinda... _purplish_... would stain the ceiling?"

Rude groaned and got to his feet, heading for the kitchen. The redhead, however, cut him off before he could move more than a few steps in his direction, peering around the corner again. His face was spattered with something that was _indeed_ 'kinda purplish'.

"No! It's fine... I got this. You'll never even know it happened. Just stay out there."

Against his better judgment, Rude returned to his seat, and wondered if he was going to be repainting his kitchen in the near future. Several more minutes went by with no further sounds of mysterious disasters... and he slowly began to relax. A minor blender tsunami was hardly the worst thing that could happen. And he knew Reno _would_ clean up the mess. He could live with it. It wasn't that bad.

He was still telling himself that when he heard the distinct _whoosh_ of something going up in flames. For a moment, he didn't move, convinced that he surely must be imagining things.

"Ah, fuck!" he heard Reno exclaim from the kitchen. And then the smoke detector went off. "Uh... Rude?! Fire extinguisher?!"

With a feeling of dread, Rude shot into the kitchen, all but diving for the cabinet beneath the sink and retrieving the small extinguisher from it's holder. But it was too late... Reno was already upending a bowl of water over the flaming pan on the stove.

The bald Turk's eyes widened in horror as he dropped the extinguisher and yanked the smaller man back towards him. Scarcely a split second later, the flames more than tripled in size as the water made contact with the burning oil in the pan. He fell to the floor, still clutching the redhead tightly to his chest.

… and then unceremoniously dropped him moments later and went after the fire extinguisher again, dousing the grease fire as well as the smaller fires that had spread to other parts of his kitchen. When it was out, he turned back to his friend.

Reno hadn't dared move, seemingly waiting with a quiet sort of dread for whatever Rude was going to do to him. The Turk let the fire extinguisher fall from his hand. It hit the floor with a clatter, deafening in the silence that lingered between the two men. The redhead swallowed sharply, as Rude hauled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt and looked him dead in the eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and Reno mutely nodded. Rude relaxed slightly before stating, in a tone that left no room for argument, "Good. You're not allowed in my kitchen anymore."

"... Yeah. That's... totally fair," Reno said, nervously, glancing around at the disaster site. "So, just so we're clear... you're _not_ gonna kill me for this, right?"

To be honest, at the moment, Rude was too relieved to be angry. Well... _too_ angry. He certainly wasn't _happy_ that part of his kitchen was slightly char-broiled... but ultimately, he was just glad his friend wasn't hurt. That could have been a _lot_ worse than it _had_ been. At least he wouldn't be taking Reno back to the hospital tonight.

"Kill you? No," Rude replied, and then smirked. "But I _am_ going to tell everyone about this on Monday. In _excruciating_ detail. Now seriously... get the hell out of my kitchen. I mean it. You're officially banned. For life."

Reno groaned. "... Do ya _really_ gotta tell _everyone_?"

Rude simply stared him down for a moment, and eventually the redhead sighed in resignation.

"I'll... just go order us a pizza," he said, slinking off into the living room.

* * *

"Hey..." Reno's voice queried, in a somewhat softer than normal tone. Rude looked up from his second slice of mushroom and pepperoni. It wasn't really his _favorite_ food, but he had to admit... Nicky's made a damn good pizza. The redhead had, rather surprisingly, barely made a dent in his half.

Rude sighed, and set his dinner aside for the moment.

"... I swear to Shiva, if you finish that sentence, so help me, I _will_ find the nearest pool and throw you into it," he said, preemptively. This was a fairly normal pattern with Reno, even after so much time. He screwed something up, silently beat himself up for it, and then hesitantly sought reassurance that the afflicted party didn't hate him for it. Granted... it didn't happen as often as it used to, but his friend had never quite gotten over his own deeply ingrained issues of self doubt. He still needed the occasional reminder that he didn't need to be perfect.

The redhead snorted in faint laughter. "I'm doin' it again, huh?"

"Yes... and it's seriously annoying. You know better... especially with me."

"Sorry... I just... ya know..."

Rude smirked and reached across the couch, dragging the redhead over to him and into a tight side hug... before mercilessly driving his knuckles into the younger man's scalp.

"Ow! Cut it out, ya dick!" Reno groused, squirming in an attempt to free himself. Rude snickered and a moment later, released his now-scowling friend.

"You're my endlessly obnoxious, pain in the ass little brother, and I love you. That's not gonna change. Not even if you burn down my entire apartment," Rude assured him, and then snickered, " But... _please_ don't ever burn down my entire apartment."

Reno snorted quietly, and Rude hurriedly added.

"And, yes, you're still banned from my _kitchen_ for life."

~end chapter 18~


	19. The Spring Thaw

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 19: The Spring Thaw**

 **by Desha**

 _ **Author's note:**_ _If you've read the first Taking Care of Reno story (and have a good memory for random things Reno has mentioned about his early days as a Turk)... you may already know where this is going by the end of this chapter. Please don't hate me..._

* * *

Winter carried on for a few more weeks... but eventually the days slowly began to get longer and warmer and the snow in Midgar started to melt. A part of Reno was a little sad to see it go. He liked the snow... but, on the other hand, he was _also_ kind of sick of freezing his ass off every time he stepped outside. Plus... spring meant that his birthday was fast approaching, and since becoming a Turk – and having people around who actually remembered it and made a big deal of it – he'd come to look forward to the date. So, yeah... ultimately, the pros of the changing season outweighed the cons.

He sighed softly as he stepped out of his apartment building, glancing skyward at the looming clouds that had gathered overnight, and shook his head. Rain incoming... _that_ figured. In fact, _that_ was how he'd known, ever since he was a child in the slums, that spring really _was_ here. The rainy season was upon them. The first few weeks after winter went back into hibernation for another year tended to be wet ones in Midgar, even down below in the Slums.

But on the bright side... that only meant a few more weeks before he could try driving with the top down. The redhead grinned as he hopped into his car. He'd been looking forward to _that_ from the moment he'd bought the thing.

By the time he was pulling into the Shinra Building's secure parking deck, rain was, indeed, already spattering his windshield and he could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. Sounded like they might be in for a real storm. As he parked and made his way towards the elevator, he heard a familiar voice call out behind him.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Reno grinned as he turned, spotting Kai hurrying to catch up to him.

"Thought you were still benched for another couple weeks," he said, eyeing the sling that kept her arm immobile.

"I am... for field work. But I'm officially approved to resume training supervision and desk duty. Thank Titan, because I don't know how much longer I could have spent watching Shadow & Sword reruns before I went crazy from the repetition," the tiny Turk snickered, "I've watched both past seasons _and_ all the episodes of the current season three times since I've been off..."

"Tch... I can tell ya _exactly_ how much I could watch before _I_ lost it..." Reno replied, pressing the button for Fifty-eight. "One episode. And I might not even make it all the way through. I don't know what you 'n Rude 'n Cissnei see in that show. It's _sooooo_ boring... How's the arm?"

"Stiff. A little sore... but I think that's more from not being allowed to use it for so long than the injury. And you've got _no_ room to criticize. You have exactly _zero_ taste when it comes to entertainment, my preciously little baby Turkling. I've seen your movie collection..."

Reno rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored the name. He was glad enough to see Kai back at work – _finally_ – to put up with it. For _now_.

The elevator arrived at headquarters and the pair stepped out into the hallway.

" _So_... Catch me up," Kai said, following him into the lounge. Tseng was already there, reading through a folder of reports at the table, "I miss anything interesting while I was gone?"

"Nah, not really. Same old shit."

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly, and took a sip of his tea. "You're not going to mention your little culinary adventure?" he queried without looking up. Kai grinned widely.

"Who'd he poison _this_ time?" she asked.

"No one!" Reno snapped, shooting his mentor a glare, "For fuck's sake... can't we drop that already?"

"I consider it a cautionary tale, at this point," Tseng replied, with a somewhat teasing smile, "Just in case someone _else_ is ever foolish enough to let you talk them into cooking for them." He turned to Kai. "He hadn't been out of the hospital a _week_ before he set Rude's kitchen on fire."

Kai blinked and then laughed, shaking her head. "Geez... I knewyour cooking was practically lethal, but I had no idea it could also cause property damage..."

The redhead sighed. "Yeah, yeah... I'm a fuckin' menace. Laugh it up." He'd endured a solid week and a half of teasing for the fact after it had happened. Rude hadn't left out a single detail in his retelling of the tale. That's not to say it wasn't entirely warranted in this instance... but it still got old after awhile. He'd _hoped_ that the joke had finally run its course, but apparently Kai needed to hear about it, too. " _Anyway_... speakin' of team gossip... Are the rumors true?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Mmm... and which rumors might those be?" Tseng asked, and Reno rolled his eyes.

"You know damn _well_ what rumors, Boss... Sykes' Hell Week. He's due, right?"

"Hell Week?!" Kai exclaimed, suddenly excited, "Oh... _please_ _tell_ me there's a Hell Week coming up..."

Tseng calmly flipped to the next page of his report, and reached for his tea again.

"It _is_ something I should probably get around to," he acknowledged, "Eventually..."

"Oh, come _on_ , Tseng!" Kai lamented, "If there's a Hell Week in the works, you've _got_ to tell me. You _know_ how much I love Hell Week!"

Tseng chuckled softly and glanced up.

"... Plans are being made. But I've not yet set a firm date, so kindly refrain from discussing it where the rookies might overhear."

Kai stood in front of him, staring him down for several seconds... only to be met with Tseng's unperturbed smile. At last, she scoffed and turned on her heel, heading out the door.

"I'd _better_ hear about it as soon as you decide when it's happening..." she called over her shoulder. Reno snickered and helped himself to some coffee – thankfully not Veld's this morning – before sitting down on the couch on the opposite side of the room.

"You'd think it was _her_ Hell Week," he commented. Tseng snorted softly.

"Actually, _Kai_ was a nervous wreck when she was told of her _own_ impending Hell Week. Alyssa and I spent a rather inordinate amount of time trying to calm her down that weekend," he said, smirking slightly, "I very nearly had to _carry_ her into the office the following Monday. I gave her a ride that morning and she refused to get out of my car."

Reno snickered unabashedly at the mental image _that_ conjured up, before slowly sobering.

"Hey, Tseng? ... I've always been kinda curious. What was Alyssa like? I mean... I know she and Kai were... ya know... together, but..." He shrugged not quite sure how to finish that sentence.

"Kai's never told you about her?" Tseng queried, with a surprised look. The redhead shifted somewhat uncomfortably.

"Well... I've never really _asked_ her. I kinda didn't wanna stir up painful memories 'n shit."

"I don't think she'd mind. Kai... has never been one to try and bury the past. It's how she has always come to terms with such things. By forcing herself to face the pain head on, rather than running from it, until it simply stops hurting," he replied, "But to answer your question, Alyssa was... unique. She wasn't the sort of person you would initially expect to join the Turks, even though she was very good at it."

"What'dya mean?"

"She was very kindhearted. Very gentle. Even shy at times. But very _dedicated_. Her specialty was stealth recon. I don't think there's been a Turk before or since who was so difficult to detect. She could slip in anywhere, and no one would ever know. And she would have done anything for Kai." He sighed, and reached for his tea again, taking a long sip before continuing. "The day she died, I very nearly lost them _both_. It was a long time before Kai could even be civil towards me again... and longer still before she truly forgave me."

"So... I guess they were pretty serious, then, huh?"

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Tseng replied, somewhat bemused, "Why, if I may ask, the sudden interest in her?"

Reno shrugged. "Just thinkin' lately," he said, "I mean... Ashland basically started a whole new _life_ 'cause he had family he wanted to protect. But then you got Turks like Veld who have a wife 'n a kid 'n aren't goin' anywhere... and like Sato, with his three ex-wives that hate him... Why torture yourself like that? I mean... it seems like fallin' in love's _way_ more trouble than it's worth. 'Specially for people like _us_."

"Only _two_ of Sato's exes hate him, as far as I'm aware. And I notice that I, myself, was pointedly left off of that list... Concerned I might take offense?" Tseng chuckled, and the redhead suddenly sat up straighter, eyes widening.

"No... I mean... I'm not _knockin'_ 'em for it or anything..." he quickly stammered, hands up in a placating gesture. Tseng smirked, and Reno rolled his eyes. "I guess I'm just sayin'... I don't get it. Why let yourself get in _that_ deep when you might end up losin' 'em? Or gettin' taken out and leavin' 'em on their own? What's wrong with leavin' things at sex? Seems a lot simpler to _me_..."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Tseng replied, "If such relationships _suit_ you. Some people simply want more." He cocked his head slightly to one side. "What's brought this up all of a sudden? I've never known you to take much interest in other people's relationships... beyond availing yourself of every possible opportunity to interject with some innuendo-filled comment, that is..."

"I dunno..." Reno said, shrugging. "I s'pose... seeing so many of us pairin' up like that even with all the risks we take on... I guess maybe it made me wonder how screwed up I really _am_ that I'm not even vaguely interested. You know _Sato's_ seein' someone now?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "No, actually... I didn't."

Reno wasn't really surprised. Hell, _he'd_ only found out over the weekend. And mostly by accident, at that. He'd run into the pair at a movie on Saturday, prompting the Mideelian Turk to introduce him to a very nice young woman named Victoria... who he'd apparently been seeing long enough for her to have heard an anecdote or two about the redhead from Sato.

Tseng set his reports aside, and stood up, moving to join his protege on the couch.

"No two people are the same, Reno," Tseng said after a brief silence. He let his hand come to rest on the back of the younger man's neck, squeezing gently. "Trying to compare what works for one person with what works for you personally is usually nothing more than an exercise in frustration. There is _nothing_ wrong with you. You are simply _not_ Sato. Nor are you Kai, or Veld, or Ashland... or myself, for that matter."

The younger man snorted softly, and grinned. "I dunno, boss... The way _you_ cook? You _sure_ I'm not you?"

"As lacking as my food may be, I will happily remind you that _I_ have neither poisoned anyone with it, nor have I had occasion to set fire to an entire kitchen," the Turk lieutenant returned, teasingly. Reno groaned.

"For the hundredth time... it wasn't the _whole_ kitchen!"

* * *

Rude snickered quietly to himself as his friend's unexpected proclamation reached him out in the hallway. Apparently the story of his less than successful dinner was being told once again. Served him right, too. Rude'd had to replace two pans, one of the grates on his cooktop, _and_ repaint the wall behind the stove... as well as the ceiling, which had been stained a faint purplish blue from what Rude had later determined to be pureed blueberries.

He turned at the sound of footsteps approaching from behind, and spotted Cissnei walked towards him, an amused smile on her face, as well.

"Poor Reno," she giggled.

"... He'll survive," Rude chuckled in reply. "Ten to one odds by this time next month it'll be one of his favorite stories to tell the rookies. Umm... Hey, Cissnei... ?"

He paused for a moment, and swallowed sharply. He'd been putting this off, but... there was something he wanted to ask her.

He'd actually tried once already – shortly after Reno had been released from the hospital and he was able to finally stop worrying about _one_ friend long enough to focus on another – but he'd chickened out at the last minute and ended up asking her to spar with him instead of inviting her over to his place for dinner and a movie the way he'd intended. And then Reno had come dangerously close to roasting himself, and plans had been put on hold until he could deal with _that_ damage.

"Yes, Rude?" Cissnei prodded, and he belatedly realized that he'd been silently staring at her for several seconds now. He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I... was wondering..." he started, and Cissnei grinned slightly.

" _Yeees_..."

"Would you... I mean, if you don't want to, that's alright, but... I'd like it if... um... maybe we could..."

"I would _love_ to go out with you, Rude," she giggled. The bald Turk blushed slightly and shook his head.

"... Was it that obvious?"

"Obvious? I've been _waiting_ for you to try and ask me again ever since our 'sparring' session last week," Cissnei said, smiling widely. "You're so cute when you're nervous..."

He breathed a faint sigh of relief and grinned. "Sunday night? I'll make dinner and we could... maybe watch Shadow & Sword together?"

"That sounds terrific!" she replied, hesitating only a moment before leaning in and softly kissing him on the cheek. Her face, too, had taken on a slightly pinkish hue when she pulled away, and she smiled somewhat shyly. "Er... See you at the morning briefing, okay?"

Rude nodded faintly as she took her leave, heading down the hall to her own office. His hand rose slowly to his cheek, and he grinned. _That_ had ended up being a lot easier than he'd thought it would...

* * *

By Thursday, Reno realized he had been right. Spring had _definitely_ arrived in Midgar. After the first couple of weeks of off and on rain showers, the weather abruptly changed again... to a near-constant downpour. Reno made a soft sound of disgust, as he gazed out of his bedroom window at the gloomy morning that greeted him – and then nearly jumped out of his skin as a particularly deafening crash of thunder boomed over the city.

"For _fuck's_ sake..." he muttered. "When the hell's this gonna let up?"

This storm had been raging for going on three days already, and didn't look like it was going to be breaking up anytime soon. Had Midgar not been largely made of concrete and steel, it would have been a soggy mess by now. Lira had told him yesterday that large sections of the slums were flooding. Even Wall Market wasn't immune, and she'd spent much of the phone call lamenting the ankle-deep puddles that had appeared in parts of her neighborhood and the fact that Corneo had so much machinery running to pump the water out towards the edge of the sector that she could hardly get any sleep at night. She'd heard from customers that things were especially bad over in Sectors 3 and 4.

What few customers she _had_ , that is...

The Honeybee Inn hadn't shut down quite yet, but a lot of the smaller brothels and businesses in Wall Market _had_. They just weren't getting enough clientele coming through to justify staying open. Even the Honeybee had cut shifts down to the bare minimum until things dried out. Reno had told her in no uncertain terms that if things got any worse down there that she should come and stay with him, topside, for awhile... and by the time they'd hung up, Lira had sounded fed up enough with the situation to take him up on the offer sooner rather than later.

Reno yanked the curtains closed again and yawned, stretching his arms over his head until his left shoulder gave its now familiar crack. The storm had woken him up early... he still had almost an hour and a half before he was due at work. Maybe he'd give that recipe he'd tried at Rude's place another shot. After all... pancakes were more of a breakfast food than a dinner food anyway. He'd have to leave out the blueberries this time, since he didn't have any on hand... but he was pretty sure he could scrape together the rest of the ingredients. And maybe make some substitutes for whatever he might be missing.

He _still_ couldn't believe he'd fucked it up so bad that Rude had banned him from his kitchen. For _life_. And he was _pretty_ sure his friend really was serious about that, too. But how the hell was _he_ supposed to know you weren't supposed to pour water on a grease fire? It's not like anyone had ever actually _taught_ him how to cook. He'd learned by trial and error.

Okay... so there _had_ , admittedly, been a significant number errors during those trials over the years. But he _managed_.

The redhead sighed and rummaged though one of the cabinets until he found a box of cereal. Maybe he'd try the pancakes again for dinner tonight, instead. He was still only half awake and he wasn't really in the mood to put _that_ much effort into breakfast. Or put out another blaze...

He'd just filled the bowl and was on the verge of adding milk when his PHS started to ring. Brow furrowed, he set the container aside and hurried back to his bedroom to retrieve the device.

"Reno, here..." he answered a moment later.

"Get dressed and get into the office. Priority one," Veld's voice replied. Reno blinked at the somewhat abrupt order, but quickly shook himself out of it.

"You got it, sir. On my way."

He ended the call and headed for the closet, dressing in record time, before collecting his PHS once more, along with his weapons, and then heading back into the living room and snatching his keys off the counter. He spared himself a few seconds to chuck the milk back into the fridge, and then rushed out the door.

A priority one order was no joke. Whatever was going on, it was big. Priority one meant get your ass to headquarters, right fucking now. The redhead made a hasty run through the pouring rain and all but dove into his car – and still found himself far more damp than he would have preferred – and a few short minutes later was on the freeway bound for Sector 0 and the Shinra Building.

The roads were largely empty... probably owing to both the early hour _and_ the shitty weather. Or at least they were empty until he left the offramp leading into Sector 0. Much to his shock, he found the road ahead blocked off by a large crowd of people, as well as a number of vehicles that had been parked to cordon off the area in front of the Shinra Building's main entrance. They had effectively cut off his usual route into work.

"... What the fuck?" he murmured, turning down the stereo, which was presently blaring some hard rock by a local band he'd recently come to like. He could hear the crowd shouting angrily above the storm as he drove slowly by them. Before he could figure out what was going on, though, a motorcycle zipped past his car, and turned down a side street. He belatedly recognize the rider as Kai and followed her around the building to the parking deck's side entrance. He pulled into one of the Turks' reserved spaces just as she was removing her helmet.

"The fuck's goin' on out there?" Reno asked, climbing out of his own vehicle and walking towards the diminutive Turk.

"Ya got me... I got the same phone call you did," Kai replied. She shrugged out of her sopping wet jacket and hung it over the bike's handlebars before making her way to the elevator with Reno in tow. "But I'd guess that angry mob outside is only part of the problem. Whatever's going on it must be bad... I don't get reevaluated for field clearance until next Monday, and I _still_ got a priority one summons." 

Reno frowned and stepped into the elevator alongside her. She was right. If Tseng and Veld were calling _her_ in for this, it really must be an all-hands-on-deck situation. He suddenly wished he had time to stop on the first floor and poke his head outside to hear what exactly all those people were yelling about. There had to have been at _least_ a few hundred out there.

When the elevator arrived at Turk headquarters, the first thing they heard was Heidegger's booming voice echoing in the hallway. The pair glanced at one another, concerned. The head of the fucking _department_ was here? Heidegger typically didn't get off his fat ass and drag it into _their_ domain unless he absolutely _had_ to... or was pissed off at them for whatever reason. And never first thing in the morning.

They hurried towards the source of the commotion and found Liam doing his best impression of a statue near the door and Veld mid-conversation with Heidegger... if by "conversation" one meant one-sided angry shouting.

"The President wants this _handled_. Immediately!" Heidegger continued, either not noticing or simply choosing to ignore the new arrivals. "And for the love of Hades, keep the goddamned _press_ away from the operation! They've caused enough trouble!"

"Yes, sir. We'll see to it."

"Hmph!" With that, Heidegger turned on his heel and strode out of the room, casting the redhead an icy glare as he left. Reno resisted the urge to flash him a innocent grin in response. It sounded like the last thing they needed was to annoy the son of a bitch any more than he already was.

"Well... _that_ sounded like it was a pleasant meeting," Kai said, once she was sure he was out of earshot.

"Don't even get me started," Veld said, shaking his head. "It seems we have something of a PR problem on our hands. You may have heard that there's been significant flooding down in the slums over the last few days. Apparently the local news stations got hold of the story, and as a result, we have a rather large crowd of angry civilians at our front door demanding that Shinra do something to help the people living down there."

"And there are few things the President hates more than bad publicity..." Kai noted. Before Reno could interject his own thoughts into the mix, the small group was joined by Cissnei and Petra.

"What's going on?" Cissnei queried, "We saw the protesters on the way in... It sounded like they were angry about the flooding?"

"Indeed," Veld acknowledged, "And now that you two are here, we'll go over our current assignment. The Turks have been charged with organizing the evacuation for the hardest hit sectors... Three and Four. We'll be coordinating with the city police, and additional manpower is being sent from Junon... but it will be some time before they arrive. Kai, you'll be our point person here at headquarters. Keep the executive board and the Public Relations department up to date, and manage communications for the rest of us. Reno... you and Tseng will be in command in the field. Tseng is already headed down to Sector 3 with Remy, Sato, and Rude. I want _you_ over in Four with Cissnei and Petra. Tseng's team will work their way towards you and we'll regroup in Sector 5... which is where Liam and _I_ will be to keep things orderly as the evacuees arrive."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied.

"Bear in mind..." the Turk leader added, "The helicopter can't fly safely in this storm. It would be _especially_ dangerous under the Plate with the crosswinds as bad as they are. Unless it lets up considerably, we have _no_ air support, so for Shiva's sake, be careful out there. If you get yourself into trouble, help is going to be a long time coming."

"You got some idea where in Sector 5 we should be takin' all these people we're evacuating?" Reno asked.

"There's an old church. Do you know it?" Veld replied, and the redhead nodded. "It certainly won't hold everyone we expect to pull out of the other sectors, but it will make a decent enough starting point. We'll also make use of the train station and surrounding area. Urban Development won't like the idea that we're invading their construction site, but I suspect it's going to be unavoidable."

"Tch... Guess it's a good thing those assholes finally got around to buildin' it, then," Reno commented. The train expansion project was nowhere near complete... but he had to grudgingly admit that Shinra Company was finally making some progress. Tracks had been extended into Sectors 5 and 7... they just didn't have working stations yet. That was due to change some time later this spring or early in the summer.

"Particularly today, as that's how we're getting down there," the Turk leader said. "Transportation has rerouted an engine for us. It will take us down to to construction site... or at least as close as it can get. We'll cover the remaining distance to the affected sectors on foot. Gear up and move out. It's going to be a long, wet day."

* * *

Tseng slogged through a flooded street, a small group of evacuees trailing behind him while Rude brought up the rear. They'd left Remy and Sato in a more central location, directing those who had already started to leave the area of their own accord in the direction of the shelter that, by now, Veld was setting up in Sector 5. Most people were eager to leave... but there had been a few that, for some Leviathan-forsaken reason had taken some convincing.

He'd never seen the flooding get so bad in Midgar before. But then, they'd had a particularly cold and snowy winter, followed by the very swift onset of warmer temperatures and melting of said snow... followed by days and days of unrelenting rain. All of that water _had_ to go somewhere, and that somewhere was the Slums. Combine that with the largely still-frozen ground and... well, Midgar had been built to handle quite a lot of runoff from the Plate, but this... _this_ was excessive. It was simply more than the drainage systems were designed for and none of it was being absorbed by the soil down below.

The Urban Development department was doing what they could. The channels up on the Plate had been temporarily dammed, to give the Slums time to drain into the surrounding plains... but they could only hold so much. Eventually, they would have to be reopened, or they'd overflow onto the city streets and eventually over the edge of the Plate, which could potentially flood the reactors. With luck, the rain would stop _before_ things got to that point.

They were having to avoid the most direct path to their destination, and that worried him. Even though they were attempting to take the shortest route possible, it was hard to route around some of the more treacherous areas... which was why he breathed a notable sigh of relief as they approached the city's central pillar. For a while there, he'd been concerned that they would have to detour through a much larger portion of Sector 4 to reach the shelter over in Five. He wasn't sure the people they were escorting were up to it. All of them were cold and wet and tired. They needed to get out of this mess and into someplace warm and dry.

"Sir!" a voice called out, and Tseng peered ahead, spotting Remy making her way toward him. He halted his group as she approached. "Good news... emergency supplies are arriving in Sector 5 and Reno's team has entered Sector 4."

"Good," the Wutaiian Turk said with a nod. "Rude and I have cleared our first zone and part of the second. How's your progress?"

"Sato is making a final sweep of zone three, but it's been slow going and we've found some casualties. A lot of the area is completely impassible at this point. It only gets worse out towards the edge of the city. I'm not sure we can reach it from the ground at all. We may need to wait until we can get a helicopter down here. Or a Leviathan-forsaken _boat_."

He'd been afraid of that. Much of the outer portion of Sector 3 was low-lying. The flooding would be much worse in that area. It was one of the reasons Veld hadn't held off on sending them down immediately, rather than waiting for the rest of the team to arrive at headquarters. The hope had been that an earlier intervention might buy them a little more time... but it seemed that their window of opportunity had already passed. Hopefully, residents in those parts of the sector had had the good sense to evacuate, rather than trying to wait things out.

"Call Sato back in. We've done all we can here. We'll take this last group to safety and then regroup with Reno's team in Sector 4."

"Yes, sir," Remy replied, and hurried off to retrieve her fellow Turk.

* * *

Reno staggered slightly as a rush of water swept across his feet, and darted across the flooded street. It had been a risk, splitting up like this, but there were only three of them for the moment... and they needed to cover as much ground as they could, as quickly as possible. Cissnei and Petra were further back, closer to the city's main pillar. He'd opted to take the part of the Sector near the edge himself. He knew the area better than either of them, and could navigate it faster.

Even with that benefit, though, it was a nightmare. The water was cold, and though it wasn't _too_ deep yet – not even coming up to his ankles – it was moving fast. Mostly flowing towards Sector Three, where, he knew, the land dipped into something of a natural basin. Flooding was _always_ bad in Three in the spring. He had, on numerous occasions, had to slog his way through water up to his ankles to reach the bar he'd worked at this time of year. He'd never seen things quite _this_ bad, though. If Four, which was noticeably uphill from Three, was this saturated, Three itself must have been a lake by now.

His path carried him to a small residential block, and he shouldered open the door of the nearest house.

"Hey! Anybody in here?!" he called out. There was no answer, but a part of him wondered if maybe he should check anyway, just to be sure. He was about to do so when a faint sound from around the side of the house caught his attention. He blinked, somewhat surprised, when he recognized it. Someone was crying. The redhead frowned and rounded the ramshackle building.

"Hello?"

The sobbing continued, and he followed it back to its source.

"Ah, fuck..." he breathed. She was huddled on top of a pile of old wooden pallets, trembling from the cold, her hand clutching a stuffed chocobo toy tightly to her chest. The girl couldn't have been more than five or six years old.

"Tch... what're ya doin' here all by yourself?" he asked, moving towards her. The child let out a fearful whimper and scrambled back into the shelter of some damp boxes, out of his reach. "Hey, come on... I'm not gonna hurt ya. But ya can't stay here... It's not safe."

"I want my mommy..." the girl replied, sniffling.

"'Kay... well... I'll help ya find her, but ya gotta come out of there," he replied, and when she still didn't move, he sighed. He _really_ wasn't good with kids. He had no _experience_ with them, and they weren't always the most logical creatures on the Planet. Tell 'em you're there to help 'em, and they're just as likely to run away screaming as _let_ you. "I'm Reno. What's your name?"

"... Kira..." she said hesitantly.

"Okay, Kira... when's the last time you saw your mom?"

She sniffled again. "She was taking us to grandma's house. Everyone was leaving in a big group, 'cause of the water. I got lost..."

Reno hoisted himself up onto the pallet and offered her a hand. "Where's grandma's house at?"

She eyed the proffered had somewhat suspiciously, but cautiously took it, letting the Turk pull her out of her meager shelter.

"By the big pillar..." she replied. The redhead stripped off his jacket and wrapped it around the shivering child. If she lived near the pillar, Petra had _probably_ already evacuated them... which would mean they were headed to Five by now. He shrugged. A panicked mom looking for a missing kid probably wouldn't be _too_ hard to locate. He could haul her over, drop her off with Veld, and be back to his sweep in like... thirty minutes.

"Don't worry... we'll find her. Bet she's pretty worried about ya by now..." he said, leading her off towards the safety of Sector 5.

* * *

Reno eyed the flow of water and gripped Kira's hand a bit more tightly. It wasn't deep, but it was moving fast enough, it would trip you up if you weren't paying attention. Worse... he was pretty sure it was already deeper than it had been when he'd come through here earlier. He mentally groaned. If he had to trudge through miniature rivers the whole way over to Sector 5, it was going to take a lot longer than the thirty minutes he'd initially estimated.

At least he had a better idea of who he was looking for now. He'd managed to get at least a halfway decent description of the mom and Kira's two brothers as they'd walked.

As he was considering his options, some movement caught he attention.

"Hey! Cissnei!" he called out, spotting his teammate a short distance away, on the opposite side of the impromptu river that was running through the neighborhood. She stopped and waved in acknowledgment. He glanced down at Kira. "Come on, kid... let's getcha someplace dry, okay?"

She nodded and he picked her, settling her on his shoulders before cautiously making his way across the flow of water. Cissnei hurried over to meet him.

"Everything alright?" she asked, as he set his passenger down on slightly less soggy ground.

"Tch... Yeah. If ya like bein' waterlogged. Checked a few of the buildings out near the edge of the sector. They were all clear. Found the kid lookin' for her mom, before I finished, though. Sounds like they got separated tryin' to get out on their own. You seen a lady with long brown hair 'n two other kids hangin' onto her for dear life?"

" _I_ haven't, but Liam just checked in to say that Petra has a woman looking for a little girl in a group she took over to Five. And that Tseng's team is on their way to help us out, since Three's pretty much completely underwater at this point. They're dropping off the last of their evacuees now."

Reno sighed in relief. "Thank Ifrit... 'cause I don't know how just the three of us were s'posed to cover this much ground on our own. Thought Junon was sendin' us some help..."

"They're delayed in the mountains. The road's washed out," Cissnei replied. The redhead groaned.

" _Great_..." He shook his head. There really wasn't anything he could do about it. They'd just have to manage as best they could. "... 'kay. Do me a favor 'n drop the rugrat off with Petra, will ya?" He tried to nudge his charge over to Cissnei, but the girl latched on tight to his leg and refused to let go. Reno blinked. "Uh... Hey, come on... You wanna get back to you mom, right?"

Her grip on him tightened and she buried her face against his hip. The redhead sighed. Wonderful.

" _Seriously_?" he asked, and Cissnei snickered softly.

"I think she wants _you_ to take her. Don't worry... I can manage on my own for awhile. Tseng's team will probably be here by the time you get back, anyway."

"Yeah, okay... Just watch yourself out there. Water's risin'..." the redhead cautioned her.

"I'll be _fine_. Now, get going!"

Reno nodded, and tried to pry the girl off his leg again. When she still wouldn't budge, he shook his head, and just started walking with her still attached, wondering how it always seemed to be _him_ that ended up in situations like this...

~end chapter 19~


	20. When the Best Efforts Fail

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 20: When the Best Efforts Fail**

 **by Desha**

"Mommy!"

Reno half-swore the kid fucking _teleported_ ,she took off so fast. One second, she was nervously clinging to his hand as they waded through the growing throngs of people crowding into Sector 5... the next, she was twenty feet away, throwing herself into a very relieved-looking woman's arms.

"Tch... yeah, you're welcome, kid..." he snickered softly, apparently having been entirely forgotten by the little girl once she was reunited with her family. He shrugged. Whatever. At least she was back where she belonged, now. And, besides... he didn't have time for a long, tearful goodbye. He still had a job to do. He glanced around, his gaze eventually falling on Veld and Liam near the doors to the church, and hurried over to them to check in.

"Reno..." the Turk leader greeted him, "How close are you to clearing Sector 4?"

"We've barely made a dent, sir. There's just too much area for the three of us to cover."

Veld nodded. "I had _hoped_ we'd have the reinforcements from Junon here by now. Tseng and his team just left for Four to back you up. If you hurry, you should be able to catch up to them."

"No need to rush," a voice countered, and Veld turned to see Tseng approaching from behind. "We ran into Petra and a small group of survivors at the edge of the sector. I volunteered to make sure they made it here safely while the others went on ahead to Four."

"Great. Since Petra's accounted for, you 'n me can go catch up to Cissnei. Had to leave her on her own on the outer edge of the sector while I brought a lost kid in."

Tseng nodded. "I suggest we go, then."

As the pair hurried off through the crowd, Reno couldn't help but wonder what in the Nine Hells all these people were going to do. It could be weeks before Sectors 3 and 4 dried out enough to be inhabitable again... and that was assuming this Ifrit-forsaken _rain_ ever stopped. He knew that Shinra Company was shipping supplies down, setting up tents, handing out food... but there were a _lot_ of refugees. And they were going to be here for awhile. Five couldn't handle that kind of population indefinitely, no matter how welcoming the local residents might be.

And they were. Welcoming, that is. Sector 5 was one of the nicer parts of the slums. The people were poor, but unlike some other parts of Midgar's underbelly, they didn't have the same every-man-for-himself attitude that you encountered in some places. He'd first noticed it about a year ago when he'd been down here with Rude, doing a favor for one of his informants. It had actually caught him a little off-guard, as, back in his own home in Sector 2, people just _didn't_ help people they didn't know.

Reno had always been a bit of an exception to that rule back in the day, to be honest... and it had gotten his ass kicked on more than one occasion. Though to be fair, the first time he'd ever met Lira was the night he'd spontaneously come to her rescue... so it wasn't as if such an attitude didn't occasionally have its rewards.

He could vaguely remember his mom talking sometimes about how she wished she could take him to live in Sector 5... and occasionally wondered how different things might have been if she'd been able to afford it. Maybe... she'd even still be around, if she had.

"You're awfully quiet..." Tseng commented as they passed one of the smaller pillars that separated Sector 5 from Sector 4. It was nothing like the Sector's _main_ pillar, of course. These little ones didn't actually support much of anything, besides the power relay stations at the top. But they were useful for navigation, if nothing else.

"Just thinkin'," he said with a shrug.

"You seem to be doing quite a bit of that lately," his mentor replied. He pulled up short. "Reno... I realize this is hardly the time _or_ the place, but if there's something bothering you..."

Reno shook his head. "I'm fine..." 

Tseng cast him a somewhat dubious glance, but continued on.

"You know... you wouldn't be the _first_ Turk to turn somewhat introspective after a narrow escape..."

"Tch... Not like I've never been in deep shit before..." the redhead scoffed.

"Hmm... True. Though your previous brushes with death have never been quite so... close. You _did_ , in fact, stop breathing for a short while after we retrieved you from the water... and poisoning is _certainly_ nothing to be taken lightly."

"I told ya... I'm _fine_ ," he reiterated, slightly annoyed. Okay... So _maybe_ he was still working through some shit... Was that so wrong?

Tseng shook his head, and smiled faintly. "Forgive me... What I am _attempting_ to say, is that if you need someone to talk to... I can relate to the experience. And I am most certainly available. Which, incidentally, I _do_ realize is a very hypocritical stance for me to take, given my _own_ tenancy to avoid having such discussions at all costs, but in such matters I would strongly suggest that you _not_ follow my example."

Reno snickered softly. "You implyin' that you don't know everything, boss?"

"Quite the contrary," Tseng answered with a smirk, "I'm implying that I've had enough experience to know perfectly _well_ when I'm making things harder on myself than necessary... even if I don't always refrain from doing so. Usually out of sheer stubbornness. Said stubbornness, however, is not a trait you should strive to imitate."

The redhead snorted a quiet laugh.

"I'm gonna remind you that ya said that the next time you insist on me eatin' lunch in the office so I can finish paperwork..."

"That's _not_ me being stubborn. That's me being your commanding officer... One who doesn't want to end up doing half of it _for_ you again because it will inevitably be turned in late without my help. And stop trying to change the subject."

"Alright, already..." he said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, "When we get done with this mess we'll talk or whatever..." He suddenly grinned teasingly. "Just remember... I _was_ gonna spare you from all the shit that goes though my head. _You_ asked for this..."

* * *

"Yes, ma'am... I'll tell him right away," Liam replied. He tucked his PHS back into his pocket and scurried over the the far end of the old church, where Veld was checking in with the volunteers in charge of keeping track of new arrivals and matching them up with missing family members that had come in separately. No easy task, considering the barely subdued chaos that surrounded them, and particularly since the building was doubling as a makeshift hospital. Thankfully, most of the injuries they'd seen so far had been minor ones. Most people were just wet and cold.

He twisted past two men carrying a third on a stretcher and made his way over to Veld.

"Sir?" he interrupted, and the Turk leader looked up from his conversation.

"Yes? What is it, Liam?"

"Message from Kai, sir. The rain hasn't let up, and Urban Development says that the reservoirs on the Plate are dangerously full. They're worried about a failure if we don't let them open up the floodgates soon. They want to start opening the channels in Three and Four into the drainage system as soon as possible."

Veld nodded in understanding.

"Notify headquarters that Sector 3 is clear, but we need more time in Sector 4. And then inform the rescue teams of the situation. Get an estimate on how long they'll need to clear the sector."

"Yes, sir," the rookie replied. He left the senior Turk to resume his conversation, and hurried off out of the way to relay the message to Kai.

* * *

"Hey, Cissnei... Where the hell are you?" Reno asked. His PHS gave a faint burst of static in time with a flash of lightning that lit up their surroundings even under the Plate, and the subsequent rumble of thunder was enough to drown out the other Turk's reply. "What?"

"I said, I'm over in the residential district. A little east of where we last saw each other. And I could use some help. There are people trapped over here," the other Turk replied. "There's an old stream bed that's filled up with water. It's moving too fast for them to get across, and they can't detour around it through Three because it's just... _completely_ flooded over there."

"Me 'n Tseng are headin' your way. Give us like... ten minutes. We'll figure somethin' out."

Before he even had a chance to hang up his own phone, Tseng's rang. The Turk lieutenant hurriedly answered it, and Reno frowned slightly.

"Uh... Hey... hang on a sec, will ya, Cissnei... Might have an update for ya..." the redhead said, before turning his attention on his mentor.

"Understood. Reno and I still require another hour or so to assist near the edge of the sector, but the others are safely in the interior. Remy is in command of the other team at the moment. Make sure she gets the message as well." He ended the call, and tucked his phone back into his pocket. "There's an issue topside. They need to open up the floodgates and drain some of the water that has been accumulating in the runoff channels. They're starting with Sector 3, but we need to evacuate towards the interior of the city as quickly as possible. It will hit the outer rim hardest."

"Crap... Hey Cissnei? Sounds like we're under a time limit. They're gonna dump the water they've been collectin' up on the Plate soon," he relayed to his fellow Turk.

"Okay..." Cissnei replied, "I'll do what I can to keep everyone calm. Er... I'd appreciate it if you two got here fast, though... There are kids out here, too, and they're pretty scared."

"On our way," the redhead assured her, and snapped his phone shut, "Think we better pick up the pace, boss. She sounds worried."

Tseng nodded, and the pair set off, once more, across the sector.

* * *

Rufus glowered down from the window of his office. The protesters were little more than specs from so high up, but there were enough of them, that he could still make out the overall shape of the crowd. He shook his head and moved back over to his desk. What in Ramuh's name did those fools hope to accomplish by continuing this farce? Shinra Company was _already_ bending to their demands and evacuating the flooded parts of the Slums. He didn't see the point in going on with this silly little demonstration any longer.

Thunder crashed, loud enough to rattle the windows.

 _Particularly_ in _this_ weather. What kind of idiots stood out on the street for hours in the middle of a storm? They didn't even _know_ any of those people down in the slums. Why did they even care?

He took a seat at his desk and reached for a previously abandoned cup of coffee, grimacing at the first sip. It was stone cold. With an irritated growl, he reached over and pressed the intercom button.

"Curtis... Bring me some fresh coffee," he said.

" _Right away, sir."_

To be fair... the evacuation _should_ have started much sooner than it did. He'd been more than a little surprised to learn, earlier that morning at the emergency board meeting, that things had been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent before his father had finally decided to act. Had the Company stepped in sooner, this all could have been avoided.

If he'd known there was an issue, he might have even made the recommendation himself, in fact. An evacuation was costly, but not as costly as the cleanup of mass casualties was going to be... both financially speaking _and_ in terms of public sentiment. He'd learned over the past year or so that one's public image, while certainly not _everything_ , was a bit more important than he'd let himself believe. Shelling out the capital to pay for this evacuation as well as remediation of the affected area wasn't exactly a benefit to Shinra Company's bottom line... but neither was being blamed for several hundred – or considerably more, depending on how many had been complacent enough to stick around after water started encroaching upon their living spaces – preventable deaths.

The correct choice had seemed perfectly clearto _him_... but half of the Shiva-be-damned board had to be talked into it before they would approve the measure. Idiots. Some of them were no better than the morons down on the street, standing out in the cold. When his fathereventually retired and _he_ ran the Company, the first thing he'd do was fire the whole lot of them and install some subordinates with more than two brain cells to rub together between them.

He snorted softly in contempt. For Ramuh's sake... he'd even take Tseng's pet _slum rat_ over his father's cronies. The redhead may have been an obnoxious pain in the backside with a truly perverted mind... but even _Rufus_ was forced to concede that he wasn't by any means _stupid_... no matter _what_ he might say about the bastard were he ever asked. Heidegger, on the other hand...

 _That_ man was a disaster waiting to happen, in Rufus' opinion. Little self control, an ego the size of the western continent, and a temper to match. He really didn't know _why_ his father kept him around... unless it was for comic relief, but he rather thought Palmer was more than adequate for _that_ role.

Scarlet was just as bad... though considerably more manipulative than her fatass counterpart, which made her moderately more problematic. _She_ had almost managed to convince his father that intervention in the Slums was unnecessary. Why she even cared, Rufus couldn't fathom. It certainly wouldn't have affected her department one way or the other. He suspected she had just wanted the last word for a change. He wasn't about to let her have it, of course.

The head of weapons research was a particular thorn in his side. Scarlet was a gold-digging, power-hungry whore, and Rufus had never been shy about informing her of as much. He was fairly certain she blamed him for the failure of her "relationship" with the elder Shinra... but the truth was, his father had simply gotten bored of her, as he tended to with all of his mistresses eventually. The bitch had managed to claw an appointment to the executive board out of him before he'd tossed her aside, though, and it annoyed Rufus to no end.

The door to his office opened and his secretary entered with a new cup of coffee, setting it on his desk and dutifully removing the rejected one.

"Will there be anything else, sir?" Curtis queried.

"See if you can get me an update on the status of the evacuation of the Sector 3 and 4 slums. Then you may go to lunch, if you wish," Rufus replied, dismissively.

"Yes, sir," he said, and took his leave. The man had been in his employ for over a year now. He'd been somewhat annoyed at having to dismiss his previous secretary at first, but at this point he was grudgingly grateful that the slum rat hadn't been able to keep it in his pants with the other one. The little idiot had inadvertently ended up doing him a favor. Curtis was a significant improvement over his predecessor... who, honestly, had been little more than eye candy.

While he waited for his update, Rufus turned his attention on the plans for the Wutai mako reactor opening. As part of the treaty with the island nation, Shinra Company had been allowed to build one high in the the mountains... quite far off the beaten trail, in fact. It hadn't initially been their first choice of location, but after surveying the area, and testing its mako potential, the agreement had actually worked out quite nicely. As it turned out, the distant peak was far richer than the valley Shinra had originally been eyeing. It was more difficult to access, but energy output would ultimately be at least three times higher there.

The facility was slated to come online at the end of the summer, and the board had decided that a celebration was in order. They were inviting several of their largest investors to tour the reactor, as well as Lord Godo. It was to be a small, but important, event for the third quarter. With plenty of press on hand, naturally, to document the company's continued expansion.

The planning of said event had fallen to him. But, at the moment, there was little planning to be _done_ beyond a basic itinerary and guest list... and he'd finished that weeks ago. Still... rereading his lists was far better than wasting his time and energy on his _other_ "assignment".

His father wanted him to begin looking for a... _partner_. Someone to provide him with an heir of his own. And he'd made several decidedly unappealing _suggestions_ of potential incubators for said heir. Rufus, quite frankly, wasn't sure if he was more amused or disgusted by the idea of his father sizing up candidates for the mother of his future offspring... though considering the senior Shinra's own tendency towards women who were approximately half his age, disgust was definitely winning out.

Rufus was well acquainted with his father's attitude toward women. By and large, the man viewed them as disposable and interchangeable... and while the younger Shinra by no means considered himself some sort of great romantic, he didn't share his father's views, either. If he _were_ to marry – and frankly, he was still rather undecided on the matter – he would prefer it to be to someone of comparable intellect to himself. Someone who could impress him and hold their own, rather than live in his shadow. Not the ditzy, air-headed bimbos that seemed to catch his father's fancy more often than not.

He had a sneaking suspicion, however, he was eventually going to have to find _someone_ just to appease his father... at least temporarily. Rufus _certainly_ had no plans to actually marry himself off at the moment just to gift his progenitor with a grandchild. But a love interest... or at least someone to occasionally spend the night with and parade around in front of reporters... would get his old man off his back about the whole idea for awhile.

But he would worry about such matters if and when they became an issue. Right now... he preferred to spend his time thinking about that damn status update he'd requested.

* * *

"This is gettin' bad..." Reno commented as he and Tseng waded through knee-high water, "It wasn't even _close_ to this deep when I was here a little while ago."

"It's likely coming from over in Three. I suspect Urban Development has allowed the runoff channels in the sector to empty into the slums and it's started to back up into the adjoining sectors. Two is probably more than a little soggy by now as well."

"Heh... A nice long soak might actually _help_ things in Two. Streets were always a fuckin' mess over there," he joked. Still... as much as he hated that place, the thought worried him. Two sucked, plain and simple... but even in the shitholiest shithole of Midgar there were good people to be found. Hell, there were probably still people he'd once thought of as friends living over there... even if he _had_ lost touch with them after moving to the Plate.

And... his mom was still there. The thought of her grave being underwater, as well, wasn't exactly a pleasant one. She'd had things hard enough in _life_... but she couldn't even seem to catch a break now that she was gone.

"You've clearly never had to clean up after a flood..." Tseng deadpanned. "But I agree. This isn't a _good_ sign, by any means. If this really _is_ largely from Three, Four is going to be hit hard when the floodgates above us are opened. We're not going to want to be anywhere near this area when that happens..."

They hurried as well as they could through the flooded streets, finally finding a little bit of dry land at a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the surrounding area. From their new vantage point, Reno didn't have any trouble spotting Cissnei and a small group of people crowded around the front of a dilapidated cottage at sat on a small natural rise in the ground.

"Fuck. _This_ is gonna fun..." he muttered. Between the two Turks and their objective was what could legitimately be described as a river. Beyond the cottage looked to be more of the same, as water from the next sector over had encroached on the safehaven. Cissnei waved when she caught sight of them.

Tseng was already pulling a pair of ropes from the backpack full of supplies he'd brought along.

"First thing's first. We'll need to secure a way across for them... and the younger ones will likely need assistance in crossing. Which of us is getting wet?" he asked, and then amended, "... Wett _er_."

"Tch... Your kiddin', right? That's the _easy_ job," Reno replied, smirking. "I'm not haulin' _your_ heavy ass back in while you're hangin' onto a kid."

"I hadn't realized I'd put on _that_ much weight over the holidays this year," Tseng chuckled and held out one of the ropes. The redhead snorted in laughter as he took it and made his way down to the edge of the water. He tied one end to an old fence post, and swung the other in a wide arc over his head, before letting it fly. It landed neatly on the other side, and Cissnei hurried over to grab it.

"Tie that off! I'll be over to help ya in a minute!" he called out to her.

By then, Tseng had joined him at the water's edge, and was similarly fastening the second rope to the post. Reno watched him tie a loop into the other end and grinned.

"Been takin' lessons on fancy knots from Kai or somethin'?" he asked, eyeing the unusual technique

"It's hardly 'fancy'. I am _more_ than capable of tying a simple bowline without expert assistance, thank you," his mentor retorted before slipping the rope around the younger man. He cocked an eyebrow. "Though given that you don't recognize it, perhaps it's time you had a refresher course in survival training..."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Fine... but you damn well better tell Little Miss Campout no fuckin' chocobos this time..." He grabbed onto the rope that was stretched over the water and eased himself in. "Comin' to ya, Cissnei!"

It really wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. The current _was_ pretty strong, and the water came up to mid thigh, but the rope kept him upright, and he was able to cross at a fairly steady pace. Tseng was right, though. The two kids that were standing over there, looking more than a little terrified, were gonna need some help. When he reached the other side, he did a quick count. Five people, including a girl who looked to be around nine, and a boy who might have been slightly older, plus Cissnei. He grinned at his fellow Turk.

"Ya miss me?"

" _Terribly_..." she chuckled. "Let's get the kids over first. The water keeps rising, and it's only going to be harder for them if we wait."

"Yep," Reno agreed, and offered a hand to the girl first. "Come on, kid... Time to go."

She shook her head emphatically, and scurried behind the boy. The redhead mentally groaned. Not again.

"I'll go first, okay?" the older child, whom the Turk strongly suspected was her brother, said. Reno had to give the kid credit. He looked like he was about to piss himself as he stepped towards his outstretched hand, but he didn't hesitate.

"... 'Kay... hold on tight," the redhead cautioned as he led him out into the water. Apparently he took the request to heart, because by the time they were up to the kid's waist, he had a death grip on Reno. They managed the twelve or so feet with little difficulty and he handed the boy off to Tseng.

"One down," the Turk lieutenant noted.

Reno turned around and repeated the process with the boy's sister... and then helped the first of the adults out into the water as well. Each crossing was without incident, and by the time he was on his way back to Cissnei again, he was confident that this would be the easiest part of his day thus far. Hell, he was already basically halfway _done_.

He should have fucking _known_ better.

It started with a deep rumbling, that, for a moment, he assumed was just more thunder. He'd been hearing it all day, and it had largely become nothing more than background noise at this point. By the time he was halfway across, though, he suddenly realized that there was something different about this sound. It wasn't just the usual crash of thunder followed by a brief rumble as it died away. _This_ sound went on and on.

"Reno!" Cissnei shouted, and the redhead looked up to see her pointing frantically behind him. He turned, and his eyes went wide. A literal _wall_ of water was bearing down on him from the edge of the city.

"Shit! Cissnei, move it!" he shouted, and doubled his pace towards her... only to be unceremoniously yanked off his feet as his tether rope went taut. His head dipped underwater from a moment and he lost his grip on the guide rope. As he surfaced, he realized that he was being pulled backwards, away from the other Turk. "No! Goddammit! Cissnei!"

He tried to swim against the pull of his tether. He _had_ to get to her, or she'd end up swept away by that monster. If he could just _reach_ her... It wouldn't be a pleasant experience, but he was secure enough. If he could get ahold of her, they could ride it out together and Tseng could pull them in when it was over.

He was dragged, despite his best efforts to stop it, back onto the shore, and wordlessly hoisted to his feet. The next thing he knew, he was back on top of the little sliver of high ground, being shoved roughly behind an old stonework wall for cover as the water barreled through their little crossing. He heard a shrill cry in the distance... and he honestly wasn't sure if it had been Cissnei or one of the remaining evacuees... but he could hear the sheer terror in it and it sent a chill down his spine.

When the worst of it was over, he staggered to his feet.

The cottage... what was left of it, anyway... was mostly underwater. He stared in horror at the spot that, just moments ago, his fellow Turk had been standing. Waiting for him. His eyes scanned the area, searching for her, but... there was nothing. Just flooded ruins. A hand came to rest on his shoulder and he stiffened. He shrugged it off and spun around to face his mentor, eyes narrowing in fury as realization set in.

"Why they _hell_ did you pull me in?!" he demanded, "I was _almost_ fucking _there_! I coulda... I could got her!"

Tseng shook his head, sadly. "There wasn't time, Reno."

"There _was_ time! I _know_ I coulda made it!" he insisted, as his chest constricted in despair. He stubbornly blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall and shoved Tseng backwards, "How could you just.. just... How fucking _could_ you?!"

He couldn't bring himself to say it. Saying she was dead would make it real, and he didn't _want_ it to be real. If he didn't say it... maybe there was still hope. Maybe she was out there. Somewhere. It was only water, after all. _He'd_ survived the water. A lot more of it than just _this_ little flood.

"Reno... There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry... but there was just no time. If I hadn't pulled you back, you both would have –"

" _Don't,_ " he hissed, cutting Tseng off, and brushing past him. He wasn't gonna let _him_ say it, either.

* * *

Reinforcements from Junon finally arrived late in the evening, and Veld was only too happy to let them take over. The Turks had ended up doing most of the heavy lifting. It was someone else's turn now. His team needed to rest.

And to mourn.

It had been a failure at one of the Sector Four floodgates up on the Plate, he'd learned. Once it happened, there was simply no stopping it... and no time to issue a warning to those in the field. Veld sighed heavily and ran a hand along Tseng's back as the train carried them Plate-ward. He was taking it hard. But then, he always did.

He still didn't have the _entire_ story... He was waiting until they were back in the office and his Turks were warm and dry and fed before he started in on the debriefings. What little he _had_ gleaned, however, was that there had been nothing Tseng could have done... and even though the younger man had assured his mentor that he knew that, he was clearly in pain. Reno, too, seemed to be at a loss for words. He hadn't said much when the pair had returned... but he was quite visibly angry. Veld was absolutely _certain_ of that much.

He couldn't blame the young man. Losing a Turk was never easy. Watching it happen... well, that could bring even an older, more seasoned Turk to his knees. Reno wasn't yet twenty and had only just recently marked his third year as a Turk. He simply hadn't seen enough to be able to compartmentalize the grief the way most of them had learned to do by now. A short leave – for them both – might not be a terrible idea... though Veld knew Tseng well enough to expect him to argue against it, for himself at least. He preferred to work. Hell, the redhead might just turn him down, as well. He seemed to have picked up a few of Tseng's less endearing habits over the years... _and_ his stubbornness.

As for the rest of the team... most of them seemed to be in a minor state of shock, after hearing the news about Cissnei. The rookies, in particular, were noticeably subdued at the moment. Tseng would have his work cut out for him, ensuring they were taken care of... though Veld was more than willing to step in and help if needed. He was hesitant to encroach without specifically being asked, however. The rookies were one of Tseng's primary responsibilities now. It was a large part of preparing him to take over the team itself in the future, and he _needed_ to learn how put his own needs aside at times in order to see to theirs, while simultaneously balancing it with not neglecting himself. It... wasn't always as easy as it sounded.

He'd overheard the trio shortly before they'd left for the Plate, wondering if perhaps Cissnei might still be alive... just trapped somewhere in the flooded sector and unable to contact them. It was a tempting fantasy, and maybe there was a very s _lim_ possibility of it... and Veld had found it far too cruel to attempt to dissuade them of the idea just yet. The troops from Junon were, of course, searching for survivors, and he was the first to admit that more miraculous things _had_ happened... but based on Tseng's brief description of what had transpired... he wasn't holding out much hope.

Reno had wanted to stay and assist in the search. So had Rude. Veld had vetoed the idea immediately. They were both exhausted, and he'd already lost _one_ Turk today. He wasn't about to put two more needlessly at risk. They would _all_ return to the Slums tomorrow, but right now, they were spent, and no good to anyone.

The pair hadn't been pleased when he'd issued that decree... but they'd grudgingly accepted it and followed orders to board the train.

They arrived at the Sector 5 station and switched trains, making their way back to Sector 0 and headquarters. By then, it was closing in on nine o'clock, and no one looked like they were in the mood for any additional traveling. He made a brief call to his wife to let her know that he wouldn't be home tonight and followed his Turks upstairs. Most of them headed straight for the sleeping quarters, though a few made a detour to the cafeteria to see what was left in the kitchen.

Reno, in particular, had looked a little unsteady as Rude had coaxed him off of the elevator at the thirty-fifth floor, and Veld belatedly realized that he likely hadn't eaten much – if anything – since early that morning. He shook his head. Yes... the redhead really _was_ just as stubborn as his mentor sometimes. He had fully intended to remain behind and search... and probably _wouldn't_ have stopped for food at any point had Veld been willing to allow it. Tseng, too, had a history of working until he quite literally dropped. He would have to speak with his protege about that. One workaholic on the team was plenty.

His Turks seen to, Veld sighed and sat down at his desk, resting his head in his hands for a moment. He knew he should go to bed, himself, as well. They had another long day ahead of them tomorrow.

"Sir?" a voice queried from across the office, and he looked up to find Tseng hovering in the doorway.

"Get some sleep, for Titan's sake, Tseng," he chastised his protege.

"I will. I'm waiting for for the rookies to return from dinner. And for Reno to come upstairs. I want to make sure he's... as alright as he _can_ be, under the circumstances. He and Cissnei were good friends. It's... going to be hard for him to accept, I think." The Wutaiian Turk sighed heavily. "And he's quite angry with _me_ , at the moment, as well."

The Turk leader's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Which, I assume, is what brought you to _my_ office."

Tseng gave a somewhat mirthless snort of laughter and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm sorry, Veld. I realize that you're just as tired as _I_ am, at this point, but..."

"But I'm your _mentor_. And you need some advice," Veld finished for him, with a faint smile. "I hadn't planned on going to bed just yet, anyway. What's he so angry about? Besides the obvious..."

The younger Turk dropped into one of the chairs in front of Veld's desk.

"I stopped him from going after Cissnei," he replied, and shook his head. "He almost _certainly_ would have been killed, as well! But, he insists that he could have saved her. Frankly, I don't know if he truly believes that or if it's just wishful thinking fueled by grief, but... he's furious that I prevented him from making the attempt. He wouldn't even speak to me for most of the afternoon unless it was strictly necessary."

"Ah..." was all Veld said in reply. That explained why his protege was lingering in the halls instead of preparing to get some rest once his duties were seen to, even though he looked like he might drop at any second. The Turk leader very vividly remembered a similar incident that was undoubtedly at the forefront of Tseng's mind at the moment... After all, it was only in the last couple of years that he and Kai had gone from merely being civil to one another to _truly_ reconciling.

"I know that the situation isn't _quite_ the same," Tseng replied, seeing the understanding on his mentor's face.

"But it's similar _enough_... and besides which, that protege of yours has a history of going off half-cocked when he's upset," Veld said, quickly catching on.

"Perhaps not as much as when he was younger. But yes, I _am_ somewhat concerned about what he might do tomorrow when we return to the Slums." He dropped his gaze, and added, "And... that he may not forgive me for this."

"I'll pair him with Rude tomorrow. He's always been fairly competent when it comes to keeping that little troublemaker of yours _out_ of trouble. At least on duty," the older Turk declared. "Beyond that, however... I think you simply need to give him time. It's too fresh right now. Too painful. He's devastated and he's grieving. We all are. But we're family. He'll forgive you."

"... I hope you're right, sir."

"I'm _always_ right," Veld shot back, drawing a faint smile from younger man. "You should know that by now. Now go and get some sleep. I'll see to the rookies, and make sure your protege is tucked in and read his bedtime story for you."

Tseng glared at him. "You know... he really does _hate_ it when people make comments like that about him. He was the youngest of us for so long... and still _looks_ so young even compared to our new recruits... I think he's well past sick of it. Kai _still_ calls him baby Turkling from time to time, and it drives him mad. Reno is _not_ a child and he does not deserve to be so casually referred to as one. It's demeaning."

"You... are absolutely right. I apologize," Veld replied, surprised at the unexpected outburst. Tseng's temper was showing itself... though he supposed it was understandable, given how high emotions were running at the moment. And he couldn't really say that his second in command wasn't entirely within his rights to call him out on it... even if he _had_ only been trying to lighten the mood a bit. "I think we _both_ need some rest. Go on. I'll see to Reno, and anyone else who's still up before I turn in myself."

"... Yes, sir. Goodnight." Tseng stood and headed for the door.

"Goodnight. And Tseng?" he called after him. His protege turned, looking back at him. "Try not worry _too_ much. Reno won't give _you_ up any more than you would him. No matter _how_ angry he may be right now."

"Thank you..." Tseng replied, looking somewhat relieved, in spite of his concerns. Veld shook his head once he was gone, musing silently on the conversation. No matter how old they got, sometimes one's rookie simply needed the reassurance of their mentor.

~end chapter 20~


	21. Coming to Terms

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 21: Coming to Terms**

 **by Desha**

The straps holding the heavy bag in place finally gave way, and the final impact sent it flying a good fifteen feet across the gym floor.

"Wow," Petra breathed.

"... You know something? I'm _pretty_ sure Rude is the absolute last person in the world I'd ever want mad at me," Sykes said quietly, eyes locked on the sight.

"Yeah, I'm sort of thinking the same thing," Liam agreed. It was early. The three of them had come downstairs to wake themselves up a little before they inevitably had to head out. Those plans had come to an abrupt halt when they'd stumbled upon the senior Turk angrily beating the hell out of the practice bags in the gym.

"Um... hey. Let's just... leave him alone, okay? How about breakfast instead?" Petra suggested. The other two rookies nodded in agreement, and the trio silently backed out the way they'd come, before turning tail and beating a hasty retreat to the elevator. She hit the button for the cafeteria floor, and the door slid shut.

"What was _that_ all about, do you think?" Sykes asked.

"Cissnei, obviously," Petra replied, "Doesn't it make _you_ angry, too?"

"Well... yeah, I guess so. But... I dunno. More sad than _angry_."

"Everyone's different," Petra said with a shrug, "Sato's got a half assembled bomb spread out over the table in the lounge this morning and I... I'm pretty sure I heard Kai crying last night. And I haven't even _seen_ Reno since we got back, which is just _bizarre_. He's usually one of the first ones checking in on us after an assignment."

It hadn't occurred to him until now, but Liam suddenly realized that Petra was right. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the senior Turk, either. Not since they'd returned to headquarters and some of their number had stopped by the cafeteria before bed. The redhead had been among them. Liam and Petra had just been too bone-tired to bother with food.

"... He was really quiet last night," Sykes said. "Rude picked the look on the kitchen and hooked us up with some hot food, but... Reno hardly touched it and then he took off a few minutes later. Haven't seen him since."

"He and Tseng saw it happen, right?" said Liam, and Petra nodded. "I don't think _I'd_ have much of an appetite either if I watched a friend die right in front of me."

"We don't _know_ that she's dead. I mean... she could have survived it," said Sykes.

"Yeah... maybe. I hope so." Liam wasn't holding out _much_ hope, though. Granted, he wasn't the planet's leading expert on surviving a giant wall of water to the face, but... he didn't think the odds were exactly in the senior Turk's favor. Petra shook her head.

"I hope so, too... but think we should prepare ourselves for the worst," she acknowledged, as the doors opened on the thirty-fifth floor. "We have flash floods like that back home sometimes, in the rainy season. The nearby canyons can fill up in a matter of seconds, and anyone and anything in the path of the water is just... gone. It's why the village was built so high, on the plateau, to begin with. Sometimes we find things that were washed away _miles_ from where they started... when we find them at all. I lost a great-uncle to a flood one season when I was little. The village searched for weeks, but never found his body."

The other two fell silent at the information and made their way into the cafeteria and hopped into the – rather short, given the still-early hour – line. The trio collected their breakfast and carried their plates over to their usual table... only to find that Remy, Kai, and Reno had beaten them to it. Kai smiled tiredly at the three of them.

"Morning, Turklings... Sleep well?"

"... I guess," Liam supplied, sliding into one of the seats.

"We'll be working split shifts today," said Remy, "Half us of will join the Shinra troops already in the slums this morning. A relief team will take their place after lunch. Veld will be briefing us per usual, but he asked me to pass along that if anyone needs to talk to someone, the Medical department has been informed of what happened yesterday and counseling staff are on standby."

Liam heard a faint snort from Reno's direction, but the redhead didn't look up from his meal.

"And of course, any one of _us_ would be willing, as well," a voice behind the trio stated, startling all three of them.

"Oh, for _Hades'_ sake, Tseng..." Kai said, rolling her eyes, "Stop sneaking up behind people. Most of us are running on way too little sleep and no one's in the mood to have the crap scared out of them right now."

"My apologies... It wasn't intentional," the Turk lieutenant said, setting his food down and taking a seat at the table. The three rookies finally joined them, as well.

"Have... there been any new developments, sir?" Remy asked. Tseng shook his head.

"Nothing of consequence. Obviously, the rain has yet to stop. Sector 3 is inaccessible, Sector 4 is almost entirely flooded, as well, at this point, and Five is... more than slightly over-crowded on account. I would venture a guess that we will largely be helping to keep the peace. Until the water recedes, there's little rescue work to be done. Or... recovery work."

Reno suddenly set his fork down and shoved his half-empty plate away.

"Tch... I'm gonna go find Rude."

"Reno..." Tseng began, but the redhead ignored him, getting to his feet and striding away.

"He's in the training hall, sir..." Liam called after him, to which _he,_ at least, received a wave of acknowledgment.

"What in the Nine Hells was _that_ all about?" Kai asked, and Tseng sighed.

"It's... a long story. Suffice it to say, he's not especially pleased with me at the moment. I _had_ hoped that a good night's sleep might cool his temper somewhat, but... apparently not," he replied, before turning his attention to his own food. Liam didn't miss the look that was subsequently shared between Kai and Remy.

* * *

"Punishin' the workout equipment again, huh?" Reno queried as he came up behind Rude in the training hall. The bald Turk, slammed another punch into the bag. His second of the morning.

"Makes me feel better," he grunted in acknowledgment. Reno took up a position to one side, simply watching him for a moment, before finally taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Rude... tell me she's not really gone."

He hadn't slept. At least not for more then ten or twenty minutes at a time. His entire night had been an endless cycle of drifting off, seeing horrifying images in his dreams, and waking up in a cold sweat... lather, rinse, repeat. Far too many of those dreams had included Cissnei.

Rude landed one more punch and turned to face him.

"I... can't."

The redhead's shoulders drooped.

"But I mean... there's at least a _chance_ , right?" Rude was silent for too long, and before he could manage an answer the redhead had stepped forward and slammed his own fist into the punching bag. "Goddammit, it's not fucking _fair_! Why'd it have to be _her_?"

Hit hit it again. And again. And again.

"This doesn't. Fucking. Help!" he ground out between blows, until finally Rude seized his arms and pulled him away. He turned the smaller Turk around and pulled him into a crushing embrace. Reno went limp in his arms, the burst of energy suddenly spent.

"I know," Rude said, simply.

* * *

By lunchtime, Rude was filthy, hungry, and tired. He and Reno had been part of the first shift to return to the Slums, along with Remy, Petra, and Sykes. Veld had asked him privately to stick close to Reno, and he'd obligingly done so. It had quickly become apparent _why_.

He'd had to stop him three times from trying to enter the flooded neighboring sector to begin his own one-man search for the missing Turk. After the third attempt, he'd finally forced him to tell him what the hell was going on with him, and the whole story had come out. How he'd tried to reach Cissnei but had been forced back by Tseng's intervention. How there was no trace of her after the deluge had passed. How blindingly furious he'd been with his mentor afterwards, and still _was_ every time he ran into Tseng.

For a short while, Rude was furious, too. But the more the redhead talked, the more it became frighteningly apparent that he'd very nearly lost _two_ friends yesterday. Reno, however... didn't seem to be ready to accept that yet. And Rude didn't want to push the issue. The younger man would eventually come to the same conclusion, he was sure... but he knew Reno well enough to understand that, _this_ time, at least, he needed to do so himself, not be forced into it.

This wasn't a case of the the redhead doubting himself. In those instances, an unexpected dip in the company pool and a brief heart to heart was usually all it took to snap him out of it. No... _this_ time, it was almost the opposite. Reno believed he was right – even though it was pretty clear that he wasn't – and wasn't going to be told otherwise.

He'd figure it. Eventually.

 _Rude,_ meanwhile, was filled with a deep sense of regret. Cissnei had been... more than just a friend, for a long time now. He'd finally found the courage to tell her so – or at least ask her out so he _could_ tell her so – and now this. Like the redhead had said earlier... it wasn't fucking fair. He wished so desperately that he'd made a move sooner. He wished he'd told her how he felt. Now it was too late.

And watching Reno struggling to come to terms with her loss, he decided then and there not to say anything about that to _him_. The younger Turk was already dangerously close to blaming _himself_ for her death – when he wasn't blaming Tseng, that is. He didn't need to know right now. Maybe not ever. It's not as if it would bring her back, after all, and it would just cause his friend more pain.

Rude glanced over toward the central pillar and spotted a train winding its way down. He looked down at his watch.

"Reno!" he called out to the redhead, "Looks like our ride's here."

Reno turned his gaze towards the incomplete station and the engine slowly descending toward it and heaved a deep sigh.

"Tch... Let's go..." he muttered. Rude wordlessly trailed along behind him, and they made their way through the city of tents that had sprung up overnight. As they slipped past a line of people waiting for food, a figure suddenly darted out of the crowd, barreling directly towards the pair. Rude couldn't even shout a warning to the redhead. By the time he'd realized what was happening, his fellow Turk had already been tackled around the waist and sent staggering backwards with a loud _ooph_!

"The fuck?!" the surprised redhead cried, staring down in shock at his newly acquired attachment.

"Kira?!" a voice called out from somewhere in the distance, and Rude caught sight of a harried-looking woman pushing her way through the middle of the food line. She quickly covered the distance between them, and paled slightly as she spotted their uniforms and recognition dawned. "I am _so_ sorry... Kira, let go. Come with Mommy."

Rude suddenly snickered as he realized that the "attacker" was actually a little girl.

"He's the one who _found_ me, Mommy!" she said, hugging the Turk tightly. Reno blinked somewhat owlishly for a moment before finally finding his voice.

"Uh... hey, there."

"O-oh!" the woman, managed, "I... didn't realize you were... er... _Thank_ you. So much."

"Yeah... No problem. Hey, stick close to your mom, huh, kid? You don't wanna go gettin' lost again."

The woman smiled and quickly led the girl back to the food line, smiling gratefully at the two Turks.

"Fuck... _Kids_ , man," he said shaking his head. "Where the hell'd she even _come_ from?"

Rude managed a soft chuckle in spite of his less than happy mindset. "Not sure. But with ambush skills like that, maybe we ought to mark her for potential recruitment. In about ten _years_..."

Reno rolled his eyes, and set off towards the train again. It had come to a stop about a hundred feet from the station itself, prevented from actually entering by the unfinished track next to the platform. Rude saw a small group walking the remaining distance. As they drew closer, he recognized Tseng and Sato as well as Veld, and at the back of the procession, Liam.

"Guess Medical hasn't cleared Kai yet," Reno commented. They met up with the relief team just as they entered the train station.

"Status update?" Veld inquired.

"Nothin' much to report, sir. We broke up a few fights earlier, but things have been pretty quiet otherwise..." Reno replied, as they were joined by the remainder of their team. The Turk leader nodded.

"That's what I like to hear. You five head back topside, then. The office has been fairly quiet as well. I'm afraid we'll be working at least part of this weekend, so... we'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, sir," Reno replied, and started on his way up to the train. As he passed by Tseng, the Turk lieutenant reached out, resting a hand on the redhead's shoulder. Reno shrugged him off, shooting him a glare, and simply kept walking. Rude sighed softly, and followed, slowing slightly as he, too, walked by the senior Turk.

"I'll look after him, sir," he said, quietly, before hurrying after his friend.

* * *

It was past their normal quitting time by the time the second team returned to headquarters. Tseng leaned back against the wall of the elevator as it carried him upwards. He'd stopped on the ninth floor when they'd arrived to have a nasty gash on his arm seen to. The others had already dispersed, most of them to the showers in the gym, he suspected. He'd be making a side trip there as well, shortly. But first, there was someone he needed to check on.

Assuming he hadn't opted to go home by now, that is... but knowing Reno, if the rest of the team was spending the night in the office sleeping quarters again, he would be, too.

When he arrived on the fifty-eighth floor, he could hear faint conversation coming from the lounge. But as he made it's way toward it, Kai rounded the corner, spotting him immediately, and made a beeline straight for him. He paused, wondering if something had happened while he was gone.

"Hey... so... about Reno," she began, almost immediately, and not so subtly seized him by the sleeve and dragged him into her office, closing the door behind them.

"Has something happened?" he asked, concerned. Kai shook her head.

"No... No, he's... fine. Relatively speaking," she said, somewhat awkwardly, "I was just wondering... Do you want _me_ to try talking to him for you?"

"Kai..."

"Look... I understand that kind of anger. He's too pissed off at you to see the bigger picture right now. Maybe... someone who's been there before can –"

"No," Tseng said, firmly.

"But –"

"I appreciate the offer, Kai. I truly do. But I think if I send you in as my personal advocate right now, it will only make things worse. This... is something he and I need to work out between ourselves, just as you and I did."

Kai snorted softly. "Yeah... Remind again me how many _years_ it took _us_ to work that out..." She sighed and ran her fingers through her short-cropped locks. "Look... I don't want you to have to go through that again. Especially not with _Reno_ , of all people."

She had a point. Still... he worried that his young protege might view such an intervention as having his fellow Turks gang up on him. It might inadvertently end up stoking his anger farther. No... the best course of action was to ride it out. Let him come to terms with what had happened in his own time, and be there when he was ready to address it with him. It would be... unpleasant... for the Wutaiian Turk, but in the end, it was for the best.

"I will... _consider_... the idea. But only if I find that I can make no progress on my own," he said at last.

The diminutive Turk rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Have it your way, you obstinate pain in the ass," she sighed, "Just don't forget I'm here... okay?"

"I won't," Tseng replied, with a grateful smile.

* * *

It was days before the water finally began to recede. Even with Shinra Company actively pumping it _out_ of the Slums, it was going to take awhile. And until conditions improved, forays into the flooded areas had to remain on hold. Reno had spent half the weekend in the office and the other half at home, nestled in bed with Lira, who had finally admitted defeat and taken him up on his offer of a place to stay while Wal Market dried out.

Monday, however, meant a return to work. They weren't going into the Slums anymore. Not yet, at any rate, and with each passing day, the sliver of hope that they might still find Cissnei alive he tenaciously clung to faded a little more.

He still wasn't sleeping well... not even with Lira there to comfort him.

By mid-week, he had a feeling that that was becoming painfully obvious to everyone in the office. Tseng had tried a number of times to talk to him, but the redhead simply could _not_ move past his mentor's callous disregard for the other Turk's life. He hadn't even let Reno _try_ to save her! And he could have. He was... _pretty_ sure he could have.

"What in the Nine Hells happened to _you_?" a voice addressed him as he stepped out of the elevator on Thursday morning.

"Fuck off, Kai... I haven't had my coffee yet."

"I think you need more than just coffee, Baby Turkling." she snickered, "You look like you haven't slept in a month."

"I'm _not_ kiddin' Kai..." he replied, annoyed, "I'm in no mood for your shit right now."

The senior Turk eyed him for a moment, as if considering something, and then shook her head and took hold of his arm, turning him around a hundred and eighty degrees and marching him back into the elevator.

"Come on, Baby Turkling. Veld already made the coffee today. Let's go get something that won't put us back on medical leave. My treat."

And that was how, about ten minutes later, Reno found himself seated in a tiny coffee shop across the street from the Shinra Building, drinking the mocha latte Kai had ordered for him before he could decide what he wanted and sharing one of those ridiculously over-sized muffins with her.

"So... rough night, huh?" she said once they were settled. The redhead took a long sip of the sweet, slightly chocolaty drink and vaguely wondered why the crap he'd never bothered ordering one of these things before. They were fucking delicious!

"... Yeah. You could say that," he admitted.

"Bad dreams?"

He glanced up at her and then down at his coffee, and sighed.

"About... what happened with Cissnei?" she prodded.

"I _really_ don't wanna get into it. Bad enough that shit's keepin' me up all night. I don't need to be thinkin' about it during the fucking day, too."

"Can I offer you some friendly advice?" Kai queried.

"Tch... Like you're just gonna sit there 'n be quiet if I say no?" he shot back, a sarcastic note to his voice. Kai snorted a soft laugh in response, but quickly sobered.

"Talk to Tseng."

The redhead's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What? He send you in to talk me into not bein' pissed at him or somethin'?"

" _Actually_ he pretty much forbade me from bringing it up. Buuuuut... he's also a stubborn jackass who won't admit to anyone just how much having you hate him is affecting him, so I'm pointedly ignoring him on this."

Reno scoffed and took an angry bite out of their muffin.

"What? You think it's _not_ affecting him?" she asked when he said nothing. The Turk rolled her eyes. "Do you think is was _easy_ for him to stand there and do nothing to help her?" she asked. "Do you think he _wanted_ her to die? He had a choice to make. Lose one Turk... or lose two. He chose to save the Turk he _could_ save."

"How the fuck do you know he couldn't've saved us both?" the redhead growled, "I was _right fucking there_. Ten more seconds and I'da had her."

"Ten more seconds and you'd have been swept away with her," she replied, "I read the report, you know. Tseng _barely_ managed to haul _you_ in alone against that current. No way in hell could he have held you both long enough for a Shiva-forsaken flood of water to pass."

"I was tied off..."

"Yeah... to an old _fence_. Come on, Reno. You know that post would've been ripped right out of the ground in seconds."

"I _don't_ know that, 'n neither do you!" he said and got to his feet, grabbing his coffee. He started to storm off, and then turned back and glared. "Ya know what? I'm takin' the rest of the goddamn muffin, too!"

He snatched up the baked good.

"Hurting Tseng won't bring her back, Reno," Kai stated, bluntly. "It didn't bring back my Alyssa, and it won't bring back Cissnei."

"Fuck you, Kai," he called out, without looking back, as he left the shop and crossed the street back to company headquarters. If he'd had a free hand, he'd have flipped her off for good measure. Where the _hell_ did she get off telling him how to feel, anyway?

And so what if he _was_ trying to share a little of his pain with Tseng? Didn't he deserve it? The cold son of a bitch just fucking _stood_ there and let Cissnei get swept away like she was nothing. Kai was fucking full of it. This wasn't affecting Tseng at all...

Except... deep down, he knew that wasn't true. Tseng cared deeply for all of his Turks. He just wasn't the type to broadcast his feelings to anyone who'd listen. Reno had seen him in the depths of despair once... and, though he wasn't willing to admit it right now, he never wanted to again.

But that didn't change the fact that he'd just fucking stood there and let it happen!

By the time Reno returned to the office, everyone had gathered in the briefing room. He shot Tseng an icy glare as he took a seat on the opposite side of the room... and tried very hard not to notice the wounded look that briefly flashed across his mentor's face. He was _not_ going to let Kai get to him. He was ticked off, and he was gonna fucking _stay_ ticked off until _not_ being ticked off stopped hurting so goddamn much.

Kai shuffled in a couple minutes after he did, and took the empty seat near Tseng.

"Well... now that we're all here," Veld began, "As the first order of the day, I need some volunteers. It's taken nearly a week, but the water in Sector 4 has dropped substantially, and recovery teams are being sent in today. Obviously, it's not going to be... pleasant. But it's a necessity, and we'll need to keep things under control and organized down there. You'll be helping reunite families with anyone who has managed to survive this long... as well as the remains of those who didn't. Emotions _will_ be running high, and there is already quite a bit of unrest due to the overcrowding. Our job is to try and prevent things from boiling over. I'd like three of you to go."

Reno was the first to raise his hand to volunteer. Rude mirrored the gesture mere moments later.

"I'll go, too," said Kai, and the redhead forced himself not to groan. _That_ figured. She probably wanted to corner him again.

"Good. The rookies will be with Remy in the training hall this morning. Sato... courier duty. Report to the vice president for details. And Tseng... I need to speak to _you_ in private," the Turk leader concluded. Dismissed, the group began to filter out to see to their assignments. Reno was the first out the door.

* * *

Once the others had dispersed, Tseng followed his mentor to his office. He had a suspicion as to what this was about. After all, it would have been difficult _not_ to notice that the situation between the redhead and himself had not improved. A week ago, he'd been certain of his course. Now he was starting to think that perhaps he _should_ let Kai speak to him after all. Reno seemed to be growing more distant to him by the day.

"Sir... I _am_ trying to get Reno to under–," he began only to be cut off.

"It's not about Reno," Veld said. "Though I'll admit, I _am_ starting to get a little concerned about him. But I'm afraid we have a more immediate problem at the moment."

"Sir?"

Veld grimaced and took a seat at his desk. "It seems one of the news stations has gone a bit rogue. There's been a great deal of criticism of the evacuation efforts. One reporter in particular seems to be the instigator... Insisting that Shinra Company should have acted sooner, stirring up trouble. The President... is not happy."

"I'll get right on it, sir," Tseng said, understandingly.

"Her name is Harper Fields," the Turk leader said, handing him a dossier on the woman, "Make it look convincing. Nothing that will draw suspicion. An unfortunate car accident, perhaps..."

"Yes, sir."

Veld hesitated a moment, and then sighed. "How _is_ Reno doing?"

"It's difficult to say. I seem to be getting the silent treatment at the moment... He hasn't spoken to me about anything other than his assignments since it happened. He won't even say hello." He shook his head. "The worst part is... it's readily apparent how much he's grieving for his friend, but he won't allow me to so much as comfort him. It hurts to see him in such pain. And... it hurts _more_ to know that I was the cause of it. Maybe he was right. Maybe I _was_ too hasty in forcing him to retreat."

"I don't believe _that_ for a second, and I don't think you do, either," Veld stated. "It was a difficult decision to make, but it was the _right_ decision. They'd _both_ be dead right now if you had tried to save them both, and quite possibly, so would you. Don't start second-guessing yourself, Tseng."

"Yes, sir. I'll... go and see to that reporter."

"Tseng...," Veld said, before he could move to leave, "Would you like me to speak to him? Sometimes a third party's unbiased opinion can make a difference."

Tseng managed a slight smile. "Sir, with all due respect... I think you're the _last_ person Reno, or anyone _else_ , for that matter, would consider unbiased when it comes to _me_. As I told Kai when she made the same offer... this is something he must come to terms with on his own."

Veld shook his head. "Alright. He's _your_ protege. It's _your_ decision. But this can't continue indefinitely. It's going to start to have a negative effect on his job performance sooner or later. If I _have_ to, I'll order him to report to Medical for a psych eval."

"He _will_ work through it, sir," Tseng said, firmly, "Just... trust me."

"I _do_ trust you, Tseng. That's why I haven't already _given_ him that order. But that courtesy only extends so far... If this begins to be a problem for the rest of the team, I'll have no choice. The good of the team as a whole _has_ to come first."

"Yes, sir. I understand," the Wutaiian Turk replied.

He took his leave from Veld's office and went to his own to read through the dossier before heading out. It wouldn't be difficult to track the woman down. He knew her from her appearances on television. She was a veritable local celebrity. It was just a matter of finding that one moment in her schedule that he could slip in, unnoticed.

He set the folder on his desk and dropped into the chair behind it, running a hand over his face. It was a simple assignment. He had a feeling that was on purpose, and he was quietly grateful for it.

The situation with Reno was wearing him down far more than he cared to admit. It was simply too familiar. Things with Kai had unfolded in much the same way following Alyssa's death. The only real difference was that he was far less certain of _himself_ this time around. Before, he had never once questioned whether or not he'd done the right thing. This time... though he was fairly sure he had, there was still that tiny bit of doubt lingering in the back of his mind. But it hardly mattered whether he was right or not. It was done, and a Turk was dead. Just like last time.

What really worried him was that he appeared to have learned _nothing_ from the first experience. He'd done his best to appear confident that this would work itself out in front of Veld, but the truth was... he was concerned.

Reno couldn't stand to be in the same room with him. It had been much the same with Kai. And though they eventually put the worst of it behind them, until very recently they'd lost the close friendship they once had. He _didn't_ want to lose Reno... but he was lost as to how to prevent it. Every overture he made was rebuffed... Every offer of comfort, rejected. He just... didn't know what to do.

The thought of being so completely reviled by someone he'd all but adopted and so deeply cared for left him feeling cold and empty inside. He loved Reno. He may not have been his actual child, but he was as close as Tseng was ever likely to get, and the idea that he had irreparably damaged their relationship did not sit well with him.

He felt helpless. And decidedly uncertain. Did he stand by what he'd told Veld and let the young Turk continue to grieve? Give his protege time and distance, and hope that he eventually forgave him? Did he allow someone else to intervene on his behalf and hope that a neutral party might allow the redhead to see reason? Or did he force a confrontation himself? Get everything out in the open and actively deal with it? All three options seemed to carry a significant risk of the redhead never speaking to him again... but he had to do _something_.

The longer this went on, the more it was starting to affect not only Reno, but _Tseng_ , as well. He was distracted. Worried. Forgetful. Yesterday afternoon, it had completely slipped his mind that he'd scheduled an extra training session with the rookies that very morning.

Veld was right. Things couldn't continue like this.

* * *

"Oh, dear Shiva..." Kai said under her breath as she exited the train into Sector 5. Reno and Rude, too, were immediately taken aback by the sight that lay before them.

The large space some distance from the station that had, in previous days, been cleared explicitly for this purpose was now covered in a layer of thick, white plastic sheeting. About a quarter of it was already... occupied.

"Oh, man..." Reno breathed. "Are... are _all_ of 'em..."

"Afraid so," Kai said, sadly, "Looks like the recovery teams have already been busy..."

Reno gazed out across the expanse of white.

"Are they really plannin' on _that_ many _more_?" he asked, vaguely horrified. It didn't seem possible. There had to be at least a hundred bodies laid out in their makeshift morgue already. Did Shinra really think they'd end up pulling four times that number out of the ruins before this was over?

"They're estimating on the high side, since we don't know for sure how many people got out before things got bad enough they sent _us_ in," the senior Turk explained, "But... yeah. It's very possible we might end up filling all those spaces."

"... What will they do with them all?" Rude asked.

"Find families, if they can. For everyone else... kinda hate to say it, but the Junon troops will probably be digging a mass grave in the near future."

Reno shuddered. He'd never much cared for cemeteries to begin with... but the thought of all those bodies just being dumped in one big hole in the ground creeped him out. Kai slowly exhaled a long breath and turned to the two younger Turks.

"Okay, guys... It's our job to help keep things orderly. Let's... make sure we do just that. For their sake."

The pair nodded, and all three of them set off towards the cordoned-off area.

* * *

Reno leaned back against one of the train station's steel support beams, eyes closed as he tried to forget where he was for a few minutes. He took a sip of water from the plastic bottle Kai had shoved at him when she'd told him to go take a break, followed by a long drag off the cigarette in his other hand. He slowly exhaled the plume of smoke, letting it take some of the tension that had built up over the day with it.

He was starting to wish he hadn't volunteered for this shit.

Watching them carry in body after body all day long was bad enough. But the smell... _that_ was really starting to get to him. In all honesty, _he'd_ thought he was desensitized to that smell at this point. He'd seen plenty of dead people over the last few years. It genuinely didn't bother him anymore, most of the time. But, dear Ifrit... there were so _many_! He couldn't escape that smell, no matter where he turned. Even here, more than two hundred yards away, it still lingered in the air. The cigarette smoke helped a little.

He'd come down in the hopes that he'd somehow miraculously see Cissnei walking in with one of the rescue and recovery teams, but it had been hours. If she was still out there somewhere, alive... they'd have found her by now. He hadn't seen a _living_ survivor come in since pretty early that morning.

He took another sip of water. Fuck, if he'd just been a _little_ faster. If he'd ditched the rope and swam for it. Maybe...

The redhead sighed and opened his eyes again. Who was he kidding? If he'd gone off the rope, he'd be just as dead as she was. He might have made it _to_ her...but he never would have made it back without Tseng dragging his ass in. He angrily stubbed the remains of his cigarette our against the support beam. Why the _hell_ couldn't that son of a bitch have just _waited_?!

Ten seconds. That's all he would have needed. He was sure of it. _Pretty_ sure. It would've been good odds, anyway. Of course... that would have meant ten less seconds to get them both back across to safety, too...

The redhead growled and chugged the water remaining in the bottle, before heading back over to Kai and Rude. Kai was due to take a break next. He couldn't stand around all day wondering "what if?".

"Hey," Rude acknowledged him, handing him a clipboard. "Another group just got back with three more. They want a hand trying to match them up with the reported missing."

"Yeah... okay. Kai, do us all a favor 'n go sit down for a few minutes. You look like hell."

"Hmph... Oh, yeah. You're one to talk," the senior Turk retorted, but she didn't protest the suggestion, heading off in the same direction Reno had just come from. Reno glanced up at Rude.

"So? Where are they?" he asked in resignation to the task at hand. His friend led him across the plastic sheeting towards the far end, where three bodies lay, covered. Rude peered under the first sheet and started going through his list of descriptions, looking for one that matched. The redhead sighed and moved over the the last individual in the row... and froze.

"... No," he whispered. A hand poked out from beneath the covering. A neatly manicured hand, in a black, fingerless glove. "Please, no..."

He swallowed sharply and hesitantly lifted the sheet. He dropped it again, almost immediately, with a strangled cry, as he backpedaled so fast he ended up flat on his ass on the ground, eyes wide in horror. Rude looked up in alarm, and began to move toward him, but Reno violently shook his head.

"Don't! Just... just don't. Don't come any closer. Y-you don't wanna see this..." he managed, as he tried to keep the contents of his stomach right where they were. He staggered to his feet, and physically pushed Rude away.

"... Is it –" Rude began, but trailed off, unable to say the words aloud.

It was Cissnei. By rights, the redhead shouldn't have even been able to recognize her in the state she was in... but... it was her. Reno nodded...

… and then promptly ran for the nearest open space and puked up everything he'd eaten that day.

~end chapter 21~


	22. Acceptance

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 22: Acceptance**

 **by Desha**

Reno and Kai didn't bother returning to the office. By the time they finished down below and made it topside, the work day was over. There was nothing to keep any of the others bound to headquarters tonight, so why bother? They would have been returning to dark, empty hallways. So when they reached the Plate-side station, they hopped the next train over to Sector 3. By that point, both of them just... wanted to go home.

Kai had come running to join them as soon as she'd realized something was wrong... and had taken over while Reno spent several very _long_ minutes trying to compose himself. She'd tried to send him back to the office... but that would have meant accompanying Cissnei's body. He'd been honest with her. He didn't think he could handle it.

Rude had gone, instead. Kai and Reno, meanwhile, had continued on down below for hours, wrapping things up as best they could. By the time they'd left, the redhead felt numb.

The conversation had been sparse during the trip up. Neither seemed to know quite what to say. Kai had offered to walk him home from the station, but he'd turned her down. It was only a few blocks, he'd told her, and Lira would be there, waiting for him. He could manage.

And so it was that Reno found himself walking slowly towards his apartment as night descended on Midgar. Thunder rumbled in the distance and he cringed. _That_ was just what they needed. More Ifrit-forsaken rain. He made his way down the block, and his apartment building soon came into view. In a few minutes, he'd be home. And Lira would ask him what was wrong. And he'd have to explain it all. Go through it all.

Relive it all.

He stopped abruptly, shaking slightly. Lira would take care of him... just like she always did. But she would want to know why he was in such a state. Reno swallowed roughly against that thought. She would ply him with tenderness and affection until he relaxed and she coaxed it all out of him. Gently and lovingly, of course... but it _would_ come out, whether he wanted it to or not.

Almost of their own accord, his feet started to move. Not towards his apartment... but rather in pretty much the opposite direction. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew that he couldn't deal with _that_ right now, no matter how well-intentioned it might have been. She wouldn't wonder where he was, anyway. He'd been working such weird hours since the flooding had started... she'd just assume he was staying at the office again. That's what he'd _told_ her to assume if he didn't come home. So she wouldn't worry about him.

He walked. No idea what direction he was moving in... he just walked. He walked until the streets were dark and he'd lost all track of time. And when it started to rain, he _kept_ walking.

Until he eventually came to a door.

* * *

Tseng had settled himself into his favorite armchair with a cup of tea and the newspaper... and his PHS. He had, of course, heard the news the moment he'd returned to the office, and had wanted nothing more than to call his currently-estranged protege... but he hadn't been able to bring himself to do so. He was afraid that if he did, he'd only be rejected again. Still... the desire remained, and so he'd kept the device close at hand in the event he finally worked up the courage to do so. Or in case the younger Turk opted to call _him_.

The front page of the evening paper bore the breaking story of an unfortunate reporter whose brakes had failed at a _highly_ inopportune moment earlier that day, sending her car off an overpass in Sector 7. She'd been killed instantly. A tragedy to be sure.

It made no mention of the black sports car that had abruptly cut her off, resulting in her losing control of her own vehicle and careening into the rail, of course... He'd been very careful to avoid the more crowded of Midgar's roadways.

He knew it was callous... probably even heartless... of him, but a part of him was grateful for the routine nature of today's assignment. It was a by the book assassination, with no extraneous casualties, and minimal damage to city property. Moreover, there was nothing to connect Shinra to it. It was a simple matter. He'd hardly even had to think about how to rig the car's brakes or the perfect angle to veer into its path and force its driver to over-steer.

But it had been enough to take his mind off of other matters for a short time.

Now, though, he was home, on his _own_ time... and he was sorely tempted to swap his usual tea for something a bit stronger tonight. That, however, was a habit he refused to indulge in. He'd flirted with self-medicating with alcohol after his sister's death... and had quickly come to the conclusion that it was something that was entirely too easy for a person to lose control of. Since then, he'd made it a point to avoid drinking when he was upset at all costs.

Still... it _was_ tempting.

Thankfully, before his thoughts could stray any further towards that particular vice, he was interrupted by a quiet knocking at his front door. Tseng glanced at his watch, and noted with some surprise that it was nearly eight. Not an _absurdly_ late hour for a visitor, certainly... but unusual, nonetheless.

Particularly given that it was pouring out. Again. He hoped that this Leviathan-forsaken storm wouldn't hinder recovery efforts down in Sectors 3 and 4 too badly. Luckily, the forecast predicted that it wouldn't last long... just until midnight or so... and that the next couple of weeks looked clear and seasonally warm.

The Wutaiian Turk set his tea aside and got up, making his way to the door, peering somewhat suspiciously through the peephole. Upon spotting a familiar shock of red on the other side, he hurriedly wrenched it open.

"Reno?!"

He was drenched from head to toe, and shivering slightly. His protege slowly raised his head to look at him, eyes silently pleading with him. There was a look of heartbreak in those eyes... and Tseng didn't have to guess where it had come from. He knew perfectly well, even though the redhead had hardly spoken to him for a week, that Reno had been holding onto the hope that Cissnei had somehow survived the flood. That hope had been thoroughly and utterly dashed just hours ago. And as he understood it, Reno had been the first of his Turks to see the body.

Tseng shook his head, and reached for him, taking hold of his arm and ushering him inside. He was met with no resistance and _barely_ any response... until he shut the door behind him. _Then_ , the redhead surged forward, throwing his arms around his mentor and burying his face against his shoulder. Tseng... simply let him. He ran hand along his spine, drawing a faint whimper from his protege.

"Come on. Let's get you dry..." he said gently, and coaxed him toward the bathroom.

In quick order, the redhead was stripped, dried, and redressed in some of Tseng's workout sweats – his own sodden clothes being banished to the laundry room – and then wrapped in a blanket for good measure. Tseng settled him on the couch in the living room, and for quite some time, the younger Turk refused to be separated from him. He didn't speak at all, nor did he cry. He simply sat there, clinging to his mentor, and looking... defeated.

The only thing Tseng could do was hold him. After almost twenty minutes of silence, he began to worry that the redhead may have been in shock.

"Reno?" he prodded. The redhead shifted slightly, but didn't otherwise respond. Tseng moved his hand to the back of the younger man's neck, and massaged the pressure point gently. It wasn't long before Reno relaxed against his side.

"... I'm sorry..." the young Turk said, so softly that his mentor was half-convinced he'd imagined it.

"You needn't apologize," Tseng replied, "I know you –"

He'd intended to say that he knew he was taking Cissnei's death hard, and that he understood... but the redhead suddenly sat up, shaking his head.

"No... I _do_. 'Cause I've been actin' like a total asshole to you for savin' _my_ sorry ass," he said, swallowing sharply and dropping his gaze to his lap, "... I threw a fuckin' temper tantrum all 'cause you're not a goddamn superhero who coulda saved us both..."

"I truly wish I _could_ have done more," the Wutaiian Turk said, regretfully. It was never any less painful losing a part of his family. Especially one as young as Cissnei. If he'd thought it would have made any difference, he gladly would have sacrificed himself in her place... but as it was, he'd _barely_ managed to pull _Reno_ back in time.

"... I know," the younger Turk replied. "I was just... so _close_. I could almost reach her. I think that's what hurts the most... knowin' that if I'd just been _faster_ or if we'd just had another _... minute_... she'd still be here."

"You're no more superhuman than I am, unfortunately. It's a fact of life we simply have to accept and live with. Cissnei was not the first Turk to die in the line of duty... nor the first that I failed to save. Sadly, she will probably not be the last."

"I know that, too," Reno said, miserably. "It's just... so much _worse_ when it happens right in front of you."

Tseng closed his eyes for a moment in sympathy.

"... Yes. Yes, it is," he agreed. The younger man had little experience with that. In fact, in general, Reno had almost always arrived after the fact in the past. Only once prior to this had he seen a Turk die in front of him, and in that instance, his protege had been unfortunate enough to be the one tasked with pulling the trigger.

The redhead exhaled slowly and leaned back against the couch cushions, staring up at the ceiling.

"Ya know... she's only a month older than _me._ Hell, her birthday's next week. Now instead of a party, we're havin' a funeral."

"It's not fair," Tseng stated, "And it will never _be_ fair. It simply is."

"Yeah. Well... it _sucks_."

"I know it does. And I'm afraid it's something that you never become numb to."

Reno wiped a hand across his eyes.

"Can... I stay here tonight?" he asked. "Lira's stayin' at my place 'til shit down in Wall Market gets less soggy, and... I'm _really_ not up to explainin' to her why I'm a such mess right now."

Tseng gave his protege's shoulder a soft squeeze. "Of course you can."

* * *

Rude sat quietly, staring at the television. He wasn't even sure what he was watching at this point... not that it mattered. It was largely just background noise to his thoughts, anyway. It was getting late and he really _should_ have been in bed by now, given that he had work in the morning... but he had a feeling that sleep wasn't going to come easily tonight.

Finding Cissnei's body had been a shock, but one that he'd known would come sooner or later. He'd tried to prepare himself for _that_. What he hadn't prepared for was the sense of finality that came with it. He hadn't even realized that he _was_ still holding out some small hope that they might find her alive... but he'd distinctly felt that hope ruthlessly crushed this afternoon.

The bald Turk pulled his gaze away from the screen and instead looked down at the sunglasses he'd set on the coffee table. Cissnei had given him that pair... just a day after his rescue from Wall Market, in fact. To make up for accidentally stepping on his old ones during the search, she'd said.

He sighed and leaned forward picking up the container of fish flakes and sprinkling a few into the bowl beside the sunglasses. Two little goldfish swam up to the top and made quick work of them.

 _They_ had been Cissnei's, as well. She'd gotten them a couple of months ago, to keep her company in her apartment. They'd been left alone for almost a week after... after she'd been lost in the flood... before he'd remembered them and gone to check on them. Fortunately, they seemed none the worse for wear. He'd fed them, but wasn't really sure what else to do with them... so they'd come home with him. He couldn't just leave them there with no one to look after them.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed.

 _Why_ had he waited so long? Sure... maybe it wouldn't have changed what happened, but if he'd just manned up and told her that he _liked_ her a long time ago... maybe he wouldn't have felt so empty inside now. So cheated. He didn't know if it their date might have turned into something more, or not... but now he never _would_.

But more than just the loss of a _potential_ relationship... he'd lost one of his two best friends. He and Reno and Cissnei had become something of a trio. Now they were one short.

Riding back up to the Plate with her body had been... bad. He'd kept it together long enough to see her to the morgue at Midgar General, but after that... he'd broken down. Reno's words kept ringing in his ears the whole time.

" _Don't come any closer. Y-you don't wanna see this..."_

He wished he'd listened. A week at the mercy of a watery grave and the Slums' local scavengers had left her almost unrecognizable, save to those who knew her better than anyone. He didn't want _that_ to be his last memory of her.

He wanted to remember her as the cheerful, funny, driven person she'd been from the first time they'd met. As one of the best the Turks had to offer. As a caring and empathetic friend... one he desperately wished he'd had more time with.

* * *

Cissnei's funeral was held that Sunday. It was a beautiful spring morning, warm and bright and... had it been just about any other day, Rude would have been anxious to get outside and enjoy the weather after the long, cold winter and wet, dismal start to spring. The day itself seemed almost happy to exist, and the Turk couldn't help but think it was oddly fitting.

It was almost _hard_ to be subdued with so much bright cheeriness surrounding him. It was kind of the way he _always_ felt around Cissnei. She'd been such an overwhelmingly happy and positive person it was difficult _not_ to share in it sometimes.

The others seemed to feel it, as well. Sato, for one, looked almost giddy... but then, the Mideelian's attitude towards funerals was sort of... unconventional... to begin with. After all, this was the guy who'd held a firework's display at the end of his cousin's memorial service, and proudly proclaimed that he wanted the same at his own funeral, along with strippers... and Rude was _fairly_ certain he was serious about that.

Even Reno... who hadn't been himself since it happened... seemed to have accepted that things were the way they were and there was nothing he could do about it. Rude had been a little surprised on Friday when he'd arrived at work _with_ Tseng. He'd found out later that the two had had something of a heart to heart the previous evening, and the tension between then had very quickly evaporated. Rude, for one, was glad for that... because no matter what his friend might have said in anger – and given that they shared an office, he'd said _plenty_ on that subject to _him_ – he knew that, deep down, Reno had hated being angry at his mentor. Really, in Rude's experience, Reno didn't much enjoy being angry at _anyone_ he cared about for any significant length of time... _especially_ those he was closest to.

Kai had called it a "defense mechanism"... not that anyone had asked her opinion, but her habit of lingering in doorways and butting into conversations would not be denied. For once, Reno had rather sheepishly admitted that she was right. Anger had just been... easier... than dealing with the pain of losing a close friend and being unable to prevent it, and Tseng had had the misfortune of being a convenient target for it. To be fair, Rude could certainly understand _that_ sort of reaction. After all... _he'd_ personally decimated three heavy bags in the training hall after he'd heard what had happened. Reno, though, was usually a bit more prone to wearing his heart on his sleeve when something like this occurred. The redhead had even admitted to being more than a little confused – and embarrassed – by the way he'd behaved, in hindsight.

Today, he seemed to be sticking very close by his mentor. Rude wasn't sure if he was unconsciously trying to make up for all but ignoring him for a week, or if he just desperately didn't want to be left alone. In all likelihood, it was a combination of the two. If Rude had ever been asked, he would have said that Reno's greatest fear in life was loneliness... because he knew firsthand how terrible it could be. He held on tight to their little family, and it was never more apparent than when they were in mourning.

And tomorrow, things would be back to business as usual.

Or at least, that's what they would all tell themselves. It would never be quite the same. It never _was_ after losing someone. There was always that empty spot in the office where _someone_ should be. Aaron... Luca... Tres... Saya... Shay... even Rodney, in spite of his betrayal, held a spot on that roster. The list went back more years than Rude had even been a Turk, and continued to grow despite their best efforts to prevent it. Once again, they had a new name to add and a new empty spot to learn to live with.

* * *

Liam sat in the shade of a large tree some distance from the others. The funeral was over, but everyone seemed to be lingering. Talking. Reminiscing. He didn't quite feel comfortable joining in. They'd all known Cissnei for so long. Even Sykes and Petra had known her for months before he'd even met her. He was still just the newbie. It wasn't that he hadn't _liked_ Cissnei. He just... never really got the chance to know her the way they had. He felt as though he'd be intruding if he stuck around.

But... he didn't want to just _leave_ , either. Thus, his self-imposed banishment to the shade.

Without warning, someone sat down beside him with a soft thump. The rookie jumped slightly in fright, and looked over, somewhat wide-eyed, half expecting Tseng to have somehow snuck up on him again. He was, therefore, surprised to find Reno, rather than the Turks' second in command, sitting beside him.

"Hey," Reno said, leaning back against the tree, "What's up?"

Liam owlishly blinked at the senior Turk, not entirely sure what to say.

"Ya know..." the redhead said, not waiting for an answer, "Back when I was a rookie, we lost someone. Aaron. Cool guy. Almost as good as Remy when it came to hand to hand."

The rookie had no idea where he was going with this... but a response didn't seem to be expected, so he kept silent.

"I don't think I was on the job even a whole month yet. Plus, he was spendin' a _lot_ of time in Junon when I got recruited, so... I didn't get to know him as well as I woulda liked. It was... weird. Ya know... bein' at the funeral with everybody. And his family. Guy had a fuckin' _huge_ family. All those people who knew him better than I ever would..."

Liam glanced over at the small crowd. They were starting to disperse now, heading back to their cars.

"Cissnei didn't have a family," Reno continued, and the rookie distinctly heard his voice catch when he said it. "Just us. So we all counted in her eyes... even if ya didn't know her long enough to really _know_ her. Quit hangin' out on your own 'cause ya think you shouldn't be here. You're one of us."

The younger man swallowed roughly and looked down at his hands.

"How'd you know?"

"Tch... I just told ya, rookie. I've been there," the redhead replied with a slightly sad smirk. "Now get off your ass 'n come on. Everyone's headin' over to Veld's place for awhile. You met _his_ family yet?"

"Er... No, sir..." he replied, shaking his head.

"Hope ya like bein' spoiled, then..." Reno said, climbing to his feet. He started towards the cemetery gates, where the rest of the team had, by then, migrated. "And knock it off with the 'sir' bullshit, will ya? We're not on duty today."

Liam scurried from his seat and trailed after the senior Turk. By the time they made it to the gates, most of the others had already reached their respective vehicles and were preparing to leave.

"Got a straggler, Boss..." Reno said, as they approached Tseng. He nodded to the black sports car parked at the side of the road "Still got room there?"

Sykes and Petra peered out of the back window at them. Apparently the Turk lieutenant was the designated shuttle service today.

"It may be a bit of a squeeze... but I think we can manage."

Reno shook his head. "Eh... I'll catch a ride with Rude. Liam can take my seat. See ya at Veld's."

Liam watched him as he hurried over to catch the other Turk before he left. Tseng ushered the rookie over to the passenger side door and he quickly climbed in, frowning slightly in thought. Reno... confused him sometimes. Just a few days ago, every time he _saw_ the senior Turk, he looked like he was five seconds from punching a wall. And _that_ part, he understood. What he didn't get was how, in less than 24 hours, he'd gone from round-the-clock pissed off to... normal.

"Sir?" Petra asked as they got underway, "Er... could I ask you something?"

"Certainly," Tseng replied, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

"I was just wondering... I heard Sato say that Cissnei... well... that she was raised by the Company to be a Turk. Is that true?"

Liam's eyes widened slightly. _He_ certainly hadn't heard anything about that.

"Not... _precisely_ ," Tseng replied. "But she _was_ orphaned quiet young. Her father was a high-ranking member of SOLDIER, and her mother worked in military intelligence. When they died, their friends saw to it that she was made a ward of the Company. But the decision to become a Turk was entirely her own. She was actually _raised_ by a woman who works in accounting. I'm sure you saw her at the funeral. She was standing with Veld."

"I didn't know Shinra Company _had_ wards..." Sykes noted.

"It's... relatively uncommon. Occasionally, there are extenuating circumstances, however. Reno, for instance, was still a minor and had no living relatives and no legal guardian when he was recruited. Allowing him to remain in that state would have been a significant hindrance to him living on the Plate. Thus, Veld had him named a ward of the Company and appointed a guardian for him until he turned eighteen," the Turk lieutenant explained, "In Cissnei's case, her parents both perished in the line of duty, and she had nowhere else to go. I believe it was one of her father's superiors who petitioned the board to ensure that she was cared for until she could care for herself, under the notion that they owed her _that_ much."

Liam turned his gaze out the window as the others fell silent. It didn't seem right. Cissnei had given her life for the same Company that had caused her to lose both of her parents. It felt ironic... and not in a good way.

"... Do you ever get used to... this?" he suddenly found himself asking as they paused briefly at a traffic light. Tseng glanced over at him.

"I certainly can't speak for _every_ Turk ," he said, seriously. "... but _I_ never have. I think there are, thankfully, very few people so hardened against the world that loss has no effect on them."

Liam nodded.

"But... you _do_ eventually learn to live with it," Tseng added.

~end chapter 22~


	23. Memories and Plans

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 23: Memories and Plans**

 **by Desha**

"... Why the hell'd I think this was a good idea?" Reno asked, staring up at the ceiling. He'd thought he was ready. In fact, he'd all but insisted on it. To say that he was starting to have second thoughts now would be so grossly understating his reluctance to get started he might as well have been wearing a sign that said "Ask me how fucked up I really am!".

"You _never_ thought it was a _good_ idea," Rude helpfully reminded him, "You just said it was something you needed to do."

The redhead lifted his head, glaring at his friend.

"Don't remind me, huh?" Finally, he sighed. "Okay, fine... go ahead and ask me."

Rude smirked slightly. "So... Tell me about your mother."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You gotta phrase it like one of the Company's goddamn shrinks?"

"Sorry... Couldn't resist."

"Asshole..." the younger Turk scoffed, and let his head flop backwards against the back of the couch, resuming his intense study of his living room ceiling. He needed this. Cissnei's death had brought up far too many unpleasant memories for him. The cause of death may have been different... but seeing her like that – lifeless, empty eyes staring back at him, skin taking on a sickly, grayish hue... and far worse, most of which he preferred not to think about, if he could avoid it – had sent him back to the cold, winter morning that he'd found his mother.

His dreams, lately, weren't exactly sweet... though the funeral, at least, seemed to have given him some closure. They weren't quite _as_ bad, almost four weeks later, at any rate. At least when they were about Cissnei. Where she was concerned, he had _other_ memories of her. Happier, more pleasant memories.

When his mother had started making the occasional appearance as well, though, he discovered that all that seemed to come to mind was... that morning. It had reminded him of a promise he'd made quite some time ago... mostly to himself, but to her, as well.

He'd promised not to forget her. Which, on the surface, seemed almost laughable. His last memory of her was seared into his brain with a starkness that he could never even _hope_ to forget, even if he wanted to. And there were plenty of times he'd wanted to. But it was the other stuff... the normal stuff... that he wanted to hold on to, and it was hard when he spent the vast majority of his time trying not to think about her at all because, inevitably, it was _that_ memory that popped into his head.

The redhead huffed in frustration, and sat up.

"Where the fuck do I even start, man?" he asked.

"... Beginning's usually a good place," Rude opined.

"Tch... That's the problem. I'm don't even think I was old enough to _remember_ much of the beginning. She died when I was five fuckin' years old, for Ifrit's sake."

"What's the first thing you _do_ remember, then?"

Reno closed his eyes and sighed. The first thing? The _very_ first thing? Well... that, he supposed, was easy enough.

"Her singin' to me," he replied a moment later, "She liked to sing. Did it every night when she put me to bed, and when she was makin' us breakfast... and... just whenever she felt like it. She... had a really amazing voice. I mean... I _guess_ she did. _I_ thought it was real pretty, anyway."

"Says the guy who listens to nothing but death metal, _now_..." Rude chuckled.

"You gonna fuckin' comment on _everything_ I tell ya?" Reno groused, flipping him off without even bothering to shift his gaze back to the other Turk. He sighed softly and and folded his hands behind his head. "Ya know what _really_ sucks, Rude? I can remember her voice... but I can hardly picture her _face_ at all anymore sometimes."

His friend was silent for a moment, in thought.

"... You ever thought about looking for her in the city records?" he finally suggested.

"Tch... _I_ didn't exist far as the city was concerned 'til Tseng recruited me. What makes ya think they'd know anything about _her_?"

The older Turk shrugged. "They might _not_. But it couldn't hurt to look."

"I _s'pose_ not," the redhead replied, somewhat hesitantly. "I just... kinda don't wanna get my hopes up, ya know? I mean... what are the odds, _really_ , that she mattered enough for anyone to keep a record of ever knowin' her? I sure as hell didn't matter enough for that. Tch... I don't even have a fuckin' birth certificate. Only evidence I even existed before I moved topside's my file at that shitty little orphanage down in Two sayin' I lived there for awhile."

"You want me to check into it?"

Reno smirked slightly at the offer. He supposed that if _anyone_ could find that sort of information, it would be Rude.

"... I mean... if ya don't have anything _better_ to do. Sure. Knock yourself out," he replied. "It... _would_ kinda be nice to have a photo again, even if ya can't find anything else. Not gonna hold my breath, though."

Rude nodded in understanding. "Maybe I can make it a birthday present."

"Heh... and if not, drinks are on _you_ all night instead," Reno snickered, "Think I'll finally try one of those new Ultima Ales I keep hearin' are so great."

"Hmph... Deal."

His twentieth birthday was coming up in less than a week, and since Reno had been cleared for a little time off after his deep sea misadventure, he was planning on _using_ it. For a nice, four-day weekend at Icicle Inn, and Rude was going with him.

He'd... _almost_ canceled his plans, though. In the aftermath of Cissnei's death, the thought of celebrating much of anything had felt... wrong. But once he'd had some time to sleep on it, he'd realized that that was the _last_ thing she would have wanted him to do. And she would have been the _first_ person loudly wishing him a happy birthday had she been there to do so.

But... speaking of birthdays...

"Hey... Rude? Can I ask ya for _another_ favor?"

"Sure," his fellow Turk replied.

"... So. Since we're on the subject of Mom 'n birthdays... _Her_ birthday's not that long after mine, ya know," he said, somewhat guardedly, "And Tseng's kinda on the warpath about no one goin' into the Slums on their own for awhile after what happened to you over in Wall Market."

"Hmph... Yeah. Believe me, I'm _well_ aware of that."

Reno snorted softly in laughter. He'd still been in the hospital at the time, but apparently, Rude had received a pretty thorough chewing out by the Turk lieutenant after his injuries had been seen to. Until further notice, any forays into the slums were to be made with someone else along for backup. No more solo trips down below.

" _Anyway_... I was kinda hopin' you'd come with me. To... visit."

He'd never actually taken anyone else along to his mother's grave before. Not even Lira. It was something he'd always needed to do privately. But Tseng would _not_ be pleased if he found out he'd disobeyed the standing order – even if it _was_ on his own time – and... Rude understood what this meant to him a lot better than most people. He'd lost _his_ mother suddenly and entirely unexpectedly, too. He'd just been quite a bit older than Reno had been at the time.

"No problem," Rude said, reaching over and squeezing his shoulder. The redhead smiled slightly.

"... Okay. I've had _more_ than enough therapy 'n shit for _one_ night. Let's go find somethin' eat, huh? I'm starvin'..."

"You're _always_ starving," Rude chuckled. "Costan or Wutaiian? Or Mideelian?"

"Eh... I'm kind in the mood for –"

"Don't you _dare_ say pizza again. I'm _sick_ of pizza," Rude said, teasingly.

* * *

On Monday, Reno walked into the lounge at headquarters to find one of the rookies practically vibrating with excitement and talking rapidly with her two cohorts.

"Oh, I _hope_ Veld picks _me_... Do you think he'll pick me? I _really_ hope it's me!"

The redhead cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he helped himself to coffee, and strolled over to the trio.

"What's goin' on?"

Sykes sighed and shook his head. "Petra's hoping she'll get put on Rufus' security detail today, sir."

"The brat's requested an escort?" he queried, both eyebrows now rising, and he didn't miss the indignant look that passed over Petra's face at the comment. "News to me... where's he goin'?"

"He got here a little while ago, sir. He's in Veld's office right now," Liam explained, and then looked pointedly at the excited rookie. "We don't really _know_ that it's escort duty. We don't really know _anything_."

"Tch... Guess I better check go in with Tseng, then. If the brat _is_ here lookin' for someone to babysit him, _one_ of us two's gonna get stuck with the job." He eyed his drink, and downed what remained in his cup, before stepping back across the room to refill it. " _Definitely_ gonna need more coffee if I'm gonna be dealin' with Rufus first thing in the mornin'..."

"Sir? Is the vice president really... er..." Liam began, and then paused awkwardly, not sure how to continue.

"A giant pain in the ass?" the redhead finished for him, grinning, "Yeah. He is. Tch... but to be fair, I'd rather get stuck on _his_ detail than one of the other execs. Rufus is a dick, but at least he's not a complete –"

" _Reno!_ " Tseng's voice snapped from the doorway, and the younger man jumped in surprise, turning to see both his mentor _and_ the aforementioned executive. "I believe we've had this conversation on _numerous_ occasions... Do you need _another_ reminder?"

"... No, sir," Reno replied, chastised. One of these days he was going to learn not to run off at the mouth in the office like that... not about the Company's higher ups, anyway. At least... not when he knew they were in the Turks' offices.

It had been quite some time since Tseng had resorted to his tried and true method of correction of that habit... but the redhead knew perfectly well that there was still an abundant supply of soap in the men's room, should he deem it necessary.

Though... in Rufus' case, he suspected it was more that Tseng simply didn't want the newbies picking up on his habit, than any real concern that the vice president may retaliate with any sort of disciplinary measures. The brat tended to give as good as he got where Reno was concerned. It was something of an unspoken agreement between them. Reno called him a dick... Rufus gladly informed him that he was a lazy slum rat. It's just how things worked between them.

The three rookies seemed to be doing their best not to snicker in response and comport themselves with dignity in the presence of a member of the Board of Directors... and Reno made a mental note to find out just who it was that had told _them_ about the damned soap. He _knew_ they knew. He just wasn't sure who was doing the gossiping.

Rufus, meanwhile, smirked in momentary triumph.

"Oh, please... " he sneered, "As if that obnoxious little _slum rat's_ opinion concerns me in the least. Can we hurry this up? I had _intended_ to leave nearly fifteen minutes ago."

"Yes, sir," Tseng replied. "Reno, the vice president will be traveling to Junon this morning for a meeting. You'll be going as his escort. Petra, you'll be joining them as well, as I don't believe you've yet _had_ an assignment in Junon."

"Yes!" Petra celebrated, and then flushed bright pink, "Er... yes, _sir_..."

Tseng raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Reno, meanwhile, flashed him a somewhat curious look. Sure... he'd been put in charge of the rookies more than a few times. But it was mostly here at headquarters, for training. Recent all-hands-on-deck mission in the slums aside, he hadn't ever just been handed one of them and sent off on an actual _assignment_.

"I'll be _waiting_ in the executive helicopter," Rufus stated, turning on his heel. "And I _will_ be leaving in five minutes, with or _without_ an escort."

"Better run 'n grab your crossbow, rookie... Sounds like we're in a hurry," Reno snickered as the young executive withdrew. Petra _almost_ took the suggestion literally, nearly bowling over the other two thirds of the trio of rookies in her enthusiasm. Reno shrugged and followed at a much more sedate pace, trailing Tseng down the hall.

"Okay..." he said after a short distance, "What gives?"

Tseng chuckled softly, apparently having expected the question. "You _are_ a senior Turk now, after all. I think it's about time we expanded your training responsibilities a bit. Starting with teaching a rookie to handle a simple security detail... and, perhaps more importantly, to handle _Rufus_."

"Oh, great..." Reno snickered, "So not only am I babysittin' the brat, I also gotta make sure he doesn't eat the rookie alive?"

Tseng folded his arms over his chest.

"I _will_ go and retrieve the soap..." he replied, just as Sato rounded the corner and strolled toward them. "Senior Turk or not, I'm not above disciplining you like a rookie. Don't forget... you're their superior. Act like it and set a good example." The Turk lieutenant allowed a tiny smirk to cross his lips, and added, "Or _else_."

"Tch... How come _Sato_ never gets threatened like this..." he grumbled, and the Mideelian Turk broke into a grin upon hearing his name.

"Because, laddie... Everyone already knows _I'm_ a lost cause..." he snickered, and continued on his way, laughing to himself. Tseng rolled his eyes.

"I'm _almost_ tempted to agree with him..." he said, just loud enough for Sato to hear. The other Turk merely turned back and grinned at them before disappearing into his office. "Reno... you are due for more responsibility. You've _earned_ it. But that means putting those under your command first, and keeping them in line, not constantly joking around with them. You can't keep someone else in line if you don't keep yourself there as well."

"... Yes, sir," Reno sighed. Tseng chuckled and rested a hand on his protege's shoulder.

"By which I simply mean that you should practice a little self-censorship when the occasion calls for professionalism... such as when you have been made explicitly aware that an executive is _in the office_."

"Point taken, boss," the redhead replied, somewhat sheepishly. By then, Petra had returned, armed and ready to go, and bounded down the hallway towards the pair.

"Ready, sir!" she proclaimed, and Reno snorted a soft laugh.

"Well... 'least _one_ of us is excited about this mission," he said, shaking his head. "Come on, rookie... Let's go before the V.P. really _does_ decide to leave without us."

The comment drew a quiet chuckle from his mentor.

* * *

Rude frowned in irritation at the empty search results on his screen. It was only the second set of department records he'd had time to check, but they'd been the two most likely to have what he was looking for. His next option was going to require a manual search, as the Mayor's office on sixty-two, along with its city records archive, wasn't in the main company database, for some Ifrit-forsaken reason. Hell, a lot of the older records weren't even in their _department_ database... and given that he was looking for information two decades or more old...

He sighed, and got up from his desk. It would have to wait. He had the morning briefing to attend, and then any number of intelligence reports to sort through, a few informants to check in with, and an appointment with a contact over in the warehouse district. Plus Tseng had asked him to supervise Syke's final piloting lesson before his certification exam. His morning, and most of his afternoon, was booked solid. As much as he wanted to make good on his promise to Reno, the job came first.

Reno, for his part, had remained convinced that he'd come up empty handed. The redhead had even looked a little sad about it, going as far as to say that not even the best intelligence agent alive could find information that didn't exist.

Rude _really_ hoped to prove him wrong. One photograph. That's all he needed. Anything else would be icing on the proverbial cake, but all Reno really _wanted_ was a photo. There just _had_ to be one somewhere. His friend deserved that much.

Speaking of whom...

Rude glanced at the clock on the wall of their shared office and noted that it was already ten after eight. Where the hell _was_ Reno, anyway? He rarely showed up _early_ , but he was generally at least on _time_. He shrugged and got to his feet. Maybe he was still camped out at the coffee machine.

The bald Turk chuckled softly to himself. Reno had a goddamn _habit_ these days. He'd never been what you might call a morning person, but after three years on the job, if the man _didn't_ get his requisite dosage of caffeine, he was barely coherent some days... though that _might_ just have something to do with his penchant for staying up half the night. He supposed it was just something that was ingrained in him at this point. The redhead had told him that he'd worked nights at the bar over in the Sector Three slums for years. He was just _used_ to being up late and he enjoyed it.

Rude made his way down the hall, eventually poking his head into the lounge and finding it empty. Frowning slightly, he was just about to turn around, when an unexpected voice interrupted his search.

"Looking for someone?" Tseng asked, startling him. The younger Turk took a moment to recover, spinning to face him, and shook his head in amusement. _One_ of these days, he _was_ going to finally get used to Tseng doing that...

"You haven't seen Reno yet this morning, have you, sir?"

"He's on his way to Junon with Rufus. An early morning appointment the vice president neglected to inform us of ahead of time," the Turk lieutenant replied, "Was there something you needed?"

"Not really... Just hadn't seen him yet today."

"Ah," Tseng replied with a nod, and then smiled, "I hear tell that you're the one who managed to talk him out of the Gold Saucer this year..."

Rude smirked. "I _may_ have at least put the idea in his head. I'm glad he went with it, though. I'm not sure I could take another visit there so soon. It's only been a _year_ since his _last_ birthday. I'm still recovering."

"I know the feeling," Tseng chuckled, "Though he truly _does_ seem to enjoy it. So... Icicle Inn, is it?"

"Yes, sir."

"It will be good for him, I think, to get away for a short while," the senior Turk said, "It's been a very... difficult... time lately. For _both_ of you. I know that you were just as close to Cissnei as he was." Tseng sighed softly, "I still haven't thanked you for looking after him when he wouldn't _allow_ me to do so."

"He's my friend," Rude said, simply.

"And very fortunate _for_ it. I'll see you shortly at the morning briefing." Tseng turned to go only to pause a moment later, "Incidentally... what are _you_ getting him for his birthday?"

The bald Turk snickered. "Fishing for ideas, sir?" he queried. Tseng scowled faintly.

"It would be far less difficult to choose something appropriate if he gave me even the faintest _hint_ as to what he might like," the Wutaiian grumbled, "And I refuse to purchase alcohol as a gift while he's still underage. Besides which, he'll likely get enough of _that_ sort of thing from Sato, anyway. I heard him bragging about the latest 'upgrades' to his still on Friday... I'm sure it's related."

"Sorry, sir... I just promised to buy him alcohol if I couldn't pull off the present I'm working on..." Rude replied, grinning.

* * *

Reno resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he slouched against the wall outside of the conference room. Petra, meanwhile, was standing sharply at attention, motionless as a statue. Finally, it got to the point that he couldn't stop himself from snickering.

"Would ya relax a little, kid? We're _on_ a military base. We're not _in_ the fuckin' military."

Petra blushed slightly and shifted her stance a bit. "Sorry, sir. It's just... this place has such a commanding aura to it. I can't help myself."

"Eh... ya get used to it after awhile," the redhead snickered and stretched his arms over his head, yawning as he cracked his shoulder, "Hope this damn meeting doesn't go on all fuckin' day. I don't mind escort duty... but _guard_ duty's the worst."

Rufus had summarily banished them to the hallway once they'd arrived at the designated meeting room, and shut himself away with the base commander and several officers... and smugly ordered them to stand watch before he'd closed the door on them. Reno was pretty sure he'd done it just to irritate him. There was really no _legitimate_ reason for two Turks to guard a conference room _inside_ one of Shinra Company's most secure locations... but orders were orders.

"Doesn't that _hurt_?" the rookie asked, cringing slightly. Reno glanced over at her in confusion.

"Doesn't what hurt?" he asked, genuinely baffled.

"When your shoulder does... _that_."

The redhead laughed and shook his head.

"Oh... _That_. Nah... It's a pretty old injury. Doesn't hurt anymore... just _sounds_ like I'm fallin' apart," he said, grinning. "Tseng keeps naggin' me about gettin' it fixed one of these days, but I don't really see the point. Doesn't bother _me_."

"Um... If you don't mind me asking, sir... How did it happen?"

"Training accident. Fell off the gauntlet's climbing tower as a rookie..." he replied, mentally groaning at the memory, "Heh... Which, incidentally, is why the damn thing's got a safety net, _now_. Tseng wouldn't let anyone else near it 'til Kai got it installed."

"He's _very_ protective of you, isn't he, sir... Why is that?" Petra inquired, and the redhead sniggered softly. One thing he'd noticed about about Petra... if she was curious about something, she didn't beat around the bush. She just straight up asked.

"It's... complicated," Reno replied, "He's more than just my commanding officer. Hell, far as that goes, he's more than just my _mentor_. Tseng... saved me from a really shitty life. Then he spent the last three years makin' sure I learned how survive as a Turk and keepin' me outta trouble... heh... and _bailin'_ me outta trouble when I got into it anyway. I was just a kid when I got recruited, ya know. I mean... a _literal_ kid. I was only sixteen. So... yeah. He's still kinda protective."

Petra nodded. "It's good to have people like that. Why don't you like Ruf– er... Vice President Shinra?"

The redhead chuckled quietly to himself. And to think that Rude accused _him_ of having a train of thought that was all over the place. Though... he kind of had a feeling that _that_ was the question she'd really wanted to ask in the first place, and had simply given up on trying to segue into the subject.

The fact that Petra had a little bit of a thing for the Shinra heir was certainly no secret around headquarters. It was about as hard to notice as Cissnei's crush on Rude had been. About the only person who _hadn't_ seemed to notice _that_ one was Rude himself... which... Reno had to sadly admit, may have ended up being for the best, in the end. It would have been infinitely more painful for his friend if they'd gotten together before she'd died. He'd decided in the time since her funeral, that he wasn't going to tell him, either. What the hell good would it do now, anyway?

"Ah, don't take me too seriously 'bout that. Rufus is alright," he replied, and then added with a wide grin, "... In moderation. If ya ignore all the times he's tried to kill me."

"Sir?" the young rookie said, questioningly, eyeing him somewhat strangely, and the redhead couldn't help but laugh.

"Petra... lemme tell ya 'bout the first time I met Rufus Shinra..." he began, grin widening.

* * *

It was mid afternoon by the time Reno found himself disembarking from the executive copter onto the roof of the Shinra building. Rufus had been in an almost shockingly good mood upon exiting his meeting with Junon command. From what he'd gathered the whole thing had _something_ to do with the reactor opening in Wutai, but the vice president hadn't been interested in discussing it with his security escort, so the redhead was lacking on details. He'd heard the word "parade" mentioned, though, and had silently cringed.

After his _last_ experience with a parade, the idea didn't hold much appeal to him.

He made his way inside with Rufus and Petra, opting not to bring it up. Wasn't _his_ call, anyway. As they stepped aboard the elevator, the vice president turned to him.

"I require _your_ services for one _more_ appointment before you crawl back into to whatever little hole it is you hide in during the day," he said, offhandedly, "Your new pet may return to your offices."

The redhead resisted the urge to role his eyes... though it was a very near thing. It was only Tseng's insistence that he set a good example for the rookies that stopped him.

"Yes, sir," he replied, and turned his attention on Petra, "Report back to Tseng, will ya, rookie?"

Petra nodded... though she looked somewhat disappointed at the prospect of missing out on spending more time with the vice president. Apparently his recounting of all the times Rufus had tried to drown, freeze, shoot, and otherwise maim the redhead had done little to dissuade her infatuation.

Rufus, meanwhile, pressed the button for the sixty-eighth floor, and Reno very nearly groaned out loud. Hojo's lab... _Wonderful_. He was kind of glad the son of a bitch wasn't dragging the poor rookie along, after all. He wasn't sure she was ready to be exposed to that level of creepiness just yet. He wasn't sure _he_ was ready for it again quite yet. The elevator car arrived and the pair exited, leaving the rookie to continued her journey downward.

Reno didn't spend a lot of time in the biologics labs... and he wouldn't have been disappointed if it remained that way. Hojo's research facilities were... disturbing. Any number of live animal specimens watched him as he and Rufus made their way through the lab, and more than one growled or snapped at them as they went. The rest tended to run and hide themselves in the back corners of their cages, trembling.

"Professor Hojo," the vice president suddenly called out, and Reno spotted the bespectacled scientist just through a wide door, on the far side of the lab. He looked up from a large microscope with an expression of disdain.

"Yes? What is it? I'm very busy," he snapped, clearly not pleased at being interrupted. His eyes then fell on the Turk. "Ah... my human test subject for project 472. Good... I could _use_ some fresh blood samples."

Reno only _just_ managed not to take a step back from him as he strode across the room, looking almost giddy at the prospect, and reached for his arm. Rufus smoothly cut off his advance.

"If you're after blood, then schedule an appointment. He's _working_ at the moment," the young executive said, in an unamused tone. " _However_... Your little 'projects' are precisely what I wish to discuss. It has been brought to my attention that this is at least the _second_ time in recent months that one of your... _specimens_... has caused grievous physical harm to a member of staff. I will not stand for this level of irresponsibility, and neither will the Board. Do you have any idea of the liability you've opened us up to? We have genetically engineered predators freely roaming the mountainside south of the city and a multi-million gil underwater lab that cannot be safely entered even were it currently accessible, for Ramuh's sake! Not to mention what you've cost the company in medical bills for the injured personnel! Do you have _any_ idea how much money Shinra Company invests in training a _single_ Turk? Your _projects_ running amokvery nearly cost us _two_ of them."

Reno blinked in surprise at the angry rant. He wouldn't have expected Rufus, of all people, to defend any of their rank, save perhaps Tseng... and much less _him_. Granted, he was doing so from an entirely financial standpoint, but still...

Hojo merely scoffed and waved a dismissive hand.

"We pay them to be willing to die. They're wholly expendable... Most of them don't live past an average age of thirty-two years anyway," he grumbled, and Rufus' eyes narrowed.

"Expendable, perhaps... _but not disposable_ ," the vice president hissed, "They are an extremely valuable asset, and the executive board will not tolerate additional recklessness. The cost of the next Turk that is sickened, maimed, or outright killed due to one of your experiments will be recovered from _your_ personal budget."

Hojo's jaw dropped, and as he attempted to stammer an indignant reply, Rufus merely turned on his heel and marched back to the elevator. The redhead couldn't entirely suppress the smirk that crossed his lips as he hurried to follow, leaving the professor glaring angrily after them. The doors slid closed and Rufus huffed, irritated.

"I really cannot _stand_ that arrogant little insect..." he muttered, jabbing at the button for the fifty-eighth floor. Reno snickered. It wasn't as if he didn't wholeheartedly agree, after all...

"So... I'm an extremely valuable asset, huh?" he said, teasingly.

Rufus snorted in contempt. "You _specifically_ are a living irritation," he responded. "The Turks as a _whole_ are valuable. And _expensive_. Allowing their use as experimental fodder is wasteful to the point of being _completely_ idiotic, and it will not stand."

They rode in silence for several seconds before Reno cocked his head to one side.

"Just outta curiosity, sir... how much _is_ a Turk worth?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.

"On average? Around twenty million gil over their lifetime, including salary and benefits. Considerably more than that if they manage to survive longer than ten years."

"Oh, come on..." Reno said, dubiously after doing the math on that number, "Name me one Turk that's pulling in a couple million a year in his paycheck..."

Rufus rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Your paycheck doesn't include insurance, the cost of training facilities, travel, medical bills, equipment, or any of the other hundreds of minutia you benefit from courtesy of Shinra Company... such as the _paid_ vacation I understand you're leaving for this weekend. You might show just a _little_ gratitude. We've invested a great deal of money in ensuring the Company's security."

The redhead raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay... okay... I get the point. And... you're right. The Company takes good care of us."

Maybe more than he'd ever really considered, actually. There were a lot of perks that came with working for Shinra. Shit that the Company shelled out for so he, and the rest of the team,didn't have to. Like his recent hospital stay. And Kai's multiple surgeries. And... Cissnei's funeral.

The elevator deposited them in the Turks' offices, and Rufus headed off in search of, the redhead presumed, Tseng. Reno, meanwhile, made his way back to his own office, spotting Rude the moment he walked in, thoroughly engrossed in whatever was on the screen of his computer.

"Hey, Rude!" he crowed, and the older Turk jumped violently in surprise. Reno grinned and plopped into his chair. His cohort shook his head.

"For Titan's sake... you're as bad as Tseng sometimes..." Rude snickered. "Have fun babysitting?"

Reno shrugged. "Eh... Wasn't too bad. Petra's like... fuckin' _obsessed_ with Rufus, though," he replied, laughing. "Kid's really into him for some reason. But speakin' of Rufus..."

"What'd he do now? Try and push you off the end of the Junon cannon?" Rude joked, an eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"Heh... No. Probably only 'cause I had a witness today, though. Nah, this was after we got back," he laughed, and prepared to regale his friend with the tale of what he'd witnessed a few minutes ago in Hojo's lab.

* * *

"... As such, we will, of course require the usual security measures."

Tseng had to forcibly stop himself from groaning. A parade. In _Wutai_. That was _all_ he needed.

"Sir... is such a grandiose display really necessary? It's only a reactor coming online, after all. I _do_ realize it's an important event, but –"

Rufus raised a hand, effectively silencing him.

"I know they're not your _favorite_ form of entertainment... but if you recall, my last opportunity was cut short before it had hardly begun. And Father _does_ want a bit of a spectacle."

Tseng sighed. "Yes, sir. I'll... speak with Veld and so we can begin planning for it," he said, shaking his head, "Though you'll have to excuse me if I don't share your enthusiasm. If you'll recall, I lost three very close friends in the aftermath of the _last_ parade we held, and learned that we had a traitor in our midst... resulting in the immediate termination of one of our younger Turks."

Judging by the sudden awkwardness that settled over the younger man, Tseng was fairly certain that Rufus _had_ in fact, let that detail slip his mind. He shook his head. Rufus was very dear to him, but the Shinra heir could be remarkably self-absorbed at times.

"That... was perhaps a bit insensitive of me," Rufus said, somewhat hesitantly. "My own memory of that day is rather... jumbled. It took Father and I quite some effort to smooth things over with Lord Godo and get that damned treaty signed."

Tseng shook his head. He couldn't hold the lapse in memory against the younger man, _too_ much. Rufus had been more than a little shaken after the attack during the treaty signing. He'd tried very hard not to let on... but the Turk lieutenant had seen through the facade.

"Our job has risks," Tseng replied, "It's as simple as that. We do, in general, try not to allow such thoughts to dominate us, but... reminders can be painful." 

Rufus cleared his throat, and sat up straighter in his chair.

"Well... on the subject of risks to the Turks, you might be interested to know that Hojo has been informed that further stupidity on his part will not be tolerated. He has been put on notice about his experimental specimens, and if he wishes to keep his budget intact, he will be far more forthcoming with information in the future."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your willingness to step in on that matter."

Tseng seldom asked the young executive for favors... but in this instance, it had seemed negligent _not_ to ask him to intervene. Hojo had now twice put members of his team at substantial and unnecessary risk... and though he couldn't prove it, _one_ of those incidents felt intentional. And frankly, he wasn't entirely convinced that the zenenes had managed to escape all on their own, either. He couldn't simply stand by and allow it to continue.

Rufus nodded and got to his feet.

"I should get back to work. My schedule this week is virtually non-stop," he sighed. "I'm beginning to think that _I_ should be the one taking a vacation rather than your pet slum rat."

"Reno has earned some time off, sir," Tseng chuckled.

"Hmph... and I haven't?" Rufus shot back, smirking slightly. "I'll let you know the specific details of the parade event as soon as I have them."

"Yes, sir," the Turk leader replied.

~end chapter 23~


	24. Icicle Inn

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 24: Icicle Inn**

 **by Desha**

 _ **Author's Note:** Bonus chapter this week!_

* * *

Reno was up uncharacteristically early on Saturday morning. The sun wasn't even awake yet. Hell, he'd _barely_ slept... though it certainly didn't feel like it. He hadn't even had breakfast – or coffee – yet, but he was already wide awake and ready to go. His bag, stuffed with winter clothing, was sitting next to the door to his apartment, just waiting to be grabbed on the way out. All he was missing was his traveling companion.

The plan was to leave for Kalm early on Saturday, hop a ferry to the Northern Continent, get checked into their hotel room by nine A.M., eat an early lunch, and be out on the slopes by eleven. And that was just the start of his four day birthday bonanza, culminating with cake on Monday night... his _actual_ birthday... a few more runs on the slopes on Tuesday morning, and finally, a nice, leisurely trip home that evening... with a quick stop in Kalm, if they had time, for dinner.

It wasn't the Gold Saucer... but it _was_ gonna be fun!

A knock on his door pulled the redhead from his fantasizing about the trip, and he grinned, hurrying over to let Rude in. He opened the door, only to find no one there. Confused, he poked his head out into the hall... and was immediately ambushed from the right as strong arms wrestled him into a headlock.

"Hey! Let go!" the redhead yelled, and he distinctly heard his friend snickering as he was calmly walked backwards into his apartment. Rude kicked the door shut with his foot before finally releasing the smaller Turk. Reno glared at him as he righted himself. " _Seriously_ , man?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were awake," Rude replied.

"Asshole," the redhead muttered rolling his eyes.

"You ready to go?"

Reno's vaguely annoyed expression was quickly replaced with a wide grin.

"Rude, I've been ready for _days_ ," he laughed. Rude snorted softly in amusement.

"Then let's hit the road, birthday boy," he snickered, "It's a long trip when you don't conveniently have a helicopter to drop you off."

"Tch... can't believe the Boss wouldn't just lend it to me for the weekend," he joked, grabbing his bag and ushering his friend out the door. He locked it behind him and they headed for the elevator.

"Guess even _Tseng's_ fondness for you has its limits..." Rude chuckled, teasingly.

* * *

Rude glanced over at his friend and laughed quietly to himself. Excited or not, Reno was _not_ a morning person.

They'd made it to Kalm without issue... save, perhaps the fact that it was still so Shiva-forsaken early that none of the local shops were open yet. No shops meant no coffee for the redhead. Once they'd boarded the ferry to Icicle Inn, he'd curled up on one of the seats and fallen asleep again within fifteen minutes of them leaving the dock.

Rude didn't mind. He was perfectly capable of entertaining himself for awhile. In fact, he wasn't above getting a little more shuteye, himself... assuming he could get comfortable. Reno could sleep just about anywhere, in just about any position imaginable. The older Turk, unfortunately, didn't share that skill.

To be honest... he really could _use_ a little more sleep. He'd been up late. His efforts to locate information on Reno's mother had been largely fruitless, but he'd kept trying until there simply wasn't any time left. As much as he hated to say it, Reno had been right. Aria Donovan was a virtual unknown. He'd found very little that even referenced her in the city's archives. The culmination of his efforts had been an old employment contract for a nightclub in Sector 1 that had gone out of business almost twenty-five years ago, before Reno was even born. The owner of the club had been dead almost as long... apparently a suicide shortly after his business failed. Before that... nothing. After that... more nothing. How she'd gone from working a nightclub on the Plate to selling herself in the Slums, Rude had no idea, and the trail had long since gone cold.

He sighed softly. He really _had_ hoped to find a photo. That was the only thing the redhead had asked for, and he'd wanted so badly to be able to give it to him. But like Reno had said... it had been a longshot from the very beginning. That wasn't to say he was giving up, of course. There had been other employee contracts in the file where he'd found Aria's. He hadn't had time to track any of them down... but several were still alive, at least. When they returned from this trip, he was going to reach out and see if anyone remembered her.

But that _still_ left him short a present for Reno. Seemed he was going to be treating him to that pricey Ultima Ale, after all.

Rude reached out for the younger Turk, only to stop himself from actually touching him at the last moment. If he did, he would almost certainly wake him up, and he wanted the redhead well-rested and ready to enjoy their vacation when they reached their destination. He smiled slightly as he pulled his hand back and shook his head.

He'd wanted a little brother of his own for as long as he could remember. Growing up an only child had been an somewhat lonely existence... particularly given his innately shy nature. He'd never been very adept at making friends. As a child, he had simply wanted someone who liked him for who he _was_. Not who they wanted him to be. Maybe even someone who looked up to him a little. Reno was all of that, and more. It had taken him until adulthood to do it, but Rude had finally found the little brother he'd longed for when he was younger.

Reno stirred slightly in his sleep as a large wave rocked the ferry. He yawned, and blearily opened his eyes.

"... We there yet?" he asked, and Rude snorted softly.

"No... You've only been out for like... twenty minutes," he chuckled. The redhead stretched and sat up, scrubbing his face with the palms of his hands.

"Tch... How's a guy s'posed to get any sleep with this stupid boat rockin' back 'n forth the whole trip," he groused. Rude laughed and reached over, ruffling his hair.

"Good thing Kai's not here... or she'd be teasing the baby Turkling about needing his nap."

Reno groaned and rolled his eyes.

"You start channelin' her, and I'm throwin' you overboard, pal..." he replied, "You can _swim_ the rest of the way to Icicle Inn."

Rude snickered but obligingly kept his mouth shut.

* * *

Tseng scanned through the morning's headlines as he waited for his tea to steep. Normally, Saturday would find him in bed until closer to eight o'clock... but he was feeling unusually energetic today. He'd taken a quick jog around the park behind his apartment building before the sun had risen, and was now debating on breakfast. Or, perhaps more accurately, which of his preferred establishments he would seek to procure breakfast _from_ , as he was not the least bit in the mood to partake of his own culinary inexpertise today.

It was, therefore, something of an annoyance when his PHS rang rather insistently just as he'd made his decision as to where to go for a bite to eat. The Turk lieutenant frowned slightly as he saw the name on the caller ID.

"Yes, sir?" he answered.

"I'm sorry to bother you so early, especially on the weekend," Veld's voice replied, "But there's... _something_ I'd like you to see. Can you meet me at the Sector 1 reactor in ten minutes?"

Tseng blinked in surprise. The reactor? That was... unusual.

"Yes, sir, I'm on my way."

Tseng ended the call and hurriedly switched from his normal off-duty attire to his uniform. He was out the door and on the road in under five minutes.

* * *

"Here," Rude said, passing a styrofoam cup to his friend. Reno's eyes widened.

"Where the hell'd ya find coffee?!" he asked, immediately seizing the proffered beverage, and drinking deeply. Rude chuckled.

"There's a galley below deck. You wanna get something to eat, too? Menu's kind of sparse, but they _do_ have donuts..."

The redhead grinned and got to his feet. "Lead the way!"

Rude laughed and guided him to a narrow staircase leading to the lower level of the ship. Soon the pair were seated at a small table, enjoying coffee and donuts, and planning their first day on the slopes.

"So's snowboardin' hard?" Reno asked between bites. "Like... how much practice is this gonna take before I don't look like a complete idiot out there?"

"Been awhile since I had to learn. First time I was up here, I was four," he replied, with a shrug. "I don't remember the basics being _too_ hard to pick up, though."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "When's the last time you went to Icicle Inn, anyway? Other than assignments, I mean..."

"Took a trip right before I left for Midgar to join the recruitment program... so around four... four and a half years? It was something my family used to do every year when I was a kid. Before... Mom's accident. It was kind of my way of saying goodbye to my old life, I guess..."

"... Oh," Reno replied, somewhat subdued all of a sudden. Rude shook his head.

"You okay?"

"Yeah... Just..." He trailed off for a moment and then sighed. "Mom 'n me never really had like... _traditions_ 'n shit. Guess she just wasn't around long enough."

"... You really _are_ thinking about her a lot lately, aren't you?"

Reno stuffed the remainder of a donut into his mouth and chased it with a large swig of coffee.

"I don't know why... but... yeah. I am. I can't help it, for some reason. Tch... ya know, in the grand scheme of things, I barely even _knew_ her... but..." He hesitated for a moment, looking down at his now empty plate. "But... I can't help wishin' she was here sometimes. And then I feel kinda shitty for wishin' for that, 'cause I got _you_ , 'n Tseng, 'n Lira, 'n everybody else... and that should be _enough_. Right?"

Rude cast him an understanding smile.

"Nothing wrong with wanting your mom. I miss mine, too. Some days more than others."

"... Don't say anything to Tseng, okay? … 'cause _he'd_ have me signed up to see the company shrink in no time flat, but... back when I got poisoned? There was a little while where they didn't know for sure if they were gonna get me the antidote in time. And... I kinda got to thinkin'... what would I do if that shit completely fucked me up? Like... to the point that I was dyin', but... ya know... it was takin' it's sweet time to off me," the redhead said, not quite willing to meet his friend's gaze. "I love my mom... but... to be honest, I was always a little pissed at her, too, for up 'n leavin' me the way she did. But... it made me think. Maybe there are times when it's... not, ya know... _right_ or _fair_... but... it's understandable. I mean... how bad _was_ it for her that _killin'_ herselfseemed like a better alternative than stayin' with me? That even havin' _me_ wasn't enough to make her wanna go on livin'..."

He looked up at him, blinking back tears.

"Or... that havin' me just made things worse for her..."

Rude stood up and circled around the table, taking the seat next to his friend, and wrapped an arm around him. The redhead sighed and leaned into him.

"Don't think like that," he said, "She could have taken the easy way out and not had you at all. She could've left you on a doorstep somewhere, and forgotten about you... but she _didn't_. She held on for five years, and she took care of you. She protected you. She did what she could to make you feel safe and happy and loved. You _remember_ her doing it. I think _you're_ what kept her alive... not what drove her to end her life."

"... I never actually thought about it like that," Reno replied. He sniffled faintly and sat up, wiping a hand across his eyes, and looking embarrassed by his sudden display.

"You gonna be alright?" Rude asked, and the redhead nodded.

"I think... Tseng mighta been right. I think maybe the whole legit almost dyin' thing might be messin' with me more than I thought it was," he admitted. "It's like... ever since it happened, I just can't get away from it. And then after..."

"... after what happened to Cissnei," Rude supplied, when he trailed off again.

"It's like death is constantly in the back of my mind lately. Followin' me around like a goddamn stalker. And sometimes it's _all_ I can think about 'n _that_ scares the fuck outta me. I don't wanna die. And I don't want the people I care about to die. But..."

"But we're Turks. It happens..." Rude finished for him.

"I mean... I always _knew_ that. And it's not like we've never lost Turks before. Hell, _I've_ been in situations where I coulda been killed so many times, I oughta be totally numb to it by now. But... it's just... somehow more _real_ after what happened to me in Junon, ya know? And I can't seem to shake it."

Rude sighed and glanced out one of the small windows that sat just above the water line. The seas were getting a little rougher... probably because they were nearing their destination and the winds were picking up as they rushed down from the glacier towards the ocean.

"... I know what you mean. I felt the same way for awhile after Tres died. Death just... seemed to be everywhere."

Reno looked up at him, blinking in surprise.

"Why didn't you ever say somethin' to me?" he asked.

"You were pretty upset, yourself, with Tseng being hurt, and then having to take out Rodney on your own. And Cissnei needed us _both_. I... had to take care of my family. I couldn't risk losing any more of them."

The redhead looked away guiltily. "Ya _shoulda_ said somethin'..."

Rude shook his head. "I was just doing my job."

"Tch... Don't remember anything 'bout bein' a self-sacrificin' idiot in the Turk job description..."

The older Turk snickered softly. "I meant my _other_ job. It's just what big brothers do," he said, smiling, "It... gets better. Trust me."

* * *

"Tseng."

The Wutaiian Turk turned at the sound of his own name, spotting his mentor as he emerged from a small alley that ran alongside the Number 1 mako reactor. He quickly altered course, away from the facility's main entrance and joined him.

"What's going on, sir?" he asked, noting the Turk leader's grim expression.

"This way," Veld replied, motioning him towards the alley. "I'm sorry for the lack of details when I called... but I didn't want to risk being overheard and having information get out before we knew for certain what's going on."

Tseng wordlessly followed his mentor into the somewhat claustrophobic space. It didn't take him long to realized what the problem was. The younger Turk's frown deepened.

"Has Director Faine been notified?" he asked, kneeling down beside the body, and Veld gave a somewhat mirthless laugh.

"Yes... and I suspect you've only managed to beat her here by minutes. She's not happy. Understandably, of course, given the circumstances... but you know what _she's_ like when she's not happy. I'm not exactly looking forward to her arrival."

"Who is she?"

"SOLDIER Second Class Faith Sunder," Veld said. "Recently promoted, and apparently a strong early contender for advancement to First Class. Which is only the _first_ thing that raised alarm bells when I spoke to Faine. She's a veritable rising star in SOLDIER. The odds of her falling to a random attacker on the street seem... slim. Something tells me this was not the result of your everyday mugging or assault."

The three perfect bullet holes in the young woman's forehead and temple didn't exactly bolster that thought, Tseng noted to himself. No matter how well trained, even members of SOLDIER weren't bulletproof. If she'd been caught by surprise...

"It's not _just_ her training, though," Veld added, seeing his protege's skepticism. He turned away from the body. "Over here."

Tseng joined him... and suddenly had no choice but to agree with the older Turk's assessment. There were three shell casings on the ground. Likely from the three bullets that now resided in the SOLDIER's skull. But they certainly hadn't been left there on accident or as an oversight. They stood on-end, in a perfect line, evenly spaced... two right-side up, the third upside-down. A very _deliberate_ arrangement.

"I'm not familiar with this particular calling card... assuming that's what this is," Tseng said.

"Nor am I. And that's what worries me," Veld agreed, "We don't know who we're dealing with. A lone assassin? A terrorist cell? Something else entirely? Whoever they are, they executed a member of SOLDIER without being seen, and, judging by the state of the body, without their victim being discovered forthe better part of twenty-four hours. More than enough time for them to escape undetected... or regroup for their next assault."

Tseng reached for one of the shells and picked it up, careful not to disturb its friends.

"Wutaiian maker's mark. A rather high-end one," he noted, and Veld nodded solemnly, "Not exactly common in Midgar."

"And not exactly what one wants to see popping _up_ in Midgar now that we've brokered a peace with Wutai," Veld added as Tseng was placing the evidence back where he'd found it.

"I can see why you didn't want to risk anyone overhearing the details..." the Turk lieutenant replied. This... wasn't good. Of course, it was more than possible that the Wutai-made bullets were nothing more than a personal preference for the killer or killers, but public sentiment towards his home country was still somewhat... icy. Regardless of the perpetrator's identity, if something like this got out before they knew what was going on, it wasn't inconceivable that tensions in the city might rise again.

And tensions aside... _someone_ had murdered a member of SOLDIER, for Leviathan's sake. That... just didn't happen.

"Was there any indication that whoever did this had another target in mind," Tseng asked, "The reactor itself, perhaps? A SOLDIER Second Class _would_ have security clearance. They may have been after her ID."

Veld shook his head. "Not as far as I've been able to determine. The body _was_ found by reactor security... but they were doing a normal external sweep at the time. Not investigating anything in particular. There's no recorded entry into the facility by anyone other than authorized reactor personnel, and her ID card was still on her person when I arrived. I had security run a check, just in case. There's no record of her ID having been used enter the reactor, nor any evidence of tampering in the access logs themselves."

"What was she doing here? Do we know?"

"Director Faine informed me that she was simply out on a standard training exercise. A routine city patrol. When she didn't report in at the end of her shift yesterday as expected, her supervisor notified the Director of her absence. They _were_ actively looking for her, but her last known position was on the other side of the city quite early in the day. They hadn't searched this sector yet."

"I see..." Tseng breathed. This _had_ to have been scrupulously planned. They'd chosen a target that, by the very nature of her assignment, would be on her own, and not in minute to minute contact with her division. They'd waited until she was in an isolated area. They had likely surprised her, if not outright ambushed her... and then they had left their own little signature on the kill, in the form of the three bullet casings, and disappeared without a trace. "Should I call in the rest of the team?"

"No," Veld replied, shaking his head, "Not yet. This is SOLDIER's jurisdiction, and we haven't officially been asked to assist. I merely got the call before they did. Our relationship with Director Faine is strained enough, I think. We'll let her handle it for now... unless our help is requested. _But_..."

"But you'd like me to... do a little research and see what I can find out about this calling card of theirs. Just in case it eventually becomes _our_ problem," Tseng said, taking the hint.

"I think it wise," Veld nodded. "In the mean time, I'll see if I can drag any additional information out of Faine when she gets here."

"So much for a quiet, relaxing weekend," Tseng sighed softly, "I think Reno and Rude had the right idea. _They_ left town before anything could interrupt their plans..."

The Turk leader smirked slightly, and clapped his protege on the back. "Maybe the nexttime I offer _you_ an extra day or two off, as well, you'll actually takeme up on it for a change."

* * *

Reno grinned at the sight of lightly falling snowflakes as he and Rude made their way into town aboard a chocobo-drawn sleigh. It hadn't been a long ride up from where the ferry had landed, and the short trip had actually been quite pleasant... in spite of the mode of transportation. At least he didn't have to actually _ride_ one of the damned things. He just had to sit in the sleigh while their driver spurred the huge bird onward.

"Fuck, man..." he breathed, "This place is _really_ different when ya can actually _see_ it."

Rude snorted in laughter. "Wait until you see the ski runs."

In moments, they were pulling up in front of the large inn for which the town was named. Rude ushered him inside, and it wasn't long before they had keys to their room and were headed upstairs. Reno grinned as he tossed his bag onto a chair and flopped back onto one of the beds. The room was cozy and warm, with tall windows that looked out over the glacier. Rough-hewn wood paneling lined the walls, and a little table sat in the far corner with a small welcoming basket of treats waiting for them.

The redhead sat up slightly, watching Rude as he started unpacking a few of his things into the wardrobe against the back wall.

"Hey... Thanks for comin' with me, pal," he said, stretching a little, "And... ya know... for talkin' things out with me on the trip up here. I... _do_ kinda feel better after gettin' some of that offa my chest."

"Hmph... couldn't let you ruin your own birthday, now could I?" Rude snickered. Reno laughed and climbed off the bed.

"So... the plan was lunch 'n then the slopes, right? What do they got to eat around here?"

"Bar's down in the basement," Rude replied, "They've got a pretty good menu. There's a little place out in the town proper, too." He glanced at his watch. "Might be kinda early, though. Last time I was here, they didn't open until lunch time. It's only not even eleven yet."

"To the bar!" Reno grinned, and bounded towards the door. Rude tucked a few more things into the wardrobe and followed.

"Take it easy on the booze. We just got here. I _don't_ wanna have to haul your drunk ass out of a crevasse on the first day..." he teased.

* * *

"Umm... Wow," Reno breathed, staring down the surprisingly sharp incline, "That's a _really_ big hill..."

Rude snickered loudly and slid closer to him, his skis cutting through the powdery snow at the top of the run. Lunch had been quick. His friend had been almost too excited to eat. Before he knew it, the redhead had been dragging him – along with their rented equipment – back out into the frosty early afternoon air of the Great Glacier.

"You're not chickening out, are you?" Rude goaded him, laughing. Reno glared at him in response, and leaned down to tighten the bindings on his snowboard again.

" _Hell_ no, I'm not chickening out!" he replied, indignantly, "I'm just... deciding what the best way to do this is gonna be..."

They'd already made a few runs on the bunny hills, and it was no surprise to Rude that Reno had gotten the hang of it almost immediately. The younger man's natural agility always seemed to serve him well in such endeavors. After about half an hour of practice, he'd very quickly decided that he was ready for the real thing.

And then he'd _seen_ what the real thing entailed.

"... You're... gonna be right behind me... Right, pal?"

"Not if you don't actually _go_..." he chuckled. To be completely fair, the resort's main ski run _was_ pretty intimidating... especially for someone who'd never done it before. It was certainly a whole lot bigger than the drainage canals they went sledding in back home in Midgar. "Come on... I once watched you climb out on the skids of helicopter mid-flight so you could commandeer it back from the guy who stole it. This _should_ be a walk in the park for you."

"Yeah, well... I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter _that_ time. I either did it, or I got captured and/or shot by angry Wutaiian mercenaries once we landed..." Reno replied.

"Would it help if I pulled a gun on you?" Rude jokingly offered.

The redhead rolled his eyes and then proceeded to flip him off... though Rude distinctly saw a slight grin creep over his face.

"Okay..." he said, nervously, turning back to the ski run. "On three..."

"Three," Rude said, and pushed forward, launching himself down the incline first.

"Hey! Wait for me!" he heard Reno call after him. He risked a glance back, and saw the redhead take the downward plunge as well, a look of horror suddenly crossing his face as he quickly picked up speed on his snowboard. He sailed past the older Turk a few moments later, screaming, "WHY THE HELL DID I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?!"

Rude couldn't help but laugh out loud at that, as he watched his friend flying down the slope. He was actually doing pretty well – aside from being scared out of his mind, of course – and taking the twists and turns of the trail like a pro.

Though he _was_ starting to get a little farther ahead than Rude was comfortable with...

Appearances aside, Reno _was_ still a beginner. He didn't want to risk the younger Turk to getting into some unexpected trouble where he couldn't see him, and then missing him on the way down. Rude turned his skis to take a more direct path down the glacier, hoping to close the distance between them... but it turned out to be too little, too late. A curve took Reno out of his line of sight, and by the time Rude had rounded it himself, he'd vanished from view entirely.

Worse, the trail split a short ways beyond the curve, and he had no idea which way the redhead had gone.

He knew, however, that the path on the left was the shorter of the two. If Reno had gone the long way, he might have a chance at catching up when they merged back together at the bottom of the run... though if he needed help in the interim, Rude would have no option but to go all the way down, return to the top, and make the run a second time in order to reach him.

Hopefully, he wouldn't _need_ rescuing.

That thought in mind, Rude turned down the shorter route, keeping a wary eye out for the missing redhead. He shot past snow-covered trees, the icy wind surprisingly refreshing. By the time he reached the point where the dual trails recombined into one, he'd still seen no sign of Reno. Until, that is, a blur sailed past him for the _second_ time, with a shriek that seemed equal parts unrestrained excitement and abject terror. And for a moment, Rude was relieved.

It was a very _short-lived_ moment of relief.

Reno's snowboard hit a mogul at top speed, and sent him airborne. He landed hard a short distance beyond, wobbling wildly as he attempted to regain control... which, to his credit, he _did_ manage to do. Unfortunately, by then, he was on a direct course for a massive snowdrift near the bottom of the run. He didn't have time to maneuver out of the way, and Rude cringed as the redhead slammed bodily into the mound of snow.

A few excruciatingly _long_ seconds later, Rude reached the bottom, as well, praying he wasn't hurt. For a moment, he was worried that he _was_ , because his friend didn't seem to be moving. Rude released the bindings on his skis and hurried over to him.

"Reno?!"

The redhead groaned, and, almost comically, peeled himself out of the Reno-shaped indentation in the drift, landing on his ass in the snow and blinking owlishly up at the other Turk.

"... You alright?" Rude asked, concerned.

A wide grin spread over Reno's face.

"Let's go again!" he laughed.

Rude rolled his eyes and brushed some of the snow out of his friends hair before helping him up, snickering. He should have known.

~end chapter 24~


	25. Happy Birthday To You

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 25: Happy Birthday to You**

 **by Desha**

On Monday, those Turks not presently on vacation returned to work... but _one_ of their number had been in the office most of the weekend. And, Tseng was forced to admit, his efforts had largely been fruitless. All he'd really determined in all that time was that the "calling card" left by whomever it was that had murdered the unfortunate SOLDIER was _not_ one that the Turks had come across before.

Which, frankly, put him right back at square one. And he was running out of people to ask.

With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. It was times like this that he truly missed Tres. The late Turk would have been right their with him, searching for answers, and would have been just as annoyed as _he_ was at his lack of progress. Though, he had to admit... Rude was a more than worthy successor to his mentor. The young man shared Tres' tenacity when it came to unearthing information. The former slum rat would have been extraordinarily proud of his pupil. He'd trained him well.

Unfortunately, _Rude_ wasn't here at the moment, either... which had left Tseng to muddle through the archives on his own for the past two days. He planned on putting the younger Turk to work on the problem the moment he set foot in the office again... but that wouldn't be until Wednesday morning.

" _Tell_ me you haven't been working _all_ weekend..." Kai's voice demanded, interrupting his moment of reprieve.

"Very well... I won't tell you," he replied, sitting up to see her standing in the doorway of his office. The diminutive Turk sighed and shook her head.

"I _knew_ it..." she chastised him, "You always have that look when you've been working too hard. Weekends are _personal_ time, Tseng. Try _using_ it once in awhile."

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly.

"I would have been quite happy to do so... but I'm afraid my weekend was interrupted before it even began. Veld will be briefing everyone at the morning meeting. A member of SOLDIER was murdered some time on Friday. The body was discovered early Saturday morning."

"A SOLDIER?" Kai queried, "Who the hell takes on a _SOLDIER_ and comes out in one piece?"

"That's what I've spent my weekend attempting to discern," Tseng replied, "With very little success, I might add."

"No leads at all?"

"The victim was shot. Three times, in the head. The bullet casings were left in an intentional arrangement nearby," he recounted, handing her a photo. "I don't suppose _you've_ come across such a signature before..."

Kai shook her head in the negative, studying the image. "Doesn't ring any bells. Sorry."

Tseng nodded and took the photo back, tucking it into the case folder.

"I assumed as much. I can find nothing similar in the archives, either. The closest I came was a serial murderer from nearly twenty years ago who left three unspent rounds behind, standing on end. But _that_ difference aside, the man is long dead now, and _his_ victims were all men. Our unfortunate SOLDIER is female."

"So... someone we haven't run across before?" Kai ventured.

"In all likelihood, yes. Which, naturally, is of no help whatsoever, since it _widens_ the search field rather than narrowing it," Tseng groused, irritated. Kai snorted softly.

"Come on. You need a break. Let's get some breakfast," she said, strolling over to him and seizing him by the arm.

"I've already eaten breakfast," Tseng protested, but she dragged him from his chair anyway.

"Tea, then. Either way, you need to get out of this office for ten minutes before you grow roots," she teased. The Wutaiian Turk sighed, but stopped resisting, allowing her to pull him to his feet. She _did_ have a point. He was long overdue for a break. Besides which... he wouldn't get any work done with her pestering him to _take_ a break, anyway.

* * *

Reno yawned and rolled over... or _tried_ to, at least. The effort was unexpectedly blocked by the warm body next to him. He opened his eyes and blinked hazily in the darkened room, straining to remember who the hell he'd gone to bed with last night, and momentarily found himself at a bit of a loss. He'd had a _lot_ to drink last night, after all.

Deidra? No... that didn't sound quite right. He was pretty sure it was _something_ with a D, though. He'd run into her on the slopes Sunday afternoon. And then again at the restaurant in town when he and Rude had headed out for dinner. And then _again_ at the bar, where they'd gone to finish out the night. At some point, he'd ended up accompanying her upstairs to her room.

Debby? He didn't think that was it, either. Crap. He hated it when he didn't get their name. Always made things awkward the next morning. Of course, _usually_ when that happened, they didn't remember _his_ name, either, so... it kind of evened out.

The redhead rolled out of bed and quietly began searching for his clothes. It took some effort. Apparently, they'd been in a hurry to get to it last night... His things were strewn all over the room, as were hers. With a resigned shrug, he started collecting his various garments, pulling them on as he went, trying not to wake his hook-up from her slumber.

"Morning..." a more than slightly hungover-sounding voice mumbled as he was zipping up his pants.

"Mornin'... umm... Diana?" he ventured, _hoping_ it was at least close.

"Denise," she corrected him.

He cringed slightly. Dammit. Well... at least he'd had the first _letter_ right.

"... It was... Randal?" she queried.

"Reno."

Denise snorted softly in laughter, and rolled over, pulling the covers around her naked body. "That's what I get for drinking absinthe..." she murmured. The redhead snickered.

"Yeah. That shit'll kick your ass 'n come back for more. Thanks for last night."

She mumbled something unintelligible, already half asleep again, and Reno took that as his cue to show himself out. He shrugged on his shirt without bothering to button it, and grabbed his boots, slipping quietly out the door and into the hallway, making the short walk of shame back to his _own_ quarters.

When he arrived, Rude was already awake and dressed. He smirked as Reno slipped inside.

"Have fun with your new friend?" he chuckled. The redhead snickered and shut the door.

"'Course I did... drunken sex you barely remember is still sex. I'll take it," he replied, "Uh... sorry 'bout ditchin' ya, though."

"Hmph... I'm not complaining. _I_ had the room all to myself last night," Rude said in reply, "Happy birthday, by the way."

Reno grinned and flopped down on his bed. "Heh... That mean ya found someone to keep ya company instead of me?

"No, it means I actually got a decent night's sleep on a trip with you for once. You're a lousy roommate, you know. Up all hours of the night," he teased. The redhead laughed and sat up.

"Yeah... sorry. Bein' a light sleeper sucks sometimes. _Usually_ for whoever's stuck with me. So... Whaddya think? Breakfast and then back out to the slopes?"

"I'm amazed you can even _think_ about food without feeling queasy this morning, as much as you drank last night," Rude sniggered, "Aren't you hungover at _all_?"

"Eh... A little. Not enough to make me skip breakfast, though. 'Sides... _someone_ had to put that guy in his place."

Their trip to the bar – prior to him hooking up with Denise – had led to an all out drinking contest with one of the locals. Reno and Rude had both matched the guy drink for drink until they'd switched over to Mideelian absinthe. Rude had _very_ quickly bowed out after that, mumbling something about "Never again...". Reno, though, had proceeded to drink the smug son of a bitch under the table and then some. Annnnd... aside from some brief flashes of memory that included a lot of heavy breathing and a very enthusiastic hand between his legs, that was about all he remembered before waking up in Denise's bed a short while ago.

Rude shook his head, laughing, and got up. "Have it your way," he replied, "Speaking of food, though, I'm gonna be leaving you on your own for awhile this afternoon. I'll need a couple hours to do your cake."

Reno blinked in surprise. "I just figured we'd buy one..."

"Nope. Already talked to the inn staff. They're lending me their kitchen after the lunch rush is over," he said, and flipped open the suitcase that was sitting on the side table, revealing a small collection of cake pans, utensils, and ingredients, "I brought everything I need but the oven."

"... You... brought your kitchen on vacation with you?" the redhead laughed, in mild disbelief, and Rude quickly joined him.

"Just what I needed to bake a cake."

"And people call _me_ weird..." Reno joked, smiling. Rude shrugged.

"I made your cake last year. And the one the year before that. Can't break with tradition."

The redhead grinned and got up, crossing the room. "Good point. I like that tradition. I'm gonna grab a quick shower, and then we can go get somethin' to eat. Sound good?"

Rude merely shut the suitcase again and waved him off.

* * *

Tseng's renewed search for information was interrupted for the second time that morning shortly after the morning briefing had concluded.

"Is it true?" Rufus demanded, striding purposefully into the Turk lieutenant's office and taking his usual seat. Tseng took a deep breath and let it out slowly, rubbing his eyes. Between the archive files and the computer records, he was going to have rather severe eye strain by the end of the day.

"Forgive me, sir... but I've been working all weekend, and have had only the minimum required amount of sleep to function the last few days. You'll need to be a bit more specific."

Rufus snorted. "I'll take that as a yes, then," he replied. "The dead SOLDIER. Have you identified the murderer yet?"

"No... I'm afraid not. Though it's not actually an active investigation at the moment. Director Faine informed us this morning that she wishes to handle it internally in her _own_ department. We've been asked not to interfere with SOLDIER's investigation."

"Well, _that's_ just idiotic," the vice president said, rolling his eyes. "Shinra _employs_ the Turks for just such investigative purposes."

Tseng managed a slight smile. "Yes, sir. But the Director doesn't particularly care for us these days. We _are_ investigating, however. Just not... _officially_... at this time. Unfortunately, we've been hitting nothing but dead ends thus far."

Rufus cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Just what did the Turks do that managed to annoy the Director of SOLDIER to such an extent?" he queried.

Tseng grimaced at the memory. "I'm rather surprised you don't remember. As I recall, _you_ had to replace your private secretary during the fallout..."

"Oh for _Ramuh's_ sake... _Don't_ tell me she's still holding a grudge over her daughter's poor taste in men..." he said, rolling his eyes dramatically.

"I'm afraid so, sir. Though I think it has more to do with the canceled _wedding_ than the girl's choice in last minute flings," Tseng replied, and then added, "Frankly, though, in my view Faine has no grounds for complaint. From what Reno told me after the fact, he was given no indication the girl was even seeing anyone, let alone engaged, and she was just as... _eager_... as he was."

It was a detail that still irked him. Reno was, of course, far from blameless in the event... but he _had_ been enticed back to her apartment with her under thoroughly false pretenses. Tseng himself had never seen a ring on the young woman's finger the many times he'd ventured upstairs to Rufus' office and she certainly hadn't advertisedher engagement in other ways. In Director Faine's view, however, it was all Reno's fault that her daughter remained unmarried... and that somehow made it the Turks' fault as well.

"Hmph... I really don't know how you've put up with his antics for so long. And of course, as soon as there's real work to be done, the slum rat takes off for parts unknown and leaves it to everyone else," Rufus said, sneering slightly.

Tseng merely shook his head, vaguely annoyed at once again having to defend his protege to Rufus.

"Sir, Reno has, in the past month and a half, been poisoned on assignment, nearly died, and lost a close friend to a tragic accident. He needs a break, for his own mental well-being. Besides which... the trip happens to be for his birthday. It's today."

The younger man's eyebrows rose in mock surprise. "Is it? I always just assumed he crawled out of the slime under some rock in the slums. Are you telling me some poor woman actually gave _birth_ to him?"

Tseng couldn't help it. The comment, and its utterly straight-faced delivery, drew a genuine laugh from him. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

"Sir... _really_..." he chuckled, " _Must_ you?"

Rufus cast him a somewhat mischievous smirk. "If _he_ must, then so must I. You know perfectly well that your pet slum rat never misses an opportunity to mock me."

"He's not even _here_ right now, sir."

"I don't see why that should matter."

The Wutaiian Turk sighed and leaned back in his chair. He smiled.

"You know... there are times when I honestly can't tell whether you enjoy Reno's company or truly can't stand him."

"Well, that's a rather simple question to answer. I can't stand him," Rufus declared, though Tseng had more than enough personal experience with the Shinra executive to know when he wasn't being entirely serious, "When is he due back in Midgar, anyway?"

"Tomorrow evening," Tseng replied.

"I'll note it on my calendar... so that I'll be sure to remember to avoid your offices. The last time he returned from one of his little birthday trips, all he talked about for a solid week was the Ramuh-be-damned Gold Saucer," he muttered, "Keep me apprised of this SOLDIER investigation you're not officially conducting, if you would."

"Yes, sir," Tseng said, biting back a quiet snicker of amusement.

* * *

Reno positioned himself at the edge of the incline, gazing down at the steep slope ahead of him. Snowboarding was fucking _fantastic_ , he'd decided. You know... once you got past that whole feeling of "what the fuck did I do, I'm going to fucking die" the first few times you _did_ it. Now that he had several dozen runs under his belt, though, he was far more confident, and enjoying every second of flying down the glacier as fast as the board could carry him.

So much so that he was going to give the jump a shot. Rude had talked him out of it yesterday, insisting that it was only for experts... and the redhead had grudgingly agreed, because on one run he'd gotten close up view of someone _making_ said jump and had seen just how fucking high it could launch a person. He didn't mind heights, but dear Ifrit... That had to be an almost twenty foot freefall. The last time he'd fallen from that height, had been on the gauntlet... and _that_ incident had resulted in surgery to fix his shoulder.

But today... he _really_ wanted to try it. And since Rude had disappeared after lunch to go make his birthday cake, there was no one there to dissuade him this time. He was pretty sure his friend was making it out to be a lot worse than it really was, anyway. Rude _hated_ heights. There probably wasn't much of anything that would get _him_ to try launching himself off of a ski jump. Besides... if he fucked up, it was all snow at the bottom, right? That'd cushion his landing a little, just like it had his first time down the slope.

That thought in mind, he lined himself up with the double black diamond route that would take him to the ski jump and took off. The redhead laughed as he sailed past other skiers, weaving adeptly around the obstacles and getting ready for the real thing with a few of the smaller jumps built into the run.

"This. Is. Awesome!" he crowed, passing through a short man-made tunnel, his voice echoing off of the walls of the enclosure. He shot out the end of the tunnel and back into the bright sunshine of early afternoon. The jump was just ahead, and he was bearing down on it a lot faster than he thought he'd be.

But... that was good, right? The faster you went, the better the jump. The next thing he knew, the snowy ground beneath his board gave way to... nothing. Reno swallowed nervously as his momentum propelled him upwards into a wide arc. A moment later, he felt the familiar sensation of freefall in the pit of his stomach. His eyes widened as he saw the ground rushing up towards him. Hard-packed, snow-covered, unforgiving ground.

It was right about _then_ that it occurred to him that _maaaaybe_ he should have listened to Rude...

"... Oh, _fuck_ me..." he groaned, and braced for the inevitable impact.

* * *

It still needed something. Rude frowned at the cake he was decorating, and drummed his fingers on the counter, trying to figure out what the _something_ was.

It was only a small cake – there were only two people to eat it, after all – but in terms of sheer sugar content, it could probably send a raging behemoth into a diabetic coma. He only planned on having one slice himself. A _small_ slice. The rest was for Reno.

It was the same basic recipe he'd used for the _first_ birthday cake he'd ever made his friend, and he smiled at the memory. That... had been a rough year for them. The Meaningless War had pushed them all to the breaking point. Tseng had lost his only sister and gone off the radar for nearly a month. They'd lost Luca. And just when things had _finally_ started to look up, Fuhito and Istev had planted a bomb at the treaty signing... and taken out three more Turks in the process. Four, if you counted Rodney, though, frankly Rude rarely felt generous enough to do so. Reno's birthday had been a bright spot for him that year... one of the few _good_ memories he had of it.

And then he realized what he was missing. The shaved chocolate on top. Rude swore softly under his breath. He hadn't packed _that_. Not that the redhead was likely to notice, with the copious amounts of chocolate already _on_ the cake... but it still annoyed him a little. Rude was a bit of a perfectionist when it came to his cooking. He sighed and shook his head. At least it was mostly just decorative... it wouldn't really affect the flavor, and _that's_ what was important.

He finished his creation off with a collection of brightly colored candles. Twenty of them... which on such a small cake looked _slightly_ ridiculous, but he was pretty sure his friend would approve. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was better than he'd forgotten the decorative chocolate shavings, after all. They probably would have melted into a pool of sugary sludge under the miniature bonfire that would eventually be blazing on top of the dessert.

He chuckled at the thought and carried the cake over to one of the kitchen's refrigerators for safe keeping until after dinner.

His job finished for the time being, Rude cleaned up his workspace and gave the inn's wonderfully accommodating kitchen staff a friendly wave before making his way back upstairs and out into the first floor lobby... which was right about when he spotted a familiar figure making its way through the main entrance. Rude could only shake his head in disbelief as he walked over to meet him.

"What happened?" he sighed, noting the sling that held Reno's left arm at an angle against his chest.

"Uhh... Ya know that thing ya told me _not_ to do?"

Rude groaned. "You _didn't_..."

"... I did," the redhead sheepishly admitted, before hurriedly adding, "It's not _that_ bad. I just... ya know... dislocated my shoulder a little. The doc in town said it'd be fine, long as I didn't aggravate it. Which... I guess means no more snowboardin' for this trip..."

"I _knew_ I'd regret letting you out of my sight for more than five seconds," Rude snickered, "Two hours on your own, and you manage to do something that'll land you on medical restriction as soon as we get home."

"Tch... don't remind me. I'm _not_ lookin' forward to explainin' this to the Boss when I get back." He cringed slightly. "Or to _Ward_. Doc's gonna fuckin' rip me a new one soon as she _sees_ me..."

"Better enjoy your birthday, then... sounds like it might be your last," Rude teased.

"Shut the fuck up, man," Reno said, rolling his eyes, "Just tell me there's gonna be cake..."

"Oh, there's cake, alright," Rude said, smiling in amusement. "Seriously, though. You okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine," the redhead replied, wincing as he reflexively shrugged in response, "Just a little bruised is all. Shoulder still hurts, but it's not _nearly_ as bad as it was before they put it back into place. Hmph... and of course it _would_ be my _left_ arm."

"Look on the bright side. At least Tseng can't make you do paperwork until you're cleared this time..."

Reno laughed. "Yeah, I guess there's that."

Rude gently guided his injured friend over to the large fireplace at the far end of the room and sat him down on one of the plush chairs that surrounded it.

"Stay here, and try not to do anything _else_ to hurt yourself," he said, as straight-faced as he could manage, "I'll get us some hot cocoa."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "I _think_ I can manage not to fall down the fuckin' glacier again while you're gone," he snarked. Rude turned to go... but then reconsidered and smirked as he reached into a pocket. Before his friend could react, he snapped one half of a pair of handcuffs onto his uninjured wrist and attached the other half to the arm of the chair.

"... Just in case," he stated, and turned to head back down to the bar for their drinks.

"You're _hilarious_ , Rude," Reno deadpanned in response, "And why the fuck do you even _have_ these?! We're on vacation!"

* * *

Tseng knocked on the door to Veld's office, and was shortly granted permission to enter. He slipped inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Anything?" Veld asked, looking up from one of the other Turks' field reports. Tseng shook his head.

"No, sir... I can find absolutely no reference to the calling card we found at the murder site in our archives. And I have been very... _thorough_... in my efforts. None of my local contacts are familiar with it, either. I had planned on letting Rude try _his_ luck when he returns, unless you had some other need of him."

"Not at present... He's all yours," Veld replied. "I'm afraid Remy hasn't been any more successful with _her_ assignment than you have. If SOLDIER has learned anything regarding the case, they're not in the mood to share with us." He sighed heavily and shook his head. "I _detest_ having my hands tied like this."

Tseng chuckled softly and took a seat in front of Veld's desk. "What about Sato and Kai?"

"They're still watching Ms. Sunder's apartment... but Faine has stationed a guard. They haven't been able to get inside. Which is unfortunate, as the fact that she _is_ having it guarded tells me there's likely something relevant there."

"I'll take over for them tonight. I'm sure they'd welcome the relief."

"No," Veld said, decisively, "You will go _home_ and get some sleep tonight. Don't think I'm not aware of just how many hours you put in over the weekend."

"But –"

"That's an _order_ , Tseng."

"... Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant, replied. "You'll call me if there are any new developments?"

The older Turk snorted softly. "No, I absolutely will _not_ , unless I have no alternative." Tseng opened his mouth to respond, only to be swiftly cut off by his superior, "And if you insist on protesting, I'll make those vacation days I offered _mandatory_."

Tseng laughed quietly. "Yes, sir."

"But on the subject of our non-investigation... since you're already commandeering Rude's services upon his return, do us all a favor and enlist Reno's as well. He has a reliable contact in Wall Market... Have him check in with _her_ about our mysterious assassin."

"I had already intended to," the Wutaiian Turk said, nodding. "Incidentally... Rufus has caught wind of this, and has apparently taken an interest. How... discreet... should I be in regards to keeping him informed?"

"He's the vice president of the company... I see no reason to withhold information. Though... it _would_ probably be wise to ensure that he's aware of the issues between the Turks and Director Faine. The last thing I need is that damned woman storming down here to scream at me again."

Tseng found himself smirking slightly at the memory. Faine had spared no details regarding the unfortunate... misunderstanding... between Reno and her daughter and her daughter's former fiance, and Veld had been forced to simply stand there and endure it. It hadn't been especially amusing at the _time_ , but in hindsight...

"Wipe that smirk off your face _right_ _now_ ," Veld ordered, "It _wasn't_ funny."

"No, sir. Of course not."

Veld sighed. "I will say _one_ thing for that protege of yours... He certainly has made the last few years _interesting_." The Turk leader suddenly mirrored Tseng's earlier smirk. "My one consolation is that when I finally retire, _you_ will sitting in this chair. And _he_ will likely be sitting in yours. Have fun with _that_ ," he said, in a joking tone. Tseng snorted softly.

"Retire? You? Sir... I'm hardly the only workaholic in the office. Both myself _and_ Renowill probably be retired before _you_ finally get around to it," he returned, laughing.

"If I weren't a married man, perhaps. But, as I _am_ , I think my _wife_ might have something to say about _that_..." Veld snickered.

* * *

Ah... room service. He could _definitely_ get used to people just bringing him food whenever he wanted it. Reno grinned slightly at the sight of the plateful of ham and potatoes that Rude was setting in front of him.

They'd originally intended to eat at the restaurant in town... but the redhead's injury has made those plans less appealing than they'd been earlier in the day. Instead, Rude had ordered up from the Inn's little bar and grille downstairs, and they'd settled down at the table in their cozy little room to enjoy the last few hours that remained of Reno's birthday. Reno picked up his fork and took a bite, savoring the salty and somewhat sweet taste of the meat.

"Heh... I think this is my new favorite birthday," he said, smiling, and Rude snorted softly in laughter.

"That's what you said about your _nineteenth_ birthday at the Gold Saucer, _last_ year."

"Said it about my eighteenth, too... 'cause Tseng came back," he replied, "And I'm pretty sure I said it about the one _before_ that, too... _I_ can't help it if it keeps gettin' better every year."

Rude choked on the sip he'd just taken from his exorbitantly expensive bottle of Ultima Ale, nearly spitting it out.

"If your idea of 'better' is having your arm in a sling because you managed to pull your shoulder out of joint, I don't think I even want to know what you'd consider a _bad_ birthday."

Reno picked up his own pricey beer and took a drink. "I'm in an awesome place, havin' an awesome time, with my best friend. Who cares about my stupid shoulder?" he replied, and then turned his gaze on the bottle in his hand, "Man... this shit _is_ good..."

"... Sorry I had to go with plan B for your present," Rude said, but Reno just shook his head.

"Tch... come on, man. I _told_ ya it was a long shot when ya first brought it up. I mean... yeah, I was _hopin'_ you might find _somethin'_... but I knew the odds. Mom's gone... and I'm just gonna have to make do with the memories I still got of her, like I _always_ have. You tried your best. I can't ask more than that." He smiled somewhat sadly, and raised his beer. "To the ones we can never _really_ forget."

Rude mirrored his smile and raised his own bottle in salute before drinking. The list was getting to be a long one. Not just his mom. _Everyone_ he'd lost. They would always be a part of him, and as long as he remember them, they'd never be entirely gone. Though... sometimes _that_ could be painful, too. Especially when the loss was still fresh.

He shook his head, banishing the thought. Cissnei wouldn't have wanted him to be sad every time he thought about her... and certainly not on his birthday, of all days.

"You're thinking about Cissnei, too, aren't you?" Rude suddenly said.

"... Yeah," Reno admitted, and laughed softly. "Can't even be all depressed about it, 'cause I know she'd be ticked if she knew... And Cissnei's not someone I'd ever wanna piss off. Odds are I'd end up on the receiving end of one of her pranks in retaliation..."

Rude snickered, and turned his attention on his plate. "Remember when she about gave me a heart attack waking me up in the middle of the night in Nibelheim?"

The redhead grinned in response. "Remember when she glued the door to the lounge shut 'n Veld spent half the day interrogatin' me 'n Sato, trying to figure out which of us did it?"

Rude blinked.

"Wait... that was _Cissnei_?" he queried, the shock evident in his voice... so much so that Reno burst out laughing. "I honestly thought it was one of _your_ pranks..." he continued, which only made the younger Turk laugh harder.

"I think Veld did, _too_... and to be fair, I _was_ kinda complicit, since I caught her in the act 'n just pretended I didn't see anything... but he didn't have any evidence on me, and I wasn't about to rat her out if I didn't have to."

Rude shook his head, snickering. They ate in relative silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the quiet of evening. Reno polished off the remaining food on his plate in record time, and waited, somewhat impatiently for his dining companion to finish.

"Tch... ya know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were takin' your time just to make me wait longer for that cake," he joked," eyeing the the sumptuous dessert that sat on the side table on the other side of the room, tormenting him with its chocolaty goodness.

"I _could_ eat slower, you know..." Rude teased.

"Asshole," Reno snickered. A few minutes later, the older Turk, too, finished his plate and took a moment to clear the dishes out of the way before bringing the cake over. He set it in the center of the table.

"Got a light?" he asked, and Reno was only too happy to toss him his lighter. In due course, the candles were lit, and Rude looked over at him, "Make a wish..."

"What? No singin'?"

"I don't sing. Besides... by the time I finished, the frosting will have melted off the cake with all that heat," Rude chuckled. The redhead snorted a quiet laugh and happily blew out the candles. He leaned back in his chair, grinning, while Rude cut them each a large wedge and passed him a clean fork.

"This really _has_ been a pretty great birthday," the redhead sighed happily, "Thanks for comin' up here with me. And makin' the cake. _And_ buyin' the beer..."

"Just don't expect me to take any of the blame when Tseng finds out about your shoulder..." Rude snickered, digging into the dessert. The younger Turk simply rolled his eyes in response. "Happy birthday, Reno."

~end chapter 25~


	26. A New Problem

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 26: A New Problem**

 **by Desha**

The trip back to Midgar had been uneventful. Reno and Rude had cut their stay a _little_ short, leaving Tuesday morning, rather than later in the day, and had spent an afternoon in Kalm instead, checking out some of the local shops and watching the preparations for the upcoming spring festival that were getting underway. They finally made their way home as the sun was setting. Dislocated shoulder aside, it had been a great trip.

Waking up Wednesday morning, however, filled the injured redhead with a vague feeling of dread, as he debated whether or not he should report in at headquarters and be _ordered_ down to medical, or just bite the bullet and present himself to Dr. Ward first thing. Neither option was especially appealing.

If he headed into the office first, he'd have to deal with Tseng's justifiably exasperated chastisement. He'd been gone since Saturday... the Turk lieutenant undoubtedly had new assignments for him. If, as he expected, Ward benched him, someone else would have to handle his workload, which would likely throw Tseng's scheduling completely out of whack. Reno hated to do that to him... particularly since he still felt more than a little guilty for behaving like such a dick after they'd lost Cissnei.

But of course, if he preemptively made his way down to medical, he'd likely have to put up with a full physical exam, and that disapproving tongue-clucking thing the doctor always did when he ended up hurt after doing something especially dumb. Not to mention... the _last_ time he'd hurt his shoulder, they'd shot him full of painkillers to the point that he'd been stoned out of his mind for half a day. That _really_ wasn't something he ever wanted to experience again. The needle had been terrifying enough, to begin with... but the aftereffects... He _still_ shuddered every time he thought about it. Why anyone would want to _intentionally_ feel that way was beyond him.

The redhead sighed as he carefully shrugged into his shirt, mindful not to move the injured appendage any more than he had to. It wasn't _too_ bad if he didn't jar it... but it still hurt like a bitch when he didn't keep it still enough. He supposed the smartest course of action would be to just turn up at Medical and get it the hell over with. He'd end up down their _eventually_ , no matter what. The least he could do was save Tseng the hassle of ordering him to go.

Reno glanced at the clock and groaned. Why was it, whenever he desperately wanted to put something off, that time seemed to speed up? He hurriedly finished dressing and grabbed his keys. He'd have to grab breakfast in the Shinra crapeteria if he was going to hit up Medical and not be ridiculously late walking into the office. Wonderful...

* * *

"Ah... just the Turk I was looking for..." a voice greeted Rude as he stepped off of the elevator and into the Turk offices. He turned to look down the hallway, and spotted Tseng striding purposefully towards him, and mentally chided himself for expecting to be the first to arrive today. Of _course_ Tseng would be in early. He almost always was. "I hope you enjoyed your vacation... because I'm putting you straight back to work. We have something of a puzzle on our hands."

"Hmph... no fluff assignments to ease back into things, I take it," Rude chuckled, falling into step beside him at his motion to follow him.

"I'm afraid not," Tseng replied. "There was a murder while you were gone. One that we're having quite a bit of difficulty solving, particularly since we're not _technically_ investigating it at present."

"Sir?" he queried, raising an eyebrow. They stepped into the Turk lieutenant's office, and Rude took a seat as Tseng rounded his desk.

"The victim was a member of SOLDIER. As such, Director Faine has claimed jurisdiction and effectively shut us out. Veld isn't interested in initiating another screaming match with her, but obviously we can't simply ignore a company employee being gunned down, so we're... unofficially looking into the matter," he said, handing the younger Turk a case file. "Of particular interest is the arrangement of bullet casings left at the scene. It seems to be a signature of sorts, but not one I've been able to identify."

Rude flipped open the folder and sifted through the collection of photos until he got to the one that his superior was referencing... and chuckled.

"And here I thought you had something difficult for me..."

Tseng, in Rude's experience, was seldom at a loss for words. Today, apparently, was one of those rare moments, because for about five seconds, the Wutaiian Turk could only stare at him somewhat blankly.

"I have been searching for literally _anything_ even remotely similar for four days straight. Are you telling me you recognize it?!" he demanded, sounding somewhat annoyed... likely more at his own wasted effort than anything else. Rude nodded.

"Yes, sir..." he replied, "The Zenshou traders have started leaving it behind in the last four months or so. I've run into it one or twice dealing with some of my black market informants down in the slums."

The group had expanded considerably over the last few years. Rude very distinctly recalled his first run-in with them at Icicle Inn as a rookie. Back then, though, they were relatively new to the scene... a mere fledgling smuggling group that had splintered off a much larger Wutaiian organization. Three years on, however, they were far more organized and and growing in reputation... though they weren't assassins, by any means. He could think of only one reason they'd risk going after a SOLDIER.

"If they went as far as to kill a SOLDIER, I'd put good money on the victim either not being willing to sell... or not being able to pay. Probably the former, if the rumors about what the company pays its SOLDIERs are true," he added.

Tseng frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "I'll inform Kai that there may be a theft involved as well. She and Sato are looking for an opening to get into the victim's home. It might help them to have at least a vague idea of what they're looking for. What, exactly, are the Zenshou interested in?"

"From what I've been told, it varies pretty widely, though they've been getting more... selective... about what they trade. They're carving out a niche in the rare and exotic corner of the market, and I've heard that they've been taking contracts for _specific_ items lately, as well. Obscure materia... historical relics... high end technology... pretty much anything that's valuable and hard to procure. Especially if it's one of a kind."

"... I see." Tseng leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers in front of him. Finally, he nodded. "Check with your network... see if anyone has heard about any recent contracts with the Zenshou. Assuming our SOLDIER wasn't a customer, I would very much like to know whether or not they obtained whatever they were after."

"Yes, sir..." Rude replied, and, assuming he was dismissed, made to leave.

"By the way," Tseng said, before he had a chance to get to his feet, "How was Icicle Inn? I trust Reno enjoyed his birthday?"

Rude stifled a laugh. "I... think I'll let _Reno_ tell you about that..."

Tseng studied him for a moment before sighing.

"What did he do?" he asked, resigned, but Rude shook his head.

"I'd hate to ruin the surprise, sir..."

* * *

Reno scowled openly at the door to the company medical suite. He wasn't exactly looking forward to this.

"Guess I might as well get it over with," he grumbled to himself, and opened the door, slipping inside. At first glance, the place was empty, and he briefly wondered if he'd managed to beat the doctor into work today... though, owing to the various medications and other supplies kept on hand, the suite was typically locked if no one from the medical staff was around... so _someone_ must be here.

His suspicions were quickly confirmed, as the familiar figure of Dr. Justinia Ward stepped out of her office near the back of the suite, and froze upon seeing him. For a moment, she simply looked him over from a distance, before shaking her head and starting towards him.

"What in Titan's name did yeh manage ta do _now_?" she asked, eyeing the sling.

"... Dislocated my shoulder?" the redhead replied, sheepishly, before quickly adding, "Already had it looked at 'n shit up at Icicle Inn. I just figured I'd check in before Tseng _made_ me come down here. So... how long am I stuck in the office for _this_ time?"

Ward harrumphed, folding her arms over her chest. "Hmph... I can hardly tell yeh _that_ without a proper exam. Yeh know the drill by now..." she said, pointing to one of the curtained-off enclosures. Reno sighed and stepped inside before easing out of his shirt and jacket. The doctor smirked and held out a gown. "Everything."

"Ah, come on, Doc... It's just my fuckin' shoulder!" the redhead protested.

"Language! And since yeh seem ta have conveniently forgotten – _again_ – yer _still_ overdue fer yer annual physical," she said, pressing the garment into his hands and stepping out to give him some privacy.

"Tch... You were just _waitin'_ for me to need to come see you so you could corner me, weren't ya..." he muttered as he stripped.

"Short of having either yer mentor or that friend of yers _carry_ yeh down here, it seems ta be the only way."

Goddammit... the woman got sneakier by the day. He should have seen this coming. 

"Yeah, well... no Ifrit-forsaken shots," he griped, "I _know_ I'm not due for anything, and I _definitely_ don't need anything extra... and you _better_ have my candy ready!"

Dr. Ward made her reappearance moments later and the redhead hopped up onto the exam table with a soft growl of irritation.

"Yer twenty years old as of Monday, my little headache," she said with a quiet chuckle, "Stop acting like yer five. Now... let's have a look at that shoulder first. Then we'll take care of the rest of yeh."

Reno sighed and offered himself up to the doctor, wincing slightly as she gently prodded the injured area and tested his range of movement. Finally, she seemed satisfied, and stepped away, making a note on his chart.

"It seems a wee bit swollen, but that's ta be expected. I'll prescribe yeh some anti-inflammatory painkillers, and yer ta keep that sling on until the pain subsides fer the most part. Probably a few more days. Ice it as much as yeh can, and we'll re-evaluate on Monday. No field work or training until I say so, but yeh can get back ta light duty immediately."

Reno rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. At least he wasn't sidelined _entirely_. Light duty meant that he could at least supervise the rookies' training or something. _Anything_ was better than being stuck at his desk all day catching up on paperwork.

"Great. Thanks, Doc. Can I go now?" he asked, inching closer to the edge of the table until he could hop down.

"Oh, no, yeh don't..." Ward said, firmly, "Yer _getting_ that annual physical... or yer _not_ getting yer treat."

The redhead groaned in defeat, and sat back down. The things he was willing to put up with for a little candy...

* * *

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," a voice snickered the moment he stepped off the elevator. "Didn't you _just_ get cleared for duty?"

"Shut up, Kai," the redhead sighed as he started down the hallway towards Tseng's office.

"So? What'd you do this time, Baby Turkling?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Tried to fly," he snarked back at her, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," the petite Turk replied, "Actually, we _all_ do. You might want to talk to Tseng sooner rather than later. He _had_ an assignment for you, but if you're sidelined..."

"Tch... where the hell do ya think I'm _goin'_ ," he snapped, "In case you hadn't noticed, _my_ office is the other direction."

"Well, _you're_ certainly in a fine mood this morning," she snickered, noting the handle of the sucker that was hanging out of his mouth. "Been down to Medical already, huh? Come on... what _really_ happened to your arm?"

Reno stopped short and shook his head. "I fell snowboardin', _okay_?"

" _Fell_? What... off the _glacier_?" she laughed.

"No... off the fuckin' ski jump. I was doin' fine... 'til I didn't stick the landing..." he muttered in reply. "It's fine... It was just a _little_ dislocated. Doc says I'll probably be back in the field next week... ya know... minus any heavy lifting for awhile. I'm on light duty for the rest of the week."

"Oh! Good... That means you're okay to take over stakeout duty. Thank Shiva, because I would _love_ an excuse to get out of it for awhile..."

The redhead frowned slightly, curious. "Stakeout duty? Who are we watchin'?"

He didn't get an answer right away. Instead, Kai's gaze shifted to something behind him, and she grinned. "Good news, Tseng! Reno dislocated his shoulder!"

Reno turned just in time to see his mentor and Rude emerging from the former's office. The Wutaiian Turk raised an eyebrow.

"Why is that 'good' news?" he asked, a flicker of concern stealing across his face.

"Because it means that _he_ can sit around watching an empty apartment for awhile... 'cause I have spent _way_ too much time alone with Sato this week."

The comment elicited a chuckle from Rude. Tseng rolled his eyes as he came to a halt just a few feet from the pair.

"Reno... my office. I need to get you up to speed," he said. And then he smirked, "Kai... I believe you and Sato are due to relieve Sykes and Petra shortly, are you not?"

Kai shot him an annoyed look. "You suck, Tseng. Sometimes you really, _really_ suck," she groaned, before turning on her heel and marching off, presumably, to find Sato. Tseng merely laughed, and guided the redhead back towards his office.

"Alright... Let's hear it," he said, gently nudging him inside and shutting the door behind him, "Just how did _this_ come about, and how bad is it?"

"Tch... It's not a big deal. The Doc says I can probably ditch the sling in a few days, and I'll be back in the field by next week. Won't be rearrangin' the furniture any time soon, but..."

"What _happened_?" Tseng prodded, taking a seat. Reno quickly followed suit and grimaced.

"I... shoulda just listened to Rude. _That's_ what happened," he replied, cringing. "I was on my own for a little while on Monday, and I was gettin' pretty good on the snowboard so... I... thought I'd try one of the runs that was a little more... ya know... advanced."

" _How_ advanced?" his mentor asked, hesitantly. Reno sighed.

"I went off the big ski jump. And _before_ ya say it... I know. I'm an idiot. I shoulda listened to Rude when he told me it was too much for me to handle."

"Yes, you almost certainly should have," Tseng replied... far more calmly that Reno had expected. "Kai said your shoulder was dislocated?"

"... Yeah," the redhead confirmed, somewhat suspiciously, "Okay, you're takin' this a _lot_ better than I thought ya would..."

Tseng snorted softly in laughter and shook his head. "Despite Kai's enduring nickname for you, you're an adult... and as such must be allowed to learn from your own mistakes on occasion. And also... though I rather hate to admit it, I am rather... _intimately_... acquainted with the allure of attempting that jump," he replied, and Reno's eyebrows shot upwards. Tseng smiled faintly. "I can hardly berate you for making the same error in judgment _I_ once made when I was younger. Just be glad it was only your shoulder. _I_ was in a cast from the thigh down for six weeks. Veld was _not_ pleased, and Ihave two metal pins in my right leg as a souvenir."

Reno snickered loudly at the mental image the thought of his mentor taking a flying leap off a ski jump conjured up.

"Judging by Kai's commentary, I take it Justinia hasn't opted to sideline you entirely due to your injury..." Tseng continued, ignoring the laughter.

"I'm on light duty, painkillers, 'n ice for the rest of the week. Re-eval first thing Monday," he said, "Don't go changin' the subject on me, though. I wanna hear _more_ about this trip to the glacier..."

"Perhaps another time," the Turk lieutenant hurriedly said, and the redhead got the distinct impression that if he _wanted_ to hear the whole story, he was going to have to drag it out of his mentor at some point. "Right now, however, we _do_ have a murder investigation underway, and injured or not, I'm going to need you."

"... I'm gettin' stuck with stakeout duty tonight, aren't I?" the younger Turk sighed, and Tseng chuckled.

"It _is_ amongst the approved assignments you can be given while on light duty medical restriction..." he said, smirking slightly. "I'll be pairing you with Liam. He hasn't yet had a turn. You can relieve Kai and Sato this evening for the overnight shift."

"Figures. Okay... so who got killed?"

"Someone we can't simply ignore," Tseng replied, handing him the case file.

* * *

At around six that evening, Reno pulled into the parking lot of a large apartment complex, and angled his car into a visitor's space at the far end of the main lot, where no one would be likely to pay any attention to it. He and his passenger exited the vehicle and made their way through the south side entrance of Building Number 3 of the four high-rise complex. The elevator took them up to the fourteenth floor, and from there, the redhead knocked on the door to apartment 1409.

He could hear the sound of footsteps inside and then a pause in front of the door. He grinned widely at the security peephole, and a moment later, the door opened.

"About damn time..." Kai muttered, granting the pair access. Liam followed Reno inside, and was quickly met by a snickering Sato.

"Yeh'd think she were sick o' me, or somethin'..." the Mideelian said, innocently. Kai rolled her eyes and turned to face him.

"Sato, I love ya, man... but if I have to hear about your still, your girlfriend, or that mole on your ass _one more time_ tonight, I'm _going_ to kill you."

Reno snorted softly. "The mole on his ass?" he queried, not entirely certain he really wanted to know.

"Apparently it bears a striking resemblance to Lord Godo," she said, shaking her head, before shooting the other Turk, who was just about to interject with his own commentary, a scathing look, "And for the last time, _no_. I don't want to see it!"

Sato cackled and got up from his seat near the window.

"Aye, so yeh keep sayin'... but I know yeh dunnae really mean it, luv..." he teased.

"Ugghh..." Kai groaned. "It's been quiet all afternoon. They just had a shift change over there about fifteen minutes ago."

"The Bitch is on duty," Sato added with a snort of contempt, "Glad yer here. Last thing I wanna do all night is sit around starin' at _her_ fer hours on end."

"Umm..." Liam stammered, apparently not sure if he should ask.

"Sato's ex is in SOLDIER," Reno snickered. "They don't get along."

"Dunnae get _along_?" Sato exclaimed, eyes widening, "That soul-suckin', bed-hoppin', lyin', cheatin' holier'n thou spawn o' the bloody sea hag can can go straight ta the lowest o' the Nine Hells 'n stay there!"

"Hey, Sato... Tell us how you _really_ feel about her..." Kai teased.

"Hmph... I'd love ta. But it's not fit fer the wee rookie's tender ears," Sato declared, angrily grabbing his jacket and pulling it on. Kai smirked and headed for the door.

"Come on, ya big baby. We'll stop for a drink on the way home and you can tell me _all_ about how awful she is. _Again_. I'm buying. 'Night, guys!"

"See ya," Reno called after them. He locked the door behind the pair, and turned back to Liam, only to find the rookie looking slightly shell-shocked. "What?"

"I... I've just never heard Sato go off like that," he said, "He's usually so... laid back."

Reno shook his head and took up the seat by the window that the Mideelian Turk had recently vacated. It offered a clear view into the apartment in the building directly across from them, where he could see a woman, dressed in SOLDIER-issue armor, sitting in the living room.

"Yeah, well... It's kind of a sore spot with him," the redhead replied, making himself comfortable. "Happened before I got recruited, but the way I heard it, Sato got hurt pretty bad on a mission in Wutai a while back. Spent the better part of two months in the hospital, 'n they weren't sure he was gonna make it for a while... 'n the whole time, his wife was shackin' up with a real close friend of his. _Then_ she had the nerve to demand alimony in the divorce... which she didn't _get_ , by the way. So... yeah. He pretty much hates _her_ guts and the guts of the guy she was bangin' while he was busy tryin' not to die. Far as I can tell, the feelin's mutual."

"... That's _awful_ ," Liam breathed, shaking his head.

"Tch... and that's why _I'm_ never makin' the mistake of gettin' married," the redhead said, definitively, "Tyin' yourself down like that's just _beggin'_ to get your heart ripped out, ya ask me. _No_ thank you. I'll stick to one night stands 'n the occasional friends with benefits."

He leaned back, wincing as the movement jostled his shoulder. He'd skipped the painkillers before heading over here. Sure, they'd knock out some of the pain, but he had to be up all night. That _wasn't_ gonna happen if he was drugged up.

"Hey, rookie... do me a favor 'n see if they left us any ice in the freezer, will ya?" he requested.

"Yes, sir," Liam replied, scurrying off the the kitchen and returning a minute later with a baggie filled with ice cubes. Reno grinned and set it against his injured shoulder.

"Heh... Take my advice kid. If Rude ever tells ya that doin' somethin's a terrible idea... listen to him," he snickered. "I'da saved myself a hell of a lot of hassle if _I'd_ done that. I'll take the first watch. Ya might as well get comfortable. It's probably gonna be a long night."

Liam chuckled quietly and took a seat on the nearby couch.

"It _couldn't_ be any longer than the night I spent on stakeout with Remy..."

Reno laughed and briefly pulled his gaze away from the window, glancing back at the rookie.

"She's not exactly big on conversation when she's workin', is she?" he smirked.

"Er... _no_. No, she's not," Liam agreed. Reno nodded and returned his attention to the subject of their watch.

"Yeah... I was bored outta my mind the first time _I_ had to do that, too. But... ya know. That's Remy for ya. All business when she's on duty. Hell, she could give even _Tseng_ a run for his money when it comes to bein' a professional."

"Hey, Reno? Could I ask you something?" the rookie venture.

"Sure..."

"How is it that Tseng ended up picking _you_ as his protege, anyway?" he asked, and the redhead smirked as he turned again to look at him.

"I'm not sure if I oughta be offended by that question or _not_..." he teased. The younger Turk's eyes widened.

"N-no! I didn't mean... I just..."

Reno snickered and shook his head. " _Relax_. I know what ya meant. Trust me... I'm _very_ aware of the fact that me 'n Tseng are pretty much total opposites. To be honest... I don't really know _why_ he picked me, _exactly_. He's always told me that he just... knew... the first time we met. Guess I made a hell of a first impression." He paused a moment, watching the occupant of the other apartment get up and walk out of his line of sight into, he assumed, the kitchen. "How 'bout you? How'd _you_ end up in the recruitment program?"

"My dad was hoping I'd follow his lead and join the Shinra army. But I... wasn't cut out for the military," Liam replied... and the statement set the redhead slightly on edge. It was a little too reminiscent of a certain Turk turned traitor.

"Yeah?" he queried, cautiously, "You one of those military brat types?"

To his surprise, Liam laughed.

"Oh... no, sir. No, _definitely_ not," he sniggered, "I was the weird goth kid that spent all his time reading. Dad was _hoping_ I'd turn out to be his little soldier... but I think he accepted that it wasn't going to happen when I was still pretty young. Besides... he's got my little sister to carry on that legacy. Cassie was pretty much _born_ saluting. I take after Mom."

The woman came back into view, a glass in her hand, and resumed her position on the couch. Reno shifted slightly and readjusted the ice pack.

"They in Junon?" he asked, not bothering to look back this time.

"No. Wutai. They werein Mideel last summer, and we lived in a couple of different places on the western continent before I left for Midgar. Dad's a construction engineer, so he tends to get sent all over. We never lived in any one place very long growing up."

"Sounds like you've been just about everywhere," the redhead said, with just a hint of jealousy in his voice. "Must have been pretty cool."

"I guess," Liam replied, "I mean... don't get me wrong, it was _interesting_ livingin all those different places, but... we moved so much, it was hard to make friends. Just when I'd finally start settling in and getting to know people in _one_ place, it was time to pack up go somewhere else. I don't think I ever _really_ felt like I had a home until I moved to Midgar for recruitment last year. It's... a very _strange_ way to live. Especially for a little kid."

The rookie suddenly laughed softly to himself.

"I can't say it was _all_ bad, though," he added, "You definitely pick up languages when you travel that much. I speak fluent Costan, two different Mideelian dialects conversationally, and... well, _enough_ Wutaiian to get by if I were ever stranded there. I can read it better than I can speak it."

"Heh... Gotta admit. That's pretty impressive, rookie," Reno said. Liam laughed again.

"I'm... actually pretty proud of it. I don't think _Remy_ is too impressed with my Wutaiian, though. She says I have a very thick accent."

Reno snorted and glanced over his shoulder at him. "Yeah, well... only Wutaiian _I_ know is what I've picked up from their animated porn movies," he said, grinning, "So... you've _definitely_ got me beat there."

He huffed in frustration when he looked back over at the other apartment. Sato's ex was still just sitting there. It looked like she had the TV on, but it was hard to tell from where they were positioned. Now _that_ was the sort of guard duty he wouldn't have minded getting tapped for. Getting paid to sit around in someone else's apartment, watching someone else's cable, eating someone else's food? Yeah... he could stand doing that.

"Hey... it's gonna be a long night," the redhead said. "You happen to see any coffee while you were in the kitchen earlier?"

The apartment had apparently already been vacant when Veld had arranged for the stakeout location... but they'd had Turks in and out of the place since Monday. Odds were good that _someone_ had brought supplies.

"Yes, sir... Should I...?"

" _Definitely_ ," Reno replied.

* * *

"Have fun last night?" Rude asked as a rather bleary-eyed redhead wandered into the office the following morning. The younger Turk yawned and collapsed into his chair with a groan.

" _That_ was the second most boring fuckin' stakeout I've ever been on," he muttered. "Absolutely _nothin'_ happened. Tch... 'least the kid made for decent company."

Rude chuckled quietly. "Managed to finally get a sentence or two out of Liam?"

"Says the guy who _literally_ wouldn't say more than a word at a time when we first met..." Reno snorted, laughing, "Nah... the kid talks almost as much as _I_ do when he finally gets goin'. He just takes some time ta warm up to it. Get 'im _caffeinated_ enough, 'n he hardly shuts up. I _like_ him."

"Got a new favorite rookie, huh?" his friend teased, and Reno shrugged.

"Come on... you know I don't play favorites. The kid just... kinda reminds me of what _I_ was like when I first got here. Ya know... kinda scared 'n overwhelmed. Not quite sure where he fits in yet or if he's _really_ cut out for this shit..."

Rude smirked. "Yeah... I remember when you were like _that_. Think that was, what? ... Last Tuesday?" he snickered, teasingly, and Reno playfully flipped him off.

"Hey! I've gotten a lot _better_ since I was a rookie," the younger Turk laughed, "I just... figure that I oughta help out the current crop the same way you 'n Tseng always stuck by _me_. 'Sides... three rookies is a lot for the Boss to have to wrangle on his own, now that Veld's pretty much hands-off with 'em."

Reno may have been the first rookie that Tseng had been given full responsibility for, but Cissnei had been the _last_ rookie for whom Veld had shared training duties with Tseng. When Sykes had come on board, the Turk leader had officially handed the responsibility for _all_ subsequent new Turks over to his second in command. Rookies were now entirely Tseng's domain... and the Wutaiian Turk seemed quite pleased with the extended responsibility, if far busier than he'd been previously.

"Hmph... spoken like a true future second in command," Rude commented, and the redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Tch... the fuck are you talkin' about? If _anyone's_ gonna be takin' over as Second when Veld finally decides to retire, it's gonna be Remy. She's wanted that position for _years_ ," he scoffed, and then snickered, "And 'sides... with _my_ track record? Tseng'd have ta lose his mind first."

Rude shook his head, but didn't say anything further on the subject. Reno snickered again, softly, to himself. The whole idea of _him_ being tapped as second in command of the Turks was pretty laughable, in _his_ opinion. He'd caused enough trouble in his few short years as a Turk to pretty much bar him from it. About the only person on the team _less_ likely to be picked than him was Sato.

And frankly... he was fine with that. It was _lot_ of responsibility, that he was pretty certain he'd never _really_ be ready for. He wasn't like Tseng... _or_ like Remy. They were the _ultimate_ professionals. He was just... Reno. Former slum rat, team pervert, and human bottomless pit. Not that there was anything wrong with _that_ , per se, but he didn't think it would ever do him any favors when it came to promotions, given how few were available within their ranks.

Besides which... literally everyone but the team's rookies had seniority on him, anyway.

"So... who's watching the apartment now?" Rude queried, changing the subject.

"Kai's there right now. Switched shifts with Remy, I guess," he said, and snickered, "Probably so she didn't have to hear about Sato's ass anymore. You get anywhere tryin' to figure out what the hell they're after?"

"... You could say that," the bald Turk replied, somewhat smugly, "That's why I'm here so early, actually. Just finished briefing Veld on some new intel. Word is that there's an anonymous buyer interested in... _unusual_... weaponry. Apparently there's a fifteen million gil finder's fee up for grabs for anyone who can get their hands on the Masamune for them."

Reno sat up in his seat. "The Masamune? Ya mean like... _Sephiroth's_ Masamune?" he asked, incredulously. "Who the hell'd be stupid enough o try 'n steal _that_?"

"Offer enough money, people get stupid real quick," Rude said with a shrug. "The Masamune's just one weapon on the list, though. Definitely at the _top_ of the list, but there's a few other interesting items."

"Yeah? What else is there?"

"A shuriken that's kept in the Pagoda of the Five Gods in Wutai... a Mideelian claymore that, as far as I can tell, is in the museum at the Gold Saucer... a lot of historical stuff like that. But there's some more modern items, too, like the Masamune... _and_ one of Scarlet's prototype gatling lasers. The one that the Company demoed last fall when we did that public showcase for new tech. Hmph... Give ya three guesses who was field testing _that_ one for her."

The redhead's eyebrows shot upwards. "Our dead SOLDIER?"

Rude smirked. "Got it in one."

"So who's the buyer?" Reno asked, but Rude only shook his head.

" _That_ , I don't know," he said, and the redhead could hear the irritation in his voice at having to admit it, "My first thought was Dio over at the Gold Saucer... until I noticed that something he already _owned_ was on the list. They've been careful to cover their tracks. I'm working on it."

"I'm assumin' the gun they were after's locked up tight by now?"

"That's what _you're_ going to find out for us," a voice behind him stated, and Reno startled slightly and turned in his chair, only to come face to face with Veld. Remy was with him, standing just outside the door to their office. "Talk to Scarlet. Make sure she's taking all precautions."

"Uh... _me_ ,sir?" he said, paling slightly. He hadn't had to face the head of weapons research since their... _run-in_... at the Christmas party. And, personally, he would have preferred to keep it that way. He still shuddered every time the memory of the woman's hand drunkenly groping at the most intimate parts of his body crept into his consciousness.

"Yes... You," Veld reiterated, firmly, "Remy will accompany you. Find out where it is now and what sort of security it has."

Reno blinked in surprise. "Yes, sir..." he replied, not particularly happy about the order, but not about to argue with his superior. He hurriedly got up and joined Remy, accompanying her to the elevator and pressing the button for the sixty-seventh floor.

"What was that all about?" Remy asked, as the doors closed on them, "And why in Leviathan's name does it suddenly take _two_ Turks to speak with a board member about security measures?"

"... Uh... Tseng... doesn't really want me around Scarlet alone anymore," he replied, somewhat awkwardly. He knew that Tseng had told _Veld_ what had happened, but the Turk lieutenant had left it up to him to inform anyone else. Thus far... he'd only said anything to Rude, and had kind of been planning on it going no further then him. It was only a guess on his part, but he had a feeling that this was Veld's way of making him face the woman he knew he'd been actively avoiding even thinking about for months now.

Remy eyed him somewhat oddly and the redhead sighed.

"She kinda... came after me. At the executive Christmas party," he amended, "The Boss thought it'd be for the best if I just stayed away from her. Apparently Veld disagrees."

"What do you mean she 'came after you'?" the senior Turk asked, guardedly.

"... She was drunk, 'n I ended up in an elevator alone with her, 'n... she... kinda got the idea that... I was a little more... ya know... _willing_... than I actually was. She had a hand down my pants by the time Tseng showed up 'n rescued me."

Remy blinked, shocked, and her face slowly took on a vaguely horrified expression.

"Why didn't _tell_ anyone?" she breathed. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Tseng 'n Veld both know about it, 'n I told Rude, too, 'cause... ya know... I tell _him_ everything. I... didn't wanna spread it around the office any more than I had to, though. It's fuckin' humiliating."

"Reno..."

"Look, can we just not talk about it. Let's just get this over with so I can go back to avoidin' her."

The senior Turk clearly had more to say on the subject... but mercifully, the elevator chose that precise moment to arrive at their destination, effectively putting an end to the conversation. Reno stepped out of the elevator car, Remy just steps behind him, as he braced himself for the unplanned meeting with Scarlet.

~end chapter 26~


	27. Not Again

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 27: Not Again**

 **by Desha**

Tseng was, rather uncharacteristically, running late. _Extremely_ late, by his standards... though in reality, as he stepped aboard the elevator, he still had nearly three minutes remaining before he was actually due in the office. He was, however, quite fond of easing into his day in quiet solitude before the others began to arrive. It seemed that he'd be skipping that part of his routine, today... and it was all thanks to his new neighbor, who, unfortunately for Tseng's schedule, shared his habit of running early in the morning.

The woman – who he had been enthusiastically informed was a widow named Beatrice, was sixty-seven years young, had four children, two grandchildren and a third on the way, and was thinking about signing up for a pottery class – had caught up to him on his second lap, and... talked. Incessantly. Oh, she'd been friendly and polite, certainly... but she simply would not shut up! It had taken him quite some time to even get a word in, and by the time he finally _had_ managed to interrupt her, it was too late. The bit of extra padding he built into his schedule for just such unexpected circumstances had been exhausted. He'd had to rather rudely – to his chagrin, as respect for one's elders was something that was _deeply_ ingrained in him during his childhood – disengage from his new-found best friend and rush home to shower and drive in to work.

He sighed as the elevator deposited him in the Turks' offices and shook his head. No matter... It had only cost him his personal time today. He'd just have to be more careful to avoid being swept up in conversation the next time he bumped into her... which, he was quite certain would be in the very near future. She'd promised him lemon squares, as, in addition to pottery, baking was also apparently among her many varied interests.

As the doors slid shut behind him, Kai rounded the corner and stopped short, staring at him wide-eyed. She looked down at her watch, and then back up at the Wutaiian Turk, gaping.

"Are... you just _now_ getting in?" she asked, bewildered. Tseng chuckled softly and strolled over to her.

"I was unexpectedly detained during my run. It seems I have a new neighbor and in addition to being an early riser, she's quite... personable," he replied, "Is Reno here yet? There was something I wanted to speak to him about before the morning briefing."

"Yeah, he is, but Veld sent him off on an errand right before you got here. He and Remy headed out a few minutes ago."

"What errand?" Tseng queried, curious. Kai shrugged.

"No idea. You'll have to ask Veld. I just saw them as they were leaving," she said, "But word on the street is that Rude was in talking to him _very_ early this morning. Sounds like we might have a fresh lead on our SOLIDER killer."

"Hmph... It figures. The _one_ day I'm late..." the Turk lieutenant muttered, shaking his head, "Thank you... I'll see you at the briefing."

Kai snorted softly as he walked away. "Right on time is _not_ the same as being late, Tseng," she teasingly called after him.

* * *

Scarlet was in one hell of a snit when the pair of Turks arrived in her domain, barking orders at some poor underling who was scurrying after her, taking copious notes, as she drifted from one project to the next. Reno exhaled slowly as he approached. Maybe he'd get lucky and she was in too shitty a mood to concern herself with ogling him today.

The moment she spotted him, however, it became disturbingly apparent that he wasn't _that_ lucky. The redhead only just succeeded in hiding the shudder that ran down his spine as the woman locked eyes with him and smiled coquettishly, her attention suddenly entirely on _him_.

"Send those notes to the team leads. I want progress reports by tomorrow afternoon," she demanded of her assistant, who nodded sharply before turning on his heel and scurrying towards one of the doors on the other side of the lab. When he was gone, Scarlet strode towards the pair of Turks... though it was more than apparent that her interest was only directed at one of them.

"Well, _hello_ there," she purred, one hand rising to caress his cheek before it slipped behind him, unabashedly fondling his ponytail. Reno had to physically stop himself from flinching at her touch. He swallowed sharply as he found himself unable to hold her gaze. "And what can I do for _you_ this morning?"

"We're here to check on one of your projects, ma'am," Remy stated, before Reno could choke out an answer, "SOLDIER has been field testing it for you. We've received intelligence that there may be a bounty on it. Veld has asked that we confirm your labs are taking appropriate security measures."

"The G7 gatling laser?" she asked, waving her free hand dismissively as the other continued to toy with Reno's hair. "Of _course_ we're taking appropriate measures. When it's _not_ in the field, it's being stored in SOLDIER's weapons vault, and only myself, the Director of SOLDIER, and the SOLDIER she hand-picked to do the testing have the access code for its cage." She gazed at the redhead with a predatory smile. "That gun isn't going _anywhere_ without my say so. Why don't I... take you downstairs and _show_ you just how secure it _is_?"

Her tone left very little to the imagination. Reno wanted nothing more than to tell the lustful executive fuck the hell off... but at the moment, he couldn't seem to _move_ , much less speak. And he desperately wanted her to stop fucking _touching_ him, already. Unfortunately, his lack of response, only seemed to encourage Scarlet, as her hand began to trace a slow path down the back of his neck, sliding slowly along his spine, until it reached his waist... and then, to his horror, continued down until she was firmly cupping his backside with her taloned fingers.

" _Thank_ you, ma'am... That won't be necessary," he heard Remy grind out over his shoulder, and a moment later, the senior Turk was pulling him away from the executive, and not so subtly shoving him behind her, placing herself between Reno and a very annoyed Scarlet. Reno instinctively shrank back, silently berating himself for being such an Ifrit-forsaken coward as Remy calmly stared the woman down.

"Hmph... Well, then... if _that's_ all you wanted, then toddle on back to your headquarters. I have a lot to do today, and no time to listen to a petulant little girl prattling on about security," Scarlet sniffed, haughtily, before turning her attention back on Reno. " _You_ can stay."

" _We_ have a lot to do today, as well, I'm afraid, ma'am," Remy answered for him, smiling icily at the executive before physically turning the redhead back towards the exit. It was all he could do not to simply make a run for it. He heard Scarlet make a disapproving sound before they finally stepped out of the lab and started down the hallway. Reno didn't relax until they were safely inside the elevator, with the door closed behind them. Finally out of her range, he shuddered violently, and glanced over at Remy.

"... Thanks."

The senior Turk didn't answer immediately, and as the redhead raised his eyes to her face, he suddenly realized that she was fuming.

"... _Petulant little girl_?!" she seethed, eyes narrowed in anger. A moment later, she shook her head and Reno could swear the normally prim and proper Turk _growled_ before finally looking over at him. "Ugh... Are you alright?"

"... Uh... depends. You pissed at Scarlet, or at me?"

"Scarlet," Remy spat, as though the executive's name itself was the most vile of curses. "The _nerve_ of that woman!" She folded her hands in front of her and inhaled deeply, holding the breath for a few seconds before slowly releasing it. When she looked up at him again, she seemed moderately calmer. "No _wonder_ Tseng doesn't want you left alone with her. I'm serious... _are_ you alright?"

"Yeah... I'm okay," the redhead replied, "Tch... more embarrassed I froze up like that than anything else. I wasn't expectin' her to start pawin' at me with you standin' right there."

"Reno, you –"

"I _don't_ wanna talk about it. We got the info Veld wanted. Let's just... get back to work."

The senior Turk obligingly fell silent... though the redhead could tell that there was plenty more she wanted to say on the subject. He _really_ didn't want to have that discussion, though. It was bad enough he'd just... _let_... Scarlet do that to him the _first_ time. At least then he'd been able to write it off as a result of being stuck with her in an enclosed space, alone, with no one to back him up. What the hell was his excuse _this_ time?

Why the fuck hadn't he said something? Or pushed her off of him? Or hell... even just backed away from the bitch? Instead... he froze. He froze and let her do whatever the fuck she wanted without protest.

He didn't have much time to think about how upset he was with himself, however, because the moment the elevator doors opened on the fifty-eighth floor, he was greeted by the sight of Tseng's scowling face.

"My office. Both of you. _Now_ ," Tseng demanded, his voice dangerously quiet. Reno blinked in shock, trying to figure out what the fuck he could have possibly done to piss him off _that_ much... and it worried him immensely when nothing at all came to mind. Whatever it was, it must have been serious, because his mentor looked absolutely _livid_.

Which, in and of itself was a bit frightening. Reno had seen Tseng _angry_ before... but at the moment, he looked – and sounded – as if he was barely restraining a fury that was burning just below the surface. It was so far removed from his normally calm and collected exterior that, had he not been deeply concerned that Tseng's rage was directed at him for some reason, Reno almost might have laughed.

He glanced over at Remy, who looked just as mystified and concerned as _he_ felt, and fell into step behind her as she trailed the Turk lieutenant back to his office as ordered. Tseng ushered the pair inside and shut the door behind them a bit more firmly than was strictly necessary before storming over to his desk.

"Did she try anything?" he asked, turning to Remy, without preamble, and the other Turk's expression quickly morphed to match his.

"She did a bit more than just try, sir," she replied, and her tone left no illusion as to just how she felt about that.

"I want full, written statements from both of you," Tseng said, "And I want _nothing_ left out. Veld may not be willing to file a formal complaint against Scarlet for harassment due to her position on the executive board, but I can damn well document it!"

When it finally clicked that the Wutaiian Turk's anger was directed at Scarlet rather than him, he could only stare in confusion.

"H-how'd you even know..." he began, only to be cut off by a sharp shake of Tseng's head.

"Kai informed me that Veld had sent the two of you out of the office on some assignment before I arrived this morning. Naturally, I checked in with him to see what I'd missed. To say that I am not at all pleased with his decision rather grossly understates just how angry I truly _am_ at the moment," he replied, before directing his attention at Remy, "A written statement. Now, if you would."

"Hmph... With pleasure, sir," Remy said, and turned on her heel, heading off, Reno presumed, to her own office to get started. Tseng sighed gently guided his protege over to one of the chairs in front of his desk, squeezing his uninjured shoulder as he did so.

"I'm sorry," Tseng said, urging him to sit, and taking up residence in the chair beside him. "I can assure you that Veld will not be making that mistake twice. I made my feelings on the matter _very_ clear to him. Are you alright?"

Reno breathed a silent sigh of relief – both at _not_ being in trouble, and at the prospect of not being sent off into Scarlet's clutches again any time soon – and relaxed slightly in his chair.

"I'm fine," he said, somewhat subdued. "Not sure whether I should be _glad_ Remy was there, or fuckin' mortified, though. I guess glad... seein' as how I'd probably still be stuck up there, doin' fuck knows what, otherwise."

"What happened?" Tseng pressed, and Reno shook his head.

"I mean... nothin' _really_. Not like after the Christmas party, I mean. She just... ya know... grabbed my ass a little 'n invited me to tour a secure weapons vault with her. Alone."

He wasn't sure, at first, why he was downplaying it so much for Tseng. He just couldn't seem to bring himself to admit how terrified he'd been in that moment... and how disgusted he was at his own inaction to stop it. A moment later, it hit him. If _he_ was ashamed of not standing up for himself, how was Tseng going to view his lack of protest? It was, after all, pretty goddamned pathetic when he really thought about it. All he'd had to do was say no. It's not as if the weapons researcher was gonna be able to overpower him... even with only one good arm.

Tseng frowned, but whatever he'd been planning on saying was interrupted by a knock on the door. He scowled faintly and glanced up.

"Come in," he called out. A moment later, Kai poked her head inside.

"Hate to intrude," she said, and Reno couldn't help but snort softly. Kai practically _lived_ to intrude. "But the briefing's starting..."

Tseng looked at his watch and swore under his breath.

"We'll have to finish this conversation later," he said, "It seems everyone is waiting on us."

* * *

By lunch time, the story of Tseng's... _heated_... conversation with Veld that morning had made the rounds. The entire office had heard, though the subject of the disagreement remained unknown to most. Speculation, however, had reached betting levels. Sato, from what Rude had heard, had fifty gil riding on a fight over something Rufus had done... and apparently the rookies were of the opinion that it had been an argument regarding the next future Turk to be chosen from the recruitment program.

Rude, though he hadn't been able to confirm it yet, suspected that neither was the case. He very seriously doubted that Tseng had been happy when he'd learned where Veld had sent Reno that morning... and the redhead himself hadn't been in the best of moods upon his return. Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to ask his friend about it. Reno had been assigned to training duty with the rookies, and Rude had had an appointment to keep over at the Sector 5 train station. Though on the bright side, he _did_ now have a minor lead on the mysterious buyer the Zenshou seemed to be working for. The requests had originated on the western continent. It didn't exactly narrow things down, but it was a start.

It had cost him most of his day, however. The information had come at a price. Specifically, a favor. His contact had run afoul of one of the gang leaders down in the slums... to the point that, if they caught up to him, he probably wasn't going to walk away from the encounter alive. Their meeting at the station was intended to help him flee. Rude had packed him off to Lower Junon and set him up with a place to stay for short time. It had taken awhile to get him there safely, as he'd opted to escort him personally and had only ground transportation at his disposal at the time.

It was a little unfortunate, since the man would almost certainly be of little use to him now as an informant... but then, one never knew. Besides... that was the bargain he'd made with any number of the contacts in his network. Information in exchange for money and protection. It was the same way his mentor had done things, and frankly, it worked. He'd seen no reason to change tactics after Tres had died, and it had served him well thus far. If it had been good enough for Tres, it was was good enough for _him_.

He still missed Tres.

Their relationship hadn't been like the one between Tseng and Reno... Tres had never really been a surrogate parent to him, or anything like that. But they'd _still_ been close. He'd been named as Tres' successor almost as soon as the man had taken an interest in him. Tres had considered passing on his skills to be one of, if not _the_ , most important things he'd ever do as a Turk. It was a lot to live up to... because his mentor had been truly exceptional at what he did.

Rude still had the letter his mentor had left for him. Tres had never been what you might call a _sentimental_ person... but his final words to him had left Rude in tears, all the same. Knowing just how highly Tres had really thought of him had cemented his resolve to live up to the standard set by his predecessor.

As he rode the elevator up from the parking deck, he glanced at his watch and frowned. It _almost_ wasn't worth reporting in at this point. Hell, by they time he stepped into the office, everyone else would be on their way out. He could easily just head home for the day.

The doors opened, and Rude sighed, knowing that if he did that, he'd just have to play catch-up tomorrow. He wanted to at _least_ check his messages and make sure nothing important had come in while he was out of town, and get a quick write-up of what his informant had told him on paper while it was still fresh in his mind.

"Tch... 'bout _time_ you got back," Reno greeted him as he walked into their shared office, and it was obvious that the younger Turk was preparing to leave. "I don't know about you, but after the day I've had, _I_ could use a drink. You wanna grab a beer or two on the way home?"

"Tempting..." Rude replied, "... but I have a couple things I _really_ need to get done before I take off. Could meet up later if you want."

Reno shook his head. "Nah... We gotta work tomorrow. Don't wanna make it _too_ late a night. Heh... for _either_ of us. Don't spend all night with your Ifrit-forsaken reports, huh? I'll see ya in the mornin'."

"Hmph... 'night," he replied with a quiet laugh, giving his friend a wave as he slipped out the door. Once he was gone, Rude settled himself in front of his computer with a soft groan, and started scanning though the latest intelligence reports.

* * *

Reno tossed back a shot of vodka, and followed it with a beer chaser, as he sat at the end of the bar at one of his favorite spots. The Vis-a-Vis Bar was notorious for two things: the cheap drink specials... and the lack of attention they paid to IDing their clientele. The redhead had never once had someone question his fake ID there.

Which was why he'd opted for the small detour over to Sector 2, rather than going to one of the bars closer to his own neighborhood in Sector 3. He just wanted to have a drink or two without worrying about getting hassled about his age... though, to be fair, that seemed to happen a lot less frequently these days. Apparently, he was finally starting to look his age. Still... he wasn't in the mood to take the risk tonight. He polished off the chaser and motioned for another round, helping himself to the pretzels on the bar while he waited.

The bartender had only just set his order down in front of him when he heard a disapproving ' _hmph'_ from directly behind him, and smirked slightly at the familiar sound. He turned in his seat, and laughed softly. Of all the luck...

"Yeah, yeah... I know," he said before Remy could chastise him for his underage drinking. The senior Turk rolled her eyes and took up residence on the bar stool beside him.

"Just how many fake IDs have you got?" she asked, "I'm quite certain I confiscated one just a few months ago."

Reno sighed and reached for his wallet, pulling out the offending card and holding it out to her. To his surprise, however, Remy shook her head.

"Oh, forget it. You'll just get another one, anyway," she said, "... Besides. You could probably _use_ a stiff drink after what happened this morning."

The redhead gratefully tucked the ID away, glad that she was going to look the other way this time. The damn things weren't cheap, and Sato had a habit of tacking on an extra fee when they had to be replaced too often.

"Heh... well, we both know why _I'm_ here. What's _your_ excuse?" Reno asked, "Little far from home, aren't ya?"

Remy lived clear over in Sector 7... so this was more more than slightly out of the way for _her_. To his surprise, the senior Turk chuckled softly.

"Yes, I suppose I am. But you just can't get a decent sake over in Seven since the Izakaya went out of business..."

Reno tossed back his second shot and snickered quietly into his beer. He'd never actually had sake before moving to the Plate... but he'd found that he honestly he didn't really care for it, particularly warm, the way Remy liked it. He supposed it was something of an acquired taste. After all, he personally had a distinct fondness for vodka when it came to the hard stuff... but he knew plenty of people who couldn't stomach it at all unless it was mixed with something. He also knew that, as a beer – and it _was_ technically a beer, even if most people _did_ refer to it as rice wine – sake came in any number of varieties and no two brewers were quite the same. He'd only ever tried a couple of them, so he wasn't exactly an expert. Yet.

"You seem to be in a much better mood, now," Remy commented, and the redhead shrugged... and winced slightly as his shoulder protested the movement.

"It was a shitty day. Day's over," he replied.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened... ?"

Reno sighed and set his beer down. "Look... I know ya just wanna help, but honestly? I'd kinda rather ya just let it go. You put a stop to it before shit got outta hand, Tseng let Veld have it for stickin' me in that situation with no warning, and it's not gonna happen again. I'll live."

Remy shook her head, but finally smiled faintly. "Well... then at least let me buy your next round."

The redhead grinned somewhat mischievously.

"Hey, I'd never turn down free booze... but, uh... you sure you wanna do that? Ya know... after what happened the _last_ time you started buyin' me drinks at a bar? Heh... at _this_ bar, come to think of it..."

"Oh, get over yourself," the senior Turk replied, rolling her eyes at the memory, "That was a one-time momentary lapse in judgment at a particularly stressful time in _both_ of our lives."

"I'm just sayin'..." Reno teased, "You have a history of gettin' me drunk 'n havin' your way with me. Not that I had any complaints about that..."

Nope... No complaints at all, there. And though he teased her about _how_ they'd wound up in bed together – maybe a little more than he should have, sometimes – he'd never _really_ felt taken advantage of, despite the circumstances. And he'd never quite managed to talk her into round two, either. That certainly didn't stop him from occasionally making the suggestion, however. If nothing else, her indignant reaction was usually good for a laugh.

"I can safely say that's _not_ going to happen again," Remy said, firmly, and waved the bartender over. "Another for him."

Reno smirked and accepted the drinks, downing the shot and raising his beer in salute.

* * *

Remy woke to an electronic screeching in her ear and a faint pounding in her head. She groaned, swatting groggily at her nightstand until it finally stopped. It couldn't _possibly_ be time to get up already. Obviously, she'd overdone it a bit last night. She really ought to know her limits better by now.

She sighed, and curled up against her pillow. Another five minutes wouldn't hurt. She always set her alarm extra early anyway. There was plenty of time. The senior Turk sighed and nestled her head into the soft warmth beneath her.

Just... five more minutes. _Maybe_ ten.

She smiled sleepily as a gentle pressure on her back lulled her back towards slumber, as if her covers were pulling her into a warm embrace. And then her eyes snapped open, as she realized she _was_ in fact, being embraced, and that her "pillow" had a heartbeat and was breathing softly. A feeling of deja vu came over her, as she suddenly found herself very much awake and the brain fog began to clear, reawakening memories of the previous evening.

"... No. Not _again_..." she groaned, in disbelief. She did _not_ get drunk and sleep with Reno _again_. She refused to even accept the idea... even if the visions of last night presently flashing in front of her eyes were telling her otherwise. Her "pillow" snickered.

"Hey... ya can't say I didn't warn ya."

Remy pulled away from her unexpected lover, and propped herself up on one arm. The redhead lay there, gazing up at her, wearing a decidedly smug grin, and all the denial in the world couldn't change the fact that she currently had a very naked twenty year old redhead in bed with her.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," she said with a resigned sigh. Did she really have _no_ self control whatsoever? What in Leviathan's name was it about the little imp that seemed to draw her in like this? She felt a blush creeping into her cheeks and was immensely grateful for the early morning shadows. That question was entirely too easy to answer, unfortunately. Reno was blatantly attractive and unabashedly sexual. And, unless her sake-soaked brain was exaggerating things to truly tawdry romance novel levels, he was also... very _talented_ in that department, as well.

Reno's grin widened momentarily, before it faded to a somewhat more serious expression.

"Um... all teasin' aside... you're not gonna, like, freak out 'n start avoidin' me again, are ya? 'Cause, I mean... I'm guessin' this wasn't exactly... ya know... entirely intentional for either of us." He paused for a moment, studying her. Remy sighed and laid back down, letting her head rest on Reno's chest, her arm draped across his torso.

Dear Leviathan, he'd changed so much just in the short time she'd known him. The first time she'd met him, he was scrawny, undisciplined, nervous...

Alright... admittedly, he could _still_ be a bit undisciplined at times. But he certainly wasn't the scrawny, nervous little sixteen year old she'd been introduced to just over three years ago. Or, for that matter, the slightly less scrawny and nervous little seventeen year old she'd inadvertently gone to bed with more than _two_ years ago. Her fingers lightly grazed his soft, porcelain skin and the firm, taut muscles of his stomach.

Reno was... _undeniably_ an adult now. He wasn'ta rookie anymore, either. And he'd _certainly_ been more than willing last night, even if copious amounts of alcohol _had_ been involved. For both of them.

And frankly, it had been awhile for her. Her level of dedication to her job had a notable effect on her love life... as did her general aversion to going to bed with the first warm body that came along. Present company excepted, apparently...

She hadn't been with anyone since... well, for far too long.

She lifted her head slightly, her eyes falling on Reno's face and the vaguely curious expression he now wore as he waited for an answer. For Leviathan's sake... did he really _have_ to be so pretty? It made him much too difficult to resist. Especially given that she had rather spectacularly _failed_ resisting twice now.

Which... made her wonder why she was even bothering to try. The longer she pondered on it, the less sense it made. She honestly couldn't come up with a plausible reason to deny herself from indulging in such activities with a fellow consenting adult she was _clearly_ attracted to.

"... Is... that offer still open?" she suddenly found herself asking. The redhead blinked.

"... Offer?" he queried, with a look of confusion.

"The one you first made me quite some time ago. Free, no-strings-attached sex? Whenever I wanted it? If I recall correctly, you said all I had to do was ask..."

The teasing grin returned in an instant.

"Heh... You finally askin'?"

She almost couldn't believe it herself, but... yes. Apparently, she _was_.

"We have exactly thirty-eight minutes before we need to be up, dressed, and out the door if we're going to be on time for work... and I _intend_ to be on time for work. Skip the foreplay," she stated, and Reno's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Yes, _ma'am_..." he snickered, and rolled over, taking her with him. Remy found herself beneath the slender redhead, as he obligingly – and enthusiastically – did _exactly_ as she'd requested.

~end chapter 27~


	28. Investigation

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 28: Investigation**

 **by Desha**

"This is _not_ a relationship," Remy said firmly as her car sailed down the freeway. She could feel her passenger's eyes on her as she drove... could practically _sense_ the smirk.

"I'm pretty sure we agreed on no-strings-attached..." Reno pointed out. The senior Turk shook her head as she took the exit into Sector 0.

"I just... want to be clear. I'm _not_ interested in a significant other, and the last thing I want to do is lead you on. I just want someone to... take care of certain _needs_ from time to time. If this is to continue, then there needs to be some ground rules."

Reno leaned back and snickered.

"Would ya relax, Remy? I'm not lookin' for a commitment here, either, ya know. Nothin' wrong with sex for the sake of sex." He winced slightly as he shifted in his seat. "Sex with a fucked up shoulder, though... _that_ mighta not been the best idea I've ever had. Gonna be feelin' _that_ for awhile."

She shot him a glare, and he laughed.

"Okay, fine," the redhead chuckled, "So what are these 'ground rules'?"

"First... I don't want to _date_ you. I just want to sleep with you. We will not be going out for dinner or to the movies or anything like that."

"Works for me..." Reno replied, with a chuckle. He loved it when a woman knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to ask. And Remy wasn't the type to be afraid of much of anything.

"And second... We do not discuss arrangements, prior _or_ future, in the office or while on duty. I'd like my private life to remain private," she replied. Reno shrugged... and immediately wished he hadn't, because his shoulder was still sore as all fuck from earlier. That little stipulation didn't exactly surprise him. Remy... much like Tseng... was a very private person by nature. _He_ didn't really care one way or the other, personally. He allowed himself a small smirk.

"So... does that mean ya _don't_ want me to inform everyone in the office you're bangin' me now?"

"Reno!"

"I'm _kiddin'_! Lighten up, Remy. I actually kinda like the idea of bein' your dirty little secret..." he teased.

"Reno, I swear to Leviathan..." she began, and the redhead quickly sobered.

"That was joke. I make jokes. It's what I do," he said, heading things off before she legitimately took offense. "Look... I'm good with however you wanna do this. You want me to just continue to keep my mouth shut, that's fine by me. I told ya a long time ago... I'm not big on braggin'."

"Hmph... says the Turk known to most of the building as our resident Lothario."

"... Our resident what now?" he asked, unable to place the reference.

Remy shook her head and smiled finally. "He's... a character in a very old book. Nevermind. It just means you have something of a reputation."

The redhead snickered. " _Ooooh_... you mean I'm the company bicycle." Remy glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Heh... ya know. Everyone's had a ride?"

The female Turk rolled her eyes and turned into the entrance to the company parking deck.

"For the record... it's not me braggin' that's earned me _that_ reputation," he added, grinning. "Just... ya know. Word gets around. Turns out the girls down in the secretarial pool are all terrible gossips."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not especially. It's all _true_ ," he replied, laughing, and resisting the instinct to shrug again. "Well... _mostly_ true. I'll admit, I've heard a fewrumors that might be a _little_ exaggerated _._ Actually, it makes it a lot easier to find a date these days, so I really can't complain." He paused for a moment, and glanced over at her, uncertainly. "Uh... speakin' of. I'm not _tryin'_ to be an asshole, but... you're not, like, expectin' this to be an exclusive thing, right? 'Cause I'll be honest with ya... I'm not real good with exclusive. Which, I know kinda makes me a total manwhore, but... I don't wanna give ya the wrong idea here."

Remy pulled into her parking space and shut the car off.

"Let's... just agree that _your_ sex life and _my_ sex life are our own business outside of where they intersect and leave it at that."

"Fair enough."

This may have been the most practical, business-like arrangement he'd ever had with a woman, but it was definitely something he could get on board with. It didn't hurt that Remy was hot as fuck in bed, of course, and he readily would have agreed to whatever she wanted... but he hadn't been joking about liking the idea of keeping this on the down low... though for an entirely different reason than Remy had. Honestly, it _kind_ of turned him on.

He smirked and released his seatbelt. "So... just outta curiosity... at what point do ya consider us 'on duty'? Ya know... so I know when to stop makin' lewd suggestions 'n shit."

Remy returned his smirk and undid her own seatbelt. "I think right about _now_ is appropriate."

* * *

Friday seemed to go by in a blur... for everyone _except_ Reno. He was still on medically mandated light duty, and, as the two most experienced rookies had been sent off with more senior members of the team, and Liam was with Veld and Tseng partaking of a strategy evaluation elsewhere in the building that afternoon, the redhead had found that _his_ day had ground to a screeching halt shortly after lunch. He'd been relegated to grumbling over his long-ignored pile of paperwork.

The weekend, however, had proven to be a pleasant deviation from his usual routine. Remy had called him around nine on Saturday night. He didn't return home until late Sunday morning, and he couldn't help but think that if _all_ of their encounters were like that... he was _really_ going to enjoy this little arrangement.

Not that he'd never had a nice friends-with-benefits setup prior to this. He and Lira had been doing just that for basically as long as he'd known the woman. And Izzy had been more than happy to provide him with a warm bed and a soft body whenever she was free after work – and on more than one occasion, _during_ work – until she'd up and married some guy from legal last year and quit sleeping around.

Well... _he'd_ stopped sleeping with _her_ , on account,anyway. Reno wasn't interested in in being the "other guy". It never ended well, and his experience with Rufus' former secretary and her trigger-happy fiance had been all the proof of _that_ he'd ever need.

But with Remy, it had been a little different. There'd been no small talk. No flirting. No awkward goodbyes afterwards or offers of breakfast the next morning. He was there for one reason, and neither of them were interested in the general niceties. They'd just gotten straight to it... and when they were done, he'd left and gone on with the rest of his weekend.

It was... pleasantly simple, actually.

That, however, was in the past. Today, he found himself begrudgingly dragging himself through the all-too-familiar doors on the ninth floor, and presenting himself and his formerly dislocated shoulder for examination.

"Well... don't _yeh_ look like yer pleased ta see me taday..." Dr. Ward commented upon seeing his resigned scowl. Reno fixed her with an irritated look.

"Can we just get on with this? I'm sick of sittin' around the office all day."

Ward chuckled and escorted him back behind the privacy curtains.

"How does yer shoulder feel, then? Yeh've stopped wearing the sling, I see."

"Little stiff 'n sore when I first wake up in the mornin' the last couple of days... but other than that, seems mostly okay."

Ward nodded. "Let's check yer range of motion, then," she said, "Arms straight out in front of yeh."

The redhead complied, and the doctor took him through a series of poses that resulted in him looking like some sort of deranged pinwheel for several minutes until she was finally apparently satisfied with results. She nodded in approval.

"Yer not _quite_ a hundred percent... but I think yeh'll be alright ta resume _most_ of yer normal duties. Noheavy lifting until I say otherwise, though, and stay off that Titan-forsaken obstacle course fer at _least_ three more weeks. Don't over exert yerself, and be sure ta use whatever common sense yeh may possess, fer once in yer life. If something yer doing is causing yeh pain, _stop_ doing it."

Reno snorted softly in laughter. "Yeah, yeah... I hear ya. So... I'm good? The boss can put me back in the field?"

"Yer cleared fer general duty," she replied, reaching into the pocket of her lab coat and pulling out a somewhat off-white colored sucker, "Just... be mindful of yer limitations, and _try_ not ta re-injure yerself. And I want yeh ta check in with me in two more weeks just ta be sure it's healing up proper."

Reno grinned and popped the candy in his mouth savoring the sweet taste of artificial pineapple. "Splurgin' on the tropical flavors this week, huh, Doc?"

"I thought yeh must be getting bored of the the standard ones by now," the doctor replied, "Off with yeh, then. Get ta work. I don't want ta see yeh down here again until yer recheck."

"Heh... you 'n me _both_ , Doc..." he said, grinning as he made his way out of the medical suite.

He didn't even make it onto the elevator before his PHS rang. The redhead grunted in annoyance and fished the phone out of his pocket.

"Yeah, boss? What's up?" he answered, pressing the elevator's call button.

"Has Justinia cleared you for field duty?" Tseng asked. The doors slid open with a faint chime.

"Uh... yeah, actually. Just got done with me. I'm literally steppin' into the elevator right now. Why?"

"Head straight to the roof. Rude is already prepping the helicopter. There was a theft in Junon last night, and our SOLDIER killer's signature was found at the scene."

"On it," Reno replied. He ended the call and hit the button for the roof instead of the Turks' offices. He was quickly delivered to his destination and strode out into warm spring air made just slightly chillier by the stiff winds that blew so high above the city. He spotted Rude aboard the aircraft, going through the pre-flight checklist and hurried over to join him.

Reno swung himself up into the cargo section of the copter and hauled the door shut behind him before he made his way forward into the cockpit.

"Gettin' an early start on shit this week, I see," he said by way of greeting.

"Hmph... Shiva forbid we ever have a nice, _quiet_ Monday morning," Rude chuckled, "Tseng fill you in already?"

"The boss just said somethin' got stolen in Junon."

"Two shells for the base's mako cannon turned up missing this morning. Three spent bullet casings left in their place," the bald Turk replied. "Lieutenant Commander Nacelle is expecting us."

"Tch... better not keep Vir waitin' then. Somethin' got swiped on _her_ watch, ya know she's gonna be _pissed_."

* * *

"Tseng... a word please," Veld called out as the Turk lieutenant was on his way towards the elevators. Rufus was expecting him. That, in fact, was the reason he'd sent Reno to accompany Rude to Junon, rather than going himself. He seldom passed up an opportunity to pay Viridia a visit unless he had other commitments... even if it was only a very short visit that happened to accompany a situation briefing followed by an investigation.

"I'm afraid I only have a few minutes, sir... I'm due to escort Rufus on his inspection of Fort Condor shortly," he said, in a clipped tone. Even having the weekend to calm down, he was _not_ happy that his mentor had sent Reno into Scarlet's domain against his express recommendations.

"It won't take long," the Turk leader replied, beckoning him into his office. Tseng joined him, pulling the door shut behind him. "You're still angry with me, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir... quite frankly, I _am_ ," Tseng said, "There was no reason subject Reno to that. Remy, or any of the others, for that matter, could have handled it. I trust you've had time to look over their statements?"

Veld gestured to the pair of chairs in front of his desk and Tseng took a seat, his superior following suit a moment later.

"I have. And I must admit, I found it to be rather disturbing reading. I... didn't realize he'd been so adversely affected by what happened at Christmas. I simply thought it would be a good opportunity for Reno to face her and put it behind him once and for all, for his own peace of mind," Veld explained, "I'm forced to concede that I was... wrong. I shouldn't have sprung it on him the way I did. He wasn't prepared for it, and it likely only ended up reinforcing the initial trauma. At the very least, I should have consulted with you _first_. I'm... sorry."

Tseng was somewhat stunned by the admission. It wasn't often that Veld openly admitted that he'd made a mistake. Though to be fair, if wasn't often his mentor _made_ a mistake like this, to begin with. Not at this level, anyway.

"You... had his best interests at heart, sir," Tseng grudgingly allowed. Veld nodded in acknowledgment.

"I did..." he replied, and then gave a rather self-deprecating chuckle, "Titan save us from people who mean well."

Tseng cracked a small smile at that comment. "Yes, sir."

"You realize, though, that simply keeping him away from her is _not_ a permanent solution? She's an executive, and Reno is a Turk. Eventually, he's going to end up having to interact with her for one reason or another."

The younger Turk sighed and looked earnestly over at his mentor.

"Yes, sir... I know. But as last week's incident, I think, very _clearly_ demonstrates, forcing the issue will do more harm than good. He's far more troubled by what happened then he lets on. That, combined with everything _else_ that has happened over the past few months... I... _have_ been considering suggesting that he speak with someone. I suspect he'll be resistant to the idea, though. With the exception of Dr. Ward, he's not overly fond the company medical personnel." He sighed again and shook his head, "And frankly, I think he finds it too humiliating to speak to _me_ about it in any great detail. My opinion of him... matters to him. Perhaps more than it really should, sometimes." 

"Hmm..." Veld replied, nodding. And then he smirked slightly. "Back in the day, when I was occasionally worried about _you_ and knew you wouldn't talk to me about whatever happened to be bothering you... I had a habit of offhandedly mentioning my concerns to Kai."

Tseng's eyes narrowed at his mentor. "That really should surprise me far less than it does, sir."

Veld chuckled. "I'm just saying... it can be hard to admit your perceived failings to your mentor. Sometimes a young Turk needs someone slightly less... deified."

"I don't think Reno has placed me on quite _that_ high a pedestal, sir," Tseng deadpanned, rolling his eyes slightly, "But... perhaps I _will_ have a word with Rude when they return from Junon."

"A wise idea, I think," Veld agreed. "I won't keep you any longer. Go and see to Rufus. Preferably before I receive an angry phone call demanding to know where you are..."

* * *

The mountain range was still capped with snow as they passed over... though it was obvious that it was quickly receding as spring wore on and summer drew closer. In a month or two, it would only be found on the highest of peaks.

"Do anything interesting this weekend?" Reno asked, glancing over at his partner in the pilot's seat. Rude shrugged and shook his head.

"... Not by _your_ standards," he chuckled.

"Tch... and just what's that s'posed to mean?"

"There was Shadow & Sword marathon. It ended with the mid-season finale and a behind the scenes special on Sunday night."

Reno groaned and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, man... how can you _watch_ that crap? Only time it actually gets interesting is when they finally get around to killin' someone off."

He heard Rude laughingly snort over his headset. "I don't get why _you_ of all people hate it so much. Half the show is sex and violence. Seems like it'd be right up your alley."

"Tch... what's the appeal of watchin' people _pretendin'_ to fuck when ya can just flip to one of the porn channels 'n watch 'em gettin' it on for real?" he replied, "And anyway... ya gotta listen to all the political bullshit and the romantic bullshit and the family lineage bullshit in between the halfway decent shit. It's _boring_."

Rude sighed heavily, shaking his head. "I give up..."

"Hmph... good. That means we can talk about somethin' else. _Anything_ else," Reno snickered.

"What'd _you_ get up to?"

"Eh... not much, really. Had a date Saturday night. Spent most of Sunday playin' games. Though I _did_ finally get around to cleanin' some of the crap outta my closets. I'm _still_ tryin' to figure out how the fuck I've managed to collect so much _stuff_ since I moved up to the Plate. I came up here with literally everything I owned in a goddamn backpack. Now I'm runnin' outta closet space."

It was true. The sheer amount of accumulation was a bit staggering. Things he'd bought. Things he'd been gifted. It had all added up so gradually that he hadn't even realized how cluttered his place had been getting until he'd been showered in a minor avalanche of t-shirts awhile back. He'd been putting off the purge for quite some time now.

"That's what happens when you don't throw anything out for three years..." the bald Turk laughed.

"Hey, I'm not _used_ to just tossin' shit, man," the redhead protested. "It's weird for me, ya know? Hell... before I was a Turk, I had clothes that mighta been more patches than actual clothes before I finally had to quit wearin' 'em."

Rude snickered and looked over at him. "You want help going through things? Hmph... before you go full hoarder on me..."

"... Yes, please," the redhead quietly admitted, and his friend laughed at his sheepish expression.

Junon came into view just beyond the mountains, and Rude veered more to the east, circling the military base while he radioed down for clearance to land. A short while later, they touched down on one of the helipads. Before the engines were even fully shut down, Reno spotted the familiar figure of Viridia Nacelle striding purposefully towards the aircraft.

"Uh, oh... she really _does_ look pissed," the redhead commented, hanging his headset up on the hook by his seat.

* * *

Rufus was... not the most pleasant of company this morning. Tseng had noticed it immediately, though he hadn't expected the young man's obvious displeasure to be so persistent. Normally, he rather enjoyed getting out of the city, even if it _was_ only a matter of company business. Today, however, they'd been en route to their destination for almost fifteen minutes and Rufus had hardly said two words to him.

"Sir..." the Turk lieutenant began, only to be silenced by a glare and a harsh sigh from the Shinra heir.

"Yes... I know," he snapped, though it was in a tone that suggested that he was actually _attempting_ to be less petulant than he currently felt. "I'm in a terrible mood."

"Is there something on your mind, sir?" Tseng prodded.

"Well, _obviously_ ," he shot back, pointedly rolling his eyes. "But it's not as if _you_ can do anything _about_ it..."

His father, then, Tseng surmised. The elder Shinra _had_ been getting on his son's nerves more often of late. Apparently, the Shinra heir was being pressured to find a companion of the female variety. Rufus was... less than thrilled by the intrusion into his private life.

"I simply don't understandhis obsession with me... _procreating_ ," he spat, when his escort didn't comment further. "And in any case... I detest children. Did you know he had the audacity to arrange for me to _meet_ some random woman for brunch later this morning?"

Tseng chuckled softly. "Ah... well, that certainly explains today's impromptu trip to Fort Condor. I assume we won't be returning until somewhere around lunch time?"

"I don't find this the least bit funny, Tseng," Rufus grumbled, "I don't enjoy being forced into such meetings. Besides which, when... and _if_... I choose to marry, it will most certainly not be to some high-bred harlot handpicked by my father."

"Forgive me, sir. I didn't mean to make light of your situation. I know firsthand how uncomfortable that can be. My own father was rather insistent that I marry at a fairly young age, and _I_ didn't care for the idea, either."

Rufus raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh? And how did _you_ manage to get out of it?"

"I left home the night before I was to meet my future bride, stowed away on the first boat heading in the general direction of Midgar, and joined the Turks, sir," Tseng replied, somewhat teasingly. The vice president snorted softly.

"I don't suppose you currently have any openings..." he deadpanned.

"Not at present, no."

Rufus sighed and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his seat. A moment later, he reached for the glass of wine he'd poured himself shortly before take-off.

"Is that really _true_ , Tseng?"

The Wutaiian Turk smirked slightly. "That we presently have no openings on the team? Yes, sir... I'm afraid so."

The younger man rolled his eyes and took a sip of his wine. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Yes... it's quite true," Tseng chuckled. "My father is... very controlling, and always has been. In retrospect, I suppose he _meant_ well, but it did no great favors for our relationship. _Obviously_ , given that we are no longer on speaking terms. It simply got to the point that I could no longer stand having my life lived _for_ me."

"I imagine he can't have been happy at finding that his legacy had up and left the country under cover of darkness..."

Tseng smiled slightly. "No, he wasn't. Though I had the good fortune to have been born the middle child of my family. Less was... expected of me in that regard." He sighed and shook his head. "But from what my mother told me after the fact, he was actually quite devastated by my sudden departure... though I don't think he ever _truly_ understood why I left."

"Do you... miss your family?" Rufus hesitantly asked.

"Yes, sir. Very much so," he replied, adding " _Even_ my father, on occasion. He will almost certainly never speak to me again, but for all our differences, he is _still_ my father. I can't help but care about him."

The Shinra heir suddenly smirked. "Well... at _least_ you won't have to worry about introducing him to the heir-apparent you've managed to produce. If he's anything at all like Father, I suspect the slum rat simply wouldn't be up to standard."

Tseng cocked an eyebrow at the younger man. "And just when did you come to the conclusion that Reno is my heir?"

"Please... I'm not _stupid_ ," Rufus said, sipping from his glass. "Aside from the fact that you've all but _adopted_ that little urchin of yours, you were _Veld's_ protege, and now you are his second in command. The slum rat is _your_ protege... Logic dictates that he'll eventually end up with your job."

"I must admit, I'm rather surprised. You don't seem particularly bothered by that thought anymore."

"Hmm... I'll take that as confirmation of my theory, then," he said, smugly swirling the remaining liquid in his glass. "That obnoxious little bastard is a constant source of irritation, and I _still_ think he's rather beneath you. But _he's_ not stupid, either. You could do far worse."

"I'm glad you approve, sir," Tseng replied, smiling faintly, "I _told_ you that Reno would eventually grow on you, if you just gave him a chance..."

"Hmph... He's grown on me, alright. Grown on me like a bad fungus..." Rufus snarked, drawing a soft laugh from the Turk. Well... it was progress, at least.

* * *

"You two! Follow me," Lieutenant Commander Nacelle demanded almost the moment Reno and Rude exited the helicopter. Reno's eyebrow rose in surprise, but he said nothing... simply fell into step behind the notably annoyed security officer. They were halfway down the tarmac before he finally spoke.

"So... I'm guessin' the higher ups aren't real happy about the theft?" he ventured, and Viridia came to a dead stop, turning on her heel to face him... and for a moment, the redhead was half-convinced he was about to be very painfully murdered.

" _That_ is putting it mildly," she snapped. Reno blinked and backed up a step.

"... Sound's like _you're_ not real happy, either."

"I have two rounds of highly classified ammunition inexplicably missing from the munitions storage, and several commanding officers breathing down my neck, wanting to know just how they managed to disappear. I don't have time to play nice with the Turks today!"

"Whoa... Easy, Vir. We're here to _help_ , remember?"

Viridia exhaled a long, aggravated breath, and resumed her course towards the aforementioned munitions building.

"I'm sorry," she said curtly, "But this isn't some _minor_ theft. Those shells were _mako_ rounds. You know the level of classification involved with _any_ kind of mako technology. If we don't get them back, heads are going to roll and as second in command of base security, _mine_ is dangerously close to the chopping block here."

"So let's make sure we get 'em back, then," Reno replied. Viridia escorted them through the, now even more heavily guarded than usual, munitions building, and down to the lowest level. The redhead had never been in this part of the base before... and he couldn't help but think that Sato would have thought he'd died and gone to heaven if he'd been the one to accompany him. The stockpile of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and other equipment was impressive even to _him_... and Reno didn't usually get all that impressed by weaponry.

"Uh... is it _safe_ to store so much shit that might just up 'n explode in one place like this?" he queried, as they passed a locked cage containing missiles for shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.

"Better in one place than scattered all over where we can't reliably keep track of it," Viridia replied. An explosion here would be significant... but mostly contained, even with the large amount of ordnance. This building is heavily reinforced."

"Point taken," the younger Turk responded... though he still wasn't sure how he felt about walking through was what was, essentially, a giant box of bombs. They stopped in front of yet another secure cage, and Reno blinked in surprise.

The far wall was lined with shelves that went from the floor, all the way to the ceiling two levels above them. And sitting on the shelves, in neat rows, were shells nearly as tall as _he_ was. Two slots were conspicuously unoccupied.

"How in the _fuck_ did someone walk off with _two_ of those things without anyone noticin'?" he managed, as Viridia unlocked the door to the secure compartment. The security officer responded with a glare. "Uh... right. I guess if ya knew that, we wouldn't be _havin'_ this conversation, huh?"

Rude walked over to the empty spaces, and picked up one of the three comparatively tiny spent bullet casings that had been left behind. He flipped it over, examining the maker's mark on the end.

"Same as Veld found next to the SOLDIER."

"I have to get back. We're in the middle of a base-wide search right now, trying to find where they got in... and back out again. _And_ we have patrols searching the countryside for any sign of the thieves. Someone has to keep things organized," said Viridia. Reno nodded.

"We'll let ya know if we find anything."

She took her leave with a sharp nod, and Reno turned to his partner.

"Okay, so let's say you wanted to steal an Ifrit-forsaken bullet the size of... _you_. Where would ya start?"

"... Security patrols," Rude replied after a moment. "First obstacle is to gain access. I'd need to know when and where I might have a chance at doing that."

"I think we can safely assume Vir's got that shit covered. Probably been grillin' her personnel all mornin'. She'll figure that one out before _we_ do. So... next step. You _somehow_ got inside. How the crap do ya _move_ one of these?"

Rude studied the shells for a moment before walking over to one and wrapping his arms around it. He could barely reach halfway. Not enough to get the kind of grip on it required to move it.

"Hmph... not by hand, that's for sure. Not sure I could do it, even with you helping me. Not that _you'd_ be much help."

"I'm gonna pretend that you _didn't_ just call me a weakling," Reno snickered, "Any idea how the base personnel move 'em?"

"Mostly automated, I think," he said, pointing to a large racking and crane system suspended from the ceiling high above them. He glanced around the somewhat cramped cage and spotted a controller hanging on the wall. Pressing the button marked "Down" caused the crane to whir to life and a cradle to descend to the floor. He smirked slightly and used the joystick to direct it towards the redhead, who grinned as he obligingly hopped aboard and was subsequently lifted upwards.

"Heh... Ya know, if I didn't think it'd get my ass kicked by Vir – and then probably by Tseng – I wouldn't mind playin' around on this thing for awhile," Reno called back down to him, "Hey, can ya send me over to that opening over there?"

He pointed to a small recess in the far wall with an arched opening in it. Rude did as requested, stopping the crane a short distance from the portal. It was dark inside. The service lights, apparently, didn't extend into whatever this little exit was, and the bottom of the tunnel looked to be a conveyor belt of some sort. Obviously meant to transport the shells either into or out of the building.

"Where d'ya think this goes?" Reno asked.

"My guess would be to the cannon's loading area," Rude replied, shrugging. The redhead supposed that made sense. Those shells had to weigh several hundred pounds apiece. It's not like you could just send some poor private to run down and grab a couple 'em in an emergency. A smear of color on the side of the tunnel caught his eye and he reached out, lightly touching the spot. His fingers came back coated in something slightly damp and blue.

"Paint?" he murmured softly to himself, rubbing his fingers together. Sure seemed like it. And given that everything else up here looked to be painted a bright safety-yellow... that was just a _little_ out of place. "Hey, Rude... Find out where this thing comes out 'n meet me over there. I'm gonna go check it out."

"... Try not get stuck in the machinery or anything. I'm _not_ explaining _that_ to to Lieutenant Commander Nacelle. And I'm _definitely_ not coming in after you."

Reno rolled his eyes and flipped his friend off as he stepped from the cradle to the motionless conveyor belt and ducked into the tunnel.

~end chapter 28~


	29. Disappearing Acts

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 29: Disappearing Acts**

 **by Desha**

Rude made his way up the narrow staircase that led to Junon's mako cannon control room. It had been fairly easy to confirm where Reno would eventually come out... but he'd had to stop and ask directions more than once to actually _find_ the place. It was hidden away in one of the more secure sections of the command tower. He'd gotten more than a few suspicious looks from security, as well... though, they'd left him alone once they'd realized who he was.

At the bottom of the stairs, he was confronted by yet another guard.

"This is a high security area. No unauthorized personnel. I need you to leave, immediately," he stated, one hand already on his gun. Rude held up his credentials.

"I'm authorized," he replied. The guard blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting that sort of reaction... and then paled slightly when he looked a bit more closely at Rude's ID card and scurried to the side, out of his path. The Turk resisted the urge to chuckle as he pushed open the door and stepped into the control room. He _did_ occasionally enjoy seeing people do that. It was a power he hadn't been accustomed to prior to joining the Turks and one that was extraordinarily useful.

Rude had largely been a nobody back in Rocket Town. Quiet, shy, keeping to himself... Even when he'd gotten older and started flying for his dad's freight company, no one had really paid him much attention and they certainly didn't trip over themselves to get the hell out of his way. His promotion to the Turks had changed _that_ overnight... though it had taken him quite a awhile to actually get used to it.

Beyond the door, a small crew was manning the control room. From what he'd been told, there were people at the post round the clock in case the cannon was ever needed. A few of them eyed him curiously, as he made his way inside and walked up to the officer in charge.

"I'm Corporal Mitting, sir," she greeted him, saluting, "Base Security _said_ we might get a visit from the Turks. How can I help?"

"First... I'm looking for the cannon's loading bay."

A slightly confused expression crossed the young woman's face, but it quickly passed. "Er... yes, sir. Right this way."

She led him through a set of reinforced doors and into a large chamber, the ceiling of which was lined with the same sort of crane system he'd seen back in the munitions building. One full wall of the room was slightly rounded, bowing out into the otherwise largely empty space. A sliding hatch was positioned towards one end... and Rude could only stare as he realized that he was looking at the barrel of the cannon itself. A small part of it, anyway. He'd never realized just how big it really was up close.

At the far end of the room were bright blue barrels filled with, according to the labels, industrial lubricant... not the _first_ thing he would have expected to find down here... but then, the cannon was just a big gun, really. Guns had moving parts and those moving parts needed to be oiled from time to time.

"Where are the shells brought in?"

"Over here, sir," Corporal Mitting, replied, directing him to an opening that was the twin of the one down in the munitions building. "They're loaded in by crane down below and come up on a conveyor system. Then we load them out with _our_ crane, and move them over to the chamber."

"Any other way to move them?"

"We have a hand dolly for emergencies," she said, gesturing to the aforementioned equipment sitting over in one corner. It was a hefty little cart sporting what looked like a hydraulic lift. "You wouldn't want to try moving them by hand, though, if that's what you're thinking. It would take four people, minimum, and even then... they're _extremely_ difficult to maneuver because they're so large and heavy."

Rude frowned. "Would there be any way to get one out of the room once it was brought up from storage?"

The corporal shook her head. "It wouldn't even fit through the door. Besides the conveyor, there's only one way that _I_ can think of, sir. Fire it out of the cannon."

Rude grimaced as he realized that this was a bust. Even if the stolen shells _had_ been pulled out of the munitions stores via the crane, they'd still be _here_. There was no other way to get them out of the loading bay. They were back to square one.

"Don't s'pose anyone's thought to check the chamber," a voice echoed from the dark hole in the wall, and the unsuspecting corporal jumped in fright. Rude snickered. Sometimes it could be blatantly obvious who Reno's mentor was. He occasionally liked to take the opportunity to scare the ever-living crap out of unsuspecting personnel by appearing out of nowhere... though he wasn't _nearly_ as good at it as Tseng could be. The redhead emerged from the tunnel, brushing himself off. "Heh... That thing gets to be kind of a tight squeeze in a few places."

"Find anything?" Rude asked, ignoring his unusual method of arrival.

"... Maybe. Just not quite sure what, or if it's even related to the theft. You?"

Rude shook his head. "If they wound up here, they'd still be here," he replied. "Hmph... unless, like you said, someone loaded them into the cannon."

"Never hurts to check..." Reno replied with a shrug, turning to Corporal Mitting, "You wanna open that up for us?"

She hurried over to haul open the hatch, and a moment later, the redhead sighed at the sight of the empty space inside.

"Well... it was worth a shot, anyway. Ifrit forbid this be an _easy_ assignment."

* * *

Rufus gazed out from the viewing window near the top of Fort Condor, looking down at the plains below. The little outpost was quite remote. There were a handful of small towns within a day's walk or so, but by and large, it was uninterrupted terrain all the way to the southern ocean. The coastline was clearly visible in the distance, though the morning fog had yet to fully clear. He couldn't see much beyond the shore.

"Sir?" Tseng queried, reappearing from his brief meeting with the fort's commander. Rufus glanced over at him. "If you're ready, your... _inspection_... of the facility can get underway."

The vice president didn't miss the emphasis on the word. Tseng was clearly under no illusion that this visit was for any reason _other_ than to get him the hell out of Midgar for a few hours. Still... he had to make it look plausible. If his father checked in on him and learned that he'd spent the morning sitting around doing nothing, rather than joining his would-be "love interest" for brunch, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Tell me, Tseng... what do _you_ think of this little outpost of ours?" he asked, and Tseng smiled faintly at the obvious attempt at making this seem less like the younger man hiding out, and more like a legitimate company endeavor.

"I think that, if one has a distinct fondness for solitude, it would be absolutely perfect," he chuckled.

"Mmm... It _is_ quite isolated, isn't it?" Rufus agreed, "That's by design, of course. Fort Condor is meant as an emergency backup power supply for Junon. Naturally, we still _sell_ the energy produced by the reactor, but were it necessary, Fort Condor could take over for Junon's reactor at a moment's notice."

"I... was actually _not_ aware of that," Tseng replied as they exited the viewing level and strolled around the short walkway to the reactor entrance. The Turk opened the door and escorted Rufus inside.

"I only learned of it myself when we were on the brink of war with Wutai and the Board was discussing potential weak points that would need to be secured. Apparently it was Father's idea, years ago, when Shinra Company was still _constructing_ Junon," he said, "He _does_ know how to plan ahead... I'll give him that much."

Tseng chuckled. "Reconsidering your father's... advice... that you find a young lady, sir?"

"Absolutely _not_ ," Rufus returned, scowling, "I will _not_ be bullied into a relationship for the sake of passing my father's genes on to the next generation. I don't _like_ children. I don't _want_ children. I won't entirely rule out the possibility of that someday changing, but I will _not_ be having one any time _soon_ just to appease him."

"Am I to be practice for the eventual conversation you intend to have with you father on the subject, then?" the Turk lieutenant inquired, and Rufus paused for a moment. That _hadn't_ been his intention, truth be told... he'd merely felt the need to vent. But now that he brought it up...

"... Would you be _willing_ be subjected to my vitriol for the sake of practice?" he asked, curious, and the Turk laughed.

"Rufus... There are few things I _wouldn't_ be willing to endure for your sake. If you need a sounding board, I'm available." He smirked slightly. "Though... it occurs to me that Reno might actually make a better stand in for your father. You rather seem to _enjoy_ insulting _him_."

"Hmph... You will stop at absolutely _nothing_ to get me to accept the slum rat as your equal, will you?" he said, rolling his eyes. Tseng shook his head.

"I merely wish that you had others you could talk to like this. Others you _trust_ to the same extent you trust me. You so often berate your father's choices when it comes to those he surrounds himself with, but you seem to ignore the fact that most of them have known him for years. He considers many of them trusted friends. Don't forget... one day _you_ will be running the company, and capable as you _are_ , you can't do it all on your own."

Rufus snorted softly and turned to look at the Turk. "Fishing for a spot on my future executive board, Tseng?"

"Sir... you couldn't pay me _enough_ to do _that_ job," Tseng deadpanned. "I'm just saying... now is the time to begin laying the groundwork for when you eventually take over for your father. Because others are almost certainly already gathering allies of their own, and I would not want to see you outmaneuvered and have to fight for your own birthright."

The Shinra heir rolled his eyes. "As if I have anything to fear from the incompetent idiots Father has placed on the board..."

"Rufus, if you'll pardon me for being blunt... you are exceptionally intelligent and capable, but if anything will be your downfall, it's complacency."

The younger man paused in his bid for the next chamber of the reactor. "You... think me complacent?"

"I think that you should be very careful to avoid _becoming_ so. It never ends well... for _anyone_."

Rufus nodded, considering the advice. He had to admit... Tseng _wasn't_ completely out of line. He did, after all, have a bit of a history of thinking himself to be somewhat... untouchable. The war with Wutai and the numerous attempts to capture and/or assassinate him had very quickly divested him of _that_ notion, and as a result he was far more cautious these days when it came to his personal security. Perhaps, this time, he should take his friend's advice sooner rather than later...

Tseng was... probably the only person alive who Rufus truly believed acted in his best interests. Others all too often had ulterior motives that primarily benefited themselves... his own father included. But Tseng had always been beyond reproach. To his knowledge, he had never lied to him. He had never used him for personal gain. He seldom so much as asked a favor of the younger man, and when he did it was usually almost comically trivial by Rufus' standards. And that was why he trusted him so easily and so completely. He was the one person on the planet who had never betrayed him, and who the younger Shinra would have been legitimately shocked to his very core if he ever did.

Perhaps it wasn't wise to have only _one_ such ally. Though finding others would be... difficult. As much as it pained him to admit it... the only other person who even came close to measuring up to Tseng was the Ramuh-be-damned slum rat... a reality that irked him to no end, as giving _Reno_ credit for _anything_ was almost physically painful. Still, though he might not especially _like_ the redhead ninety-nine percent of the time... he could honestly say that he _did_ trust him.

"Sir?" Tseng prodded, and Rufus suddenly realized that he'd been standing in silence for nearly a full minute.

"Let's get this farce of an _inspection_ over with, shall we?" the vice president said, finally giving up on the rather pointless charade. "And then, I think, an early lunch in Kalm. I'd very much like to hear more about your opinion on those who are, as you put it, 'almost certainly already gathering allies of their own'... and what I should do about it."

* * *

Reno poked at his lunch, too deeply in thought to really care much about what he was eating. Occasionally, he reflexively lifted the fork to his mouth and took a bite, hardly even noticing.

They'd come up empty in the loading bay. And then, they'd come up empty back in the munitions building. It was pretty damn obvious those Ifrit-forsaken shells were only leaving one of two ways... either they went up the conveyor belt to the loading bay, or they left the same way they came in. The loading bay was a dead end. Literally. Once they were up there, the only way out was via the cannon itself. Logic would therefore dictate that they must have been removed via the munitions building's main freight elevator just like everything else coming into or leaving the facility... but they'd checked it thoroughly. Not only were there multiple cameras pointed at the damn thing and not a shred of footage of their thieves... it was connected directly to the Junon supply depot. Even if the thieves _had_ managed to get the shells out via the elevator, they wouldn't have been able to take them very far beyond that without being noticed. Supplies were _always_ coming and going from Junon. That building was never unmanned or unguarded.

Hell... even if they'd enlisted inside help, there was just no way in hell they wouldn't have been caught on at least _one_ camera, and Viridia's men had been combing though the footage since before he and Rude had arrived in Junon that morning. There was nothing.

"Tch... What are the odds the damn things fell into a black hole, or somethin'?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Pretty slim," Rude replied. Reno sighed and looked at the blue stain on his fingers. He'd _thought_ the paint might have had something to do with the theft at first... but he hadn't been able to make any kind of connection between the two in the three hours or so he'd been intermittently thinking about it. For all he knew, some maintenance guy had just gotten a little sloppy.

"We're _missin'_ somethin', man. We _gotta_ be. There's no way in fuck these Zenshou guys are _that_ good." He pressed his palms against his face, and groaned in frustration. "Okay... Let's start over. If you were gonna steal a giant goddamned bullet from a secure military facility what's the first thing you'd do?"

"Reevaluate my life choices," Rude replied. The redhead opened his mouth to reply, but instead merely ended up laughing. Rude cracked a teasing smile in response.

"Heh... Yeah, okay. I think I kinda needed that," Reno snickered, "I just don't get it, though. These fuckers are _huge_. How the crap do ya get one of 'em, let alone _two_ , off base with not one single goddamn person seein' ya do it? It's... fuckin' _impossible_."

"Hey, I'm just the muscle," Rude joked, " _You're_ the brains of this operation."

The redhead snorted a laugh, and then sighed, resting his chin on one palm.

"Think the position might be open if you're lookin' to move up... 'cause I got _nothin'_. I just don't see how it could be done. Every time I think I got something that's even _remotely_ possible, I run into the fact that there's a literal fuckin' army guardin' this place. There are eyes everywhere. _Cameras_ everywhere. And after what happened at the treaty signing, security's tighter than ever. Not to mention, we're like five hundred feet in the air."

"Three hundred... not that it makes much of a difference in this case."

"There's no goddamn way in the Nine Hells someone could take those things off base. There's just no fuckin' _way_. They'd have to be some kinda magician."

"Doubt a few card tricks and little sleight of hand would help them pull _this_ off. Can't exactly hide 'em under your hat, after all," Rude replied.

"Yeah..." Reno sighed. Besides... magicians were all just professional bullshitters anyway. Making you look left when you outta be looking right...

The redhead suddenly blinked and sat up. He glanced down at his fingers again, rubbing at the blue paint... and grinned.

"Holy _fuck_..." he breathed, as an idea began to form in his mind. He shook his head. "No... No way they're that ballsy."

"... You gonna share?" his partner asked, "Or do I need to spontaneously develop psychic abilities here?"

"They didn't _steal_ 'em," Reno said, still looking at the blue paint, "They _hid_ 'em. They knew they couldn't get 'em out, so they hid 'em and they're waitin' for an opportunity to get 'em off base. The shells are still _here_ somewhere."

That had to be it. There was just no other way. Take the shells. Hide them somewhere. Be patient. Wait until the coast was clear. Wait... until Junon stopped looking right and started looking left, instead.

They were playing the long game.

"Where?" Rude asked, perplexed.

The redhead's eyes went wide as he realized _exactly_ where they might be. Reno held his hand up, displaying the bright blue stain.

"Under their hat," he said, grinning.

* * *

Tseng smiled slightly as he watched Rufus enjoying the warm spring sunshine of Kalm. The younger man always seemed far more relaxed in the little village... which was probably why his visits to it were so frequent. He loved their various festivals and fairs, and had ever since he'd been a child.

At present, they were having lunch at a small cafe, seated at a table outside on a patio overlooking the main square of the town. Tseng had opted, at Rufus' insistence, to join him in partaking rather than merely standing guard over the vice president, and as he'd had a rather light breakfast, he'd agreed.

"Now, then," Rufus suddenly spoke, "I _believe_ , we had been discussing my complacency and the scheming of my father's so-called 'friends' on the board..."

Tseng sighed softly at the dismissive tone.

"Sir..."

Rufus held up a hand. "Rest assured, I _am_ taking you seriously on this, Tseng. I really _would_ be very interested to know who you think I should keep an eye on."

"I wouldn't wish to speak ill of Company executives, sir," the Turk lieutenant replied, and the younger man snorted.

"Please. I've heard some of the names your pet slum rat calls that fatass nitwit Father put in charge of your parent division. I suspect all of the Turks, yourself included, have _plenty_ you _wish_ to say... even if you don't generally have the audacity to do so."

Tseng frowned. "I clearly need to have another little _chat_ with Reno about self-censorship when we return to the office..."

Rufus suddenly smirked. "Is it true that you wash his mouth out with soap for each infraction?" he asked, almost joyfully, and the Turk was forced to chuckle. Word had gotten around the office about that quite some time ago, but he hadn't been aware that it had reached the vice president's ears, as well.

"Not... _every_ infraction, sir. He's improved significantly since I began using that particular method of correction. I'm willing to let his more harmless slip-ups slide these days.."

The younger man laughed, but quickly composed himself.

"Your candor will go no farther than myself... You needn't worry about them finding out."

"Then, sir... in my opinion, the greatest threats to you are probably Heidegger and Scarlet."

Rufus rolled his eyes. " _Those_ two? Please. Heidegger is utterly incompetent. Even Palmer has more brains than that idiot. And Scarlet is nothing more than a gold-digging whore."

"Heidegger is also intimidating and occasionally abusive, with a very large department working under him. Fear can be a powerful motivator," Tseng pointed out, "The General Affairs department oversees not just the Turks, but also the day to day operation of building security. And while not _directly_ under his command, he has cultivated friendships amongst the leaders of SOLDIER, as well. As for Scarlet... _she_ is a born manipulator, and power-hungry to an extreme. I doubt she even thought twice about sleeping her way onto the executive board. She will do whatever it takes to hold onto the power she has gained _and_ to amass more. She also has an established a history of simply... _taking_ what she wants."

He was quite sure that he hadn't been able to keep the angry growl entirely out of his voice, because Rufus curiously raised an eyebrow at that last sentiment. The young executive leaned forward, elbows resting on the table as he steepled his fingers before him in a gesture that Tseng was quite sure the younger man had actually picked up from himself over the years.

"I am admittedly not as well trained as a member of the Turks in the art of observation... but I know barely repressed anger when I hear it. Just what did she do that managed to provoke _you_ , of all people?"

Tseng sighed. He should have been more guarded. Reno had been very clear as to his feelings about discussion of this matter. It _wasn't_ Tseng's place – at _all_ – to bring yet another individual into the loop on the situation. But... Veld wasn't prepared to do much of anything official about it, and he himself didn't have the authority to go against his commander's orders. Rufus, on the other hand, was under no such stipulation and might be willing to help... though Tseng was hesitant to ask, given what the fallout might be. Still... it might be to their benefit at some point if he was, at least, aware of the generalities of the situation.

"... It's... something of a delicate subject, and very much a personal matter for one of my Turks. I'm not at liberty to discuss it in detail. Suffice it to say that Scarlet has been... making unwanted advances... towards a member of my team to the point that Veld and I have decided to keep them as far away from one another as possible for the time being."

Rufus frowned. "I _see_. And there's been no formal complaint... why, exactly?"

"For one, Veld doesn't wish to bring Scarlet's wrath down upon the entire department," Tseng replied. And while he personally would have liked nothing more than to go scorched earth with the woman, he understood his mentor's predicament. Scarlet was an executive. It wasn't as if she'd be fired, or even particularly severely disciplined. What's more, she was most _definitely_ the type to retaliate, and with her position in the company, her revenge could potentially be very painful for them all. There was also the little matter of her still being in Heidegger's good graces – and quite possibly, still in his bed, from time to time. If she took her grievances to _him_ , things could get very messy indeed.

"For another," he added, "The individual in question would prefer the situation _not_ turn into the latest subject for the company gossip mill."

"Would you like me to step in on your behalf as I did with Hojo?" Rufus queried, and Tseng smiled.

"I appreciate the offer, sir... and if things fail to improve, I may still take you up on it... but I fear that right now, it may ultimately do more harm than good. Veld and I will figure _something_ out for the long term. In the meantime, we will simply continue to institute a policy of avoidance."

"As you wish," the vice president replied, with a dismissive wave. "Though frankly, if your long term solution turns out to be hurling her bodily off the edge of the Plate, I wouldn't be especially devastated... nor would I _tell_ anyone."

The Wutaiian Turk chuckled softly.

"Your discretion is very generous, sir," he said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

* * *

"Remind me... _why_ are we doing this?" Rude asked as he followed the redhead through the somewhat claustrophobic passageway. The conveyor belt led upwards at a fairly steep angle, and at present, he had to crawl on his hands and knees because the ceiling was too low for him to stand and stooping had become uncomfortable in the extreme. Reno, too, was creeping along their path, though he didn't really seem to mind the cramped space. Of course... he _fit_ a lot better.

"'Cause I got a hunch..."

"Hmph... I'm _going_ to have a hunch by the time we get out of here. In my back," the bald Turk replied, "But I _meant_ , why are we going _this_ way where there's a perfectly good staircase in the command center...?"

"'Cause if I'm right, I don't wanna tip 'em off yet. If the shells really are still here, there's a pretty good chance the thieves are still here, _too_. We play our cards right, maybe we can get our shit back _and_ nab the fuckers," the redhead said.

"Hmph... over-achiever," Rude teased, "So... you ever gonna tell me what this hunch of yours _is_?"

"Come on, Rude. Where's the best place ta hide somethin'?" Reno asked, glancing back at his partner.

"I can only assume it's in a the loading bay of a giant cannon, since that's where we're heading..."

Reno snickered as he finally reached the top. "Man... who turned _your_ snark meter up to eleven today?"

Rude rolled his eyes and dragged himself out of the tunnel and into the larger chamber at the top, grateful to finally be able to unfold himself. He shook his head.

"You're always about six steps ahead of me when it comes to this kind of thing. Would it kill you to just _tell_ me the answer once in awhile?"

The redhead flashed him a grin. "Best place in the world to hide _anything_ is in plain sight... 'n I think that's exactly what they did." He walked over towards the collection of lubricant barrels stacked in pairs in the corner of the loading bay. "I'd say two of these things stacked on top of each other'd be _just about_ the right size..."

Rude blinked and hurried over to join the redhead, who, by then, was edging his way around one side of the pile. He tapped on one of the barrels with his knuckles, eliciting a hollow, metallic sound, and shook his head before moving on to the next. Rude quickly joined in, checking the barrels one by one. On his third attempt, instead of a hollow echo, his knock was met with a dull thud.

" _That_ sounds promising..." said Reno, as Rude lifted his ever-present sunglasses for a better look. The barrels in question were near the back, out of direct view. He touched the side of the lower barrel, and felt the telltale tacky sensation of not-quite-completely-dry paint. Looking closer, he suddenly realized that the surface hadn't just been painted blue... it had been painted with enough detail that, from a distance, it actually _looked_ like two separate barrels stacked on top of one another. He rubbed away some of the paint, revealing part of the Shinra logo stenciled on a silver surface.

"I don't believe it..." Rude breathed, "I was looking _right at them_ just a few hours ago."

Reno, meanwhile, was continuing his own search. He finally tapped against a barrel in the back row that made the same sound Rude's had. He grinned.

"Think I just found number two..."

"I'll notify Lieutenant Commander Nacelle," said Rude. "She'll be relieved to get them back."

"Tell her to come up the same way we did. Don't wanna go drawin' attention to anything if our Zenshou thieves or anyone they got workin' with 'em are hangin' out somewhere nearby."

As Rude moved off to make a phone call, Reno crouched down next to the camouflaged artillery shell. There was still something he didn't quite understand. How the crap were they planning to get them off base once the heat died down? This was _still_ pretty much a dead end, and the supply depot was _still_ pretty much impossible to avoid being seen hauling two giant mako shells if they decided to backtrack... even if they _had_ been disguised.

Sure... there was the cannon. But what were they gonna do? Climb inside and _push_ them out the end? Okay, yeah, a person could definitely do that with a little effort... but who the fuck was gonna be there to catch them? It was a good three hundred foot drop, directly into the ocean. And they'd _never_ get an aircraft close enough for long enough to make the transfer. Hell, they'd have trouble even getting a boat in unless it was tiny and damn near silent. Junon security didn't screw around. Not that one of these shells could _land_ on a boat after a three hundred foot drop and not sink the damned thing. Or blow it up.

He huffed in frustration and got to his feet, walking over to Rude just as he ended his call.

"She's on her way," Rude said, tucking the PHS back into his pocket. Reno leaned back against the wall, and folded his arms over his chest.

"Now we just gotta find the assholes who thought they could help themselves to classified Shinra tech..."

The pair was silent for a few minutes, as they waited for the security officer's arrival. It wasn't long before a faint thunk, followed by a somewhat irritated " _Ow!_ " echoed up from the tunnel. A moment later Viridia emerged from the darkness. Reno grinned and straightened up as she strode over to the two Turks.

"Hey, Vir... Guess what _we_ found!" he said, smirking slightly.

~end chapter 29~


	30. Capture

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 30: Capture**

 **by Desha**

"You sure you don't need us to help out tonight?" Reno asked, spearing a piece of roasted asparagus and stuffing it into his mouth. Viridia shook her head.

"You found our missing shells _and_ figured out how they went missing in the first place. Junon security can take it from here. Besides... we don't even know that they'll try and move them tonight. Like you said... they're biding their time. We might catch them coming back for them tonight, or we might catch them a week from now. But we _will_ catch them. You can count on _that_."

The security officer had set up a rotating watch to inconspicuously keep an eye on the stolen ammunition's former hiding place. The shells themselves had been secretly moved to secure storage and stripped of their camouflage. She'd then treated the two Turks to dinner at a small cafe down in lower Junon to thank them for, as she'd put it, pulling her ass out of the fire on this one. They were presently enjoying their meal in the cafe's outdoor seating area. Rude, in particular, seemed relieved not to have to subject himself to the base's usual mess hall fare. The redhead shrugged and swallowed the bite.

"Suit yourself... I sure as fuck don't mind havin' the night off," Reno replied, and then grinned. "Just don't go tellin' Tseng that me 'n Rude decided to take you up on the offer to slack off 'n left everything to _you_ guys."

They planned to stay overnight at the very least. Maybe longer, depending on what orders they were given when they checked in tomorrow morning. If the boss wanted them to hang out in Junon until the Zenshou showed themselves, that's what they'd do... but there were other assignments that would eventually need handling, and like the Lieutenant Commander had said... their thieves might not make their move right away. The pair couldn't stay forever, and the length of their commitment to Junon was up to Tseng and Veld. Besides... it wasn't as if Junon Security couldn't handle things on their own.

"What's in it for me?" she teased.

"My eternal gratitude?" the redhead joked back. Viridia sat back in her seat, blotting the corners of her mouth with her napkin.

"I believe you've already promised me _that_."

Reno blinked. "I did?" he queried, searching his memory for any such declaration. Viridia snickered quietly.

"I'm sure you remember Commander Viddick... _and_ how I saved you from his endless, one-sided conversation? Tseng passed along your, and I quote, 'undying gratitude' after you got back to the office," she teased, smirking. The redhead groaned faintly at the memory. It had been is very first solo helicopter flight... and he _almost_ hadn't made it back to Midgar because a certain commander had refused to stop talking his ear off.

"Yeah... okay. I guess maybe I _did_ say somethin' along those lines..."

Rude snicked from behind his own napkin, but didn't otherwise comment.

"How about you promise to stay out of the women's _barracks_ , for once, instead."

 _That_ request drew a loud laugh from Rude, and a roll of the eyes from Reno.

"Man... You're no fun at all, Vir. Ya give me the night off, 'n then ya don't even let me enjoy it."

* * *

Reno grunted softly as he rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. Normally, he could sleep just about anywhere... but apparently he'd overdone it a little, hauling himself up and down that damn tunnel in the munitions building on all fours multiple times that day. His shoulder hurt. It wasn't agonizingly painful or anything... it was just a constant ache that was making it utterly impossible to get comfortable. More an annoyance than anything else... but he wasn't going to be falling asleep any time soon if this kept up.

"I _knew_ I should have requested my own room..." a tired-sounding voice in the darkness huffed.

"... Sorry, man," Reno sheepishly replied. "Shoulder's buggin' me."

He heard Rude sit up, and moments later the sound of his friend padding barefoot across the room. Reno rolled over onto his side in the somewhat futile hopes of finding a decent position he hadn't already tried, just as the other Turk emerged from the shadows, a pillow clutched in his hands.

"Uh... You're not plannin' on smotherin' me, are ya, Rude?" the redhead chuckled. Rude snorted softly.

"Hmph... I'd probably get a better night's sleep if I did..." he snickered and set the pillow down for a moment as he coaxed the younger Turk flat onto his back. He tucked the pillow underneath the redhead's left arm, elevating the injury slightly. "Better?"

"... Actually... yeah, it kinda _is_."

"Good. Go to sleep," he said, turning on his heel and making his way back to his own bed.

"Careful, pal... one of these days, I might get a little too used to you waitin' on me hand 'n foot like this after I do somethin' dumb. Ya know... like launch myself off a fuckin' ice ramp."

"Seriously... I'm tired. Go to sleep," Rude snickered, teasingly. Reno laughed softly and pulled the covers up over himself, fully intending to oblige.

Even after more than three years, he was still a little astounded by the sheer good fortune he'd had in meeting Rude. He really _was_ the best friend... the best _brother_... he ever could have asked for. Half-asleep and annoyed, Rude still went out of his way to make sure he was alright. Okay, so maybe in _this_ instance a part of that was because he wanted to get some damn sleep _himself_... but Rude _always_ had his back, no matter what. It was comforting, knowing how much he cared. Reno yawned and let his eyes drift shut, allowing sleep to claim him.

It, unfortunately, didn't last long.

* * *

She realized her mistake a moment too late. She'd thought there had only been three of them... had been absolutely _certain_ of it, in fact. As it turned out, she'd been wrong, and that error in judgment had cost her.

Viridia had insisted on taking the first overnight watch herself. She couldn't help but feel personally responsible for the theft to begin with, and she damn well wanted to catch those responsible, even though the mako shells had been recovered. She and two of her subordinates had staked out the loading bay in the hopes that the thieves were getting antsy and would walk right into their hands that night.

And they _had_.

Unfortunately for the small surveillance team, the Zenshou were ready for that eventuality. One of their number had been quietly kept in reserve. When Viridia had raised the alarm, alerting her men to the presence of the intruders, retaliation was swift and brutal. A sharp, stabbing pain in her abdomen had sent her to her knees on the floor of the loading bay. She'd responded in kind with a well-aimed ice spell, forcing her assailant to take cover... but the knife currently embedded in her stomach made it very apparent that these people meant business. It hadn't been a warning. It had been intended to kill her outright. A bit higher, and it very well _might_ have.

As her vision grayed momentarily, she realized that that was still a very real possibility. She was losing blood fast, and the rest of the Zenshou were drawing closer to her. She let loose with a barrage of ice magic, catching at least one of her targets dead on and sending him careening into the far wall, where he crumpled to the floor, shivering violently. The other two turned to flee.

By then, however, her _own_ men... as well as two additional friendly faces... were blocking their path. She smirked slightly as she saw that they weren't going anywhere... and finally collapsed.

* * *

Rude's fist sent the nearest Zenshou flying as he tried to make a break for it, and Reno, directly behind his partner, tripped up a second one as she tried to slip past the security officers responding to the alarm. A third emerged momentarily from the shadow of the loading bay door, only to very quickly assess the situation and duck back inside, taking cover.

When he'd been suddenly jolted awake just a few short minutes ago, for a brief moment, Rude hadn't known _what_ the hell was going on. It was Reno who caught on first, and with a hissed utterance of "The Zenshou..." had darted from bed, grabbing his weapons.

They'd actually been prepared for this possibility... though the redhead had been all but convinced that they wouldn't make their move this quickly. Even so, they'd left weapons in easy reach. Reno had even opted _not_ to crawl into bed nude for once, instead changing into light gray sweats at bedtime. A good thing, too... or the Zenshou might have gotten a better look at the Turk than they'd bargained for.

When the alarm had sounded, the pair had hightailed it the short distance over to the command center and found a fight already underway. They'd wasted no time in jumping in to lend a hand.

Reno shoved the female Zenshou into the waiting arms of Junon security and hurried towards the loading bay. Rude followed, leaving the man he'd just knocked out to them as well. On the way in, he caught site of yet another of their ranks on the ground, ice crystals coating his shivering form. _He_ wouldn't be much of a threat for awhile, so he ignored the man and darted into the room, eyes scanning for the one who'd fled back into the bay.

He didn't seen the Zenshou... but what _was_ waiting for them brought them both to a screeching halt.

"Vir!" Reno cried, dropping to one knee beside the fallen lieutenant commander. "Shit... She's bleedin' bad, Rude... Get some help in here, will ya?"

A loud bang echoed off the walls of the room, and the redhead's gaze immediately shifted to the source... beyond the hatch that opened into the barrel of the cannon. His eyes narrowed.

"Take care of Vir... I'll handle that last asshole," he ground out, and before Rude could respond, the younger Turk was bolting through the opening after the remaining Zenshou thief. For a moment, Rude was torn between backing up his partner and dealing with the injured security officer... but he quickly realized that the lieutenant commander was in much moreimmediate danger. Reno could take care of things on his own. Viridia needed medical attention, _now_.

That thought in mind, he scooped the unconscious woman into his arms and headed back to where they'd left her security personnel to deal with their prisoners.

* * *

It was dark inside the cannon... which kind of made sense, given that it wasn't exactly _meant_ to have people to be running around inside the damn thing. He'd seen the massive weapon up close any number of times... He'd even walked out along the _outside_ of the barrel once. But actually being inside of it gave him a whole new perspective of it's scale. He couldn't stand up straight... but he wasn't exactly crawling along on his hands and knees, either.

Ahead of him, he could see the opening, illuminated softly by bright moonlight... and the silhouette of the remaining Zenshou. As the redhead covered the distance between them, he could see that the man was hurrying to pull on some kind of backpack.

"Where the fuck do ya think _you're_ goin'?!" he growled, launching himself towards the man, mag-rod poised to strike. The weapon crackled with electricity, the current briefly casting a pale light on the man's face.

He was Wutaiian... no great surprise there, given that the Zenshou fucking _operated_ out of Wutai... but far younger than Reno would have expected. Just a kid, really. And when the light revealed his face, the Turk would have almost sworn he looked absolutely terrified. A new recruit to the organization, most likely... and probably pissing himself as he figured out just how in over his head he really _was_ right now.

"Give it up kid. You got nowhere left to go," Reno said, as he approached. To his surprise, however, the young Wutaiian turned, and, taking a few long strides... _jumped_. Right out of the end of the cannon.

"Hey!" Reno called after him, shocked, rushing to the edge himself. He reached it just in time to see a parachute opening. The redhead swore and slammed his hand against the side of the cannon barrel. There was little light down below, but as he squinted into the darkness, he could just make out the outline of a small boat just offshore.

He glanced down at his feet and saw several more parachutes sitting nearby. Apparently _that_ was how they'd been planning to get the shells out of Junon without them exploding on impact with a vessel or being lost underwater. For a very brief moment, he was strongly tempted to strap one on himself... but quickly came to the conclusion that that would _likely_ be suicide. Assuming he actually managed to do it without the Ifrit-be-damned fall killing him – and he wasn't fully convinced that he _could_ , given that he didn't really know how the damned things worked beyond pull the cord – he'd probably be outnumbered down there. And the Zenshou almost certainly would succeed where gravity failed. Reno swore loudly again and grabbed the remaining parachutes to show to security before making his way back inside the base.

As he clambered out of the cannon, he spotted more of Viridia's men hauling the half-frozen Zenshou off and Rude waiting for him.

"How's Vir?" the redhead asked.

"They took her to the med bay. She was already coming around by the time they got her loaded up on the stretcher. Think she'll be alright," he replied, "Where's the one _you_ went after?"

"Tch... the fucker _jumped_ ," he replied, tossing the parachutes on the ground. "These guys have balls, I'll give 'em that much. Had a boat down below. That asshole and whoever mighta been waitin' for him are long gone by now."

"Hmph... Well, we got three of them, at least. _And_ the shells they were after are safe. Not a bad night's work."

"Yeah..." Reno replied, "'Course _now_ I gotta call Tseng 'n tell him his girlfriend got stabbed. That's gonna be fun... You sure she was doin' okay?"

It wasn't _just_ the thought of having to tell Tseng she was hurt. Reno _liked_ Vir... and even though he had a bad habit of breaking a lot of her more minor base rules, he was pretty sure she liked him a lot, too. They weren't the _closest_ of friends... and, honestly, she occasionally still scared him a little... but she was certainly more than a mere acquaintance.

Rude smirked. "Let me guess. You wanna go check on her _before_ you call Tseng."

"Well, ya _know_ he's gonna ask for a full report, after all..."

"Come on... Security can clean up the rest of this mess. Let's go see what the doctors have to say."

* * *

When Tseng arrived at the Junon medical bay, it was well after two in the morning. Reno had woken him from a sound sleep three hours prior and he'd spent the interim in a rushed attempt to find transportation to the military base in the middle of the night... not the easiest thing to do at that hour, given that the helicopter assigned to the Turks was presently already _in_ Junon, but he'd at last managed to locate an available chocobo and had made his way south in the dark.

It had been a painfully _long_ ride, particularly while he was passing through the mountains and couldn't get a signal on his PHS for updates. The solitude had done little to put his mind at ease, even though his protege had assured him that Viridia's injuries had been seen to, and she was no longer in any danger. Such information was comforting... but all he really wanted was to be there _with_ her.

As he was riding the elevator up to the base, he wryly wondered if this was, perhaps, her revenge on him for having to endure such calls herself on more than one occasion over the years. It would serve him right, after all. He'd certainly had occasion to put the woman through her fair share of worry... and Viridia had always borne it admirably.

The medical bay was quiet when he entered, and he made it a point to avoid the staff as he searched for her. Visiting hours were rather strictly enforced on base, and he was _well_ outside of them at the moment. Fortunately, locating her room wasn't especially difficult, and he slipped inside silently. Most of the lights had been turned off, but one near the door had only been turned down low, and Viridia was clearly visible, sleeping peacefully in the bed... though as he made his way over to her, Tseng realized that she wasn't the _only_ occupant of the room.

Curled up in a chair in the corner, was a pile of fabric, that after a moment, the Turk lieutenant recognized as a blanket. It was concealing a somewhat familiar-looking lump that every once in awhile made a faint snoring sound. Tseng smiled slightly in spite of the reason for his late night visit. Reno didn't _usually_ sleep like that anymore. It was a habit he'd put behind him quite some time ago, and if he'd suddenly reverted to the old behavior, it was likely because he, too, was worried about Viridia.

Which also explained why he was _here_ ,in direct violation of the medical bay's visiting hour rules, instead of in a bed in the administrative quarters. He hadn't wanted to leave her on her own all night.

"He's been there since lights out," a voice whispered softly and Tseng turned, startled, towards the source. "Medical staff kicked _both_ of them out hours ago, but your little redhead snuck back in when their backs were turned."

Tseng chuckled softly and took a seat in the chair beside Viridia's bed.

"He can be quite... stubborn. And protective."

"Hmph... I can't _imagine_ who he gets _that_ from," she teased.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, reaching for her hand, and pulling it gently into his own.

"I've had worse injuries," she replied, tiredly. "All things considered, I got off lucky, really. The blood loss was the worst of it. The knife was partially deflected by my armor and the actual damage is surprisingly minimal. You didn't need to rush out in the middle of the night just to sit with me."

"But I have, and I'm here," Tseng replied, with a smile, "You'll just have to put up with me."

He leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

"Ugh... Gross. If you two are gonna start gettin' all sappy 'n sentimental 'n makin' out 'n shit, I'm gonna go sleep in the hallway."

Tseng snorted softly in laughter as he looked up and found Reno, having unearthed himself from his covers, sitting up and sleepily rubbing his eyes. He yawned widely and raised his arms over his head, stretching, and Tseng instinctively braced himself for the discomforting crack that act always made. To his surprise... it never came.

Reno, too, seemed a little confused.

"The fuck?" he murmured, and tried it again, with the same result... and his mentor couldn't help but laugh quietly as he realized what had happened.

"I think your latest injury may have somehow managed to _fix_ your previous one..." he chuckled. The redhead blinked, processing the idea.

"... Aw, _man_... How am I s'posed ta drive you nuts _now_?" he lamented. Viridia laughed, and then groaned, clutching at her _own_ injured torso... and then laughed again.

"Ow... oh, that hurts like the nine hells..." she managed between snickers, "You know... I always _knew_ that was the _real_ reason why henever wanted to do anything about that shoulder of his..."

" _I_ , for one, will not miss it in the least..." Tseng declared, smirking. He really _had_ always hated that. Not only because the sound was utterly gruesome, but also because he still felt a just a bit guilty for his part in allowing it to happen in the first place. He'd made any number of mistakes when Reno was younger... but that particular one had left his protege – as well as Tseng himself – with a rather hard to ignore reminder of the error.

The redhead rolled his eyes and gathered up his blanket.

"Tch... ya know... if you guys are just gonna sit there givin' me shit, I'm gonna go find an actual bed to collapse into," he said getting to his feet. Tseng chuckled and followed him as far as the door.

"Thank you for staying with her," the Turk lieutenant said quietly, and Reno shrugged in response.

"Just figured she might like the company. I know _I_ hate bein' stuck in the hospital on my own..."

" _You_ hate anything even tangentially related to the hospital," Tseng chuckled, and rested a hand on the younger man's shoulder, squeezing gently, "Go and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Reno bit back another yawn and nodded. "Yeah... 'Night."

Tseng softly closed the door behind him before making his way back over to Viridia's bedside and settling into the chair next to it. She looked over at him.

"I hope us teasing him didn't upset him... I didn't mean to make him feel unwelcome."

The Wutaiian Turk laughed and shook his head.

"Reno is _remarkably_ difficult to insult. I suspect he simply wanted to give us some privacy and took the first opportunity presented to him to do so." He took hold of her hand again. " _You_ , however, should be resting... It's late. Or early, depending upon how you look at it."

Viridia smiled and leaned back against her pillows. "Well, I probably _would_ be... if I didn't have such a handsome and distracting Turk sitting here beside me, lavishing me with attention."

"I could always go and join Reno and Rude in the administrative quarters until visiting hours begin for the day..." he offered, teasingly.

"Don't even _think_ about it," Viridia chuckled.

* * *

Rude poked at the lump beneath the covers on Reno's bed. It responded with a groan and a mumbled "Go the fuck away." The older Turk smirked and yanked the sheets away, revealing the redhead, curled up in the center of the mattress with a pillow over his head.

"I _said_ go the fuck away..." he reiterated, not yet venturing out of his little self-constructed cave. Rude grabbed the pillow next and tugged, only to be met with resistance as his friend's arms locked firmly around it and refused to let go. "Come _on_ , Rude... Five more minutes."

"Get up. Veld is expecting us to report in first thing," Rude reminded him. He heard a muffled sigh from beneath the pillow and at last, the redhead grudgingly shoved it aside and glared at him.

"Fine. But the mess hall damn well better have coffee ready, or someone's gonna die this mornin'... and I'm not rulin' out it bein' _you_ ," he groused, dragging himself out of bed. Rude snickered and backed off, letting the younger man finish waking up. Instead of continuing to pester him, he opted to check his email messages on his PHS instead. There was little of immediate interest.

"So what time did they finally figure out you never actually left and kick you out of the med bay again?" he asked, conversationally.

"Tch... They didn't. Tseng took over for me." He grinned suddenly, and added. "And if they tried to kick the _Boss_ out, I have a feelin' that Vir's not the only member of base security in the hospital this mornin'."

"Tseng's in Junon?" Rude asked, surprised. He knew that Reno had notified him of Lieutenant Commander Nacelle's injury, but he hadn't expected him to show up in the middle of the night.

"Yep. Got here at like... two, or so. Don't look so shocked. You know how Tseng is when someone's hurt."

"Hmph... yeah. He's almost as bad as _you_ ," he snickered. Reno rolled his eyes as he shrugged into his uniform.

"Oh, shut up," the redhead muttered, clipping his EMR to his belt. "Come on. I need coffee before I really _do_ kill someone."

Rude shook his head, chuckling quietly to himself. He'd never met _anyone_ who was less of a morning person than Reno, and the redhead seemed to be _especially_ cranky today. Fortunately, he'd spent more than enough time around the younger Turk to know not to take it personally.

A short while later, they were seated in Junon's mess hall, enjoying what passed for breakfast on the base. It was better than the Shinra Building cafeteria... but that wasn't really saying much. Rude wasn't a fan. Reno, on the other hand, was two coffees into his morning routine and was now gleefully bolting down everything in front of him.

"How long until he's tolerable?" a voice behind Rude asked, and the Turk cracked a smile as he turned and spotted Tseng standing just over his shoulder.

"He's only on his second cup, sir. I'd wait until he gets at least one more in him. He threatened to kill me when I woke him up this morning."

"Fuck you both," Reno replied, not bothering to look up from his meal. Tseng snorted and took a seat at the table. "How's Vir?"

"Recovering. The doctor seemed amenable to releasing her later today on bedrest in her quarters rather than the medical bay. Though I suspect that was largely because she threatened to put him in the brig if he _didn't_ agree to it."

"Sounds like she enjoys the hospital almost as much as Reno does..." Rude commented.

"Viridia... prefers to do things for herself. She's not fond of having people checking on her constantly. Nor do I think she was overly pleased when they insisted I leave the ward a short while ago."

"Told ya to take a hike, huh? How many of 'em did ya maim on the way out?" Reno asked, snickering. Tseng snorted faintly in laughter.

"I can assure you, there were no casualties. I left peacefully. As much as I would have liked to have stayed, I've yet to hear a full report from the two of you, and Viridia informed me that we have prisoners to interrogate..."

"Tch... up half the night, _this_ asshole wakes me up at some ungodly hour, 'n now _you_ want a full report? So much for an easy assignment..." Reno snickered, as he started in on his third coffee of the morning. He swallowed a mouthful and shook his head. "There's not a lot I didn't already tell ya on the phone last night, actually. There were four of 'em. Vir had her men on shift watchin' the spot we found the shells hidden. By the time me 'n Rude got there, it was mostly just a little cleanup work. Vir took one of 'em out herself before she got hurt... the other three tried to run. One of 'em ended up running straight into Rude's fist, 'n I nabbed another one... and the fourth one fucked off through the barrel of the canon 'n jumped before I could take him down. Fuckers had parachutes stowed away inside the canon. They had shit planned out start to finish, Boss. If I weren't so fuckin' annoyed at missin' one of 'em, I'd be impressed. We sent base security after the assholes and their boat once Vir was taken care of... but they were long gone by then. Far as I've heard, the search team didn't turn up shit... but I haven't had the chance to check in with 'em yet this mornin'."

"The one that got away... Did you get a good look at him?" Tseng asked. The younger Turk shook his head.

"It was dark. I caught a glimpse of his face before he jumped... Male. Wutaiian. Looked real young... maybe sixteen or seventeen. Not sure I could pick him out of a lineup, though. I barely saw him for more than a second or two."

The Turk lieutenant sighed. "Well, then... I supposed we'll just have to be content with the three the two of you _did_ manage to capture. I'll speak with base security and arrange for an interrogation room. Finish your breakfast, call Veld and give him an update, and then meet me at the security office."

"I'll join you, _now_ , sir," said Rude, brushing a few stray crumbs off of his hands, "I need a secure comm terminal to check in and see if my network has heard anything about the Zenshou's next target."

Tseng nodded, and the pair got up, leaving the redhead to his meal. They started towards the large building that, among other things, housed Viridia's security offices and the base's detention center.

"Rude, I have a... _personal_ request for you," the Turk lieutenant said as they made their way down Junon's main street, towards the tram car that would carry them to the upper level of the base.

"Sir?"

"I believe Reno has spoken to you regarding the incident at the Christmas party?"

"Yes, sir..."

"Has he mentioned anything to you about his more _recent_ run-in with Scarlet?"

Rude frowned. "Not really, sir... but I don't think he's in any hurry to bring it up, and I didn't want to ask. When he wants to talk to me about it, he will."

"I... would appreciate it if you _would_ ask. I'm concerned that he's trying too hard to bury this and simply pretend it never happened. He won't talk to _me_. I think he's concerned that I will think less of him for allowing it to affect him to the extent I believe it is," Tseng explained, adding, "I, of course, would _not_... but you know how he can be once he gets an idea like that in his head."

"Yes, sir. I'll... see if I can find a way to broach the subject with him."

Tseng sighed and glanced upwards as a pair of cargo plane took off and rose into the morning sky.

"Were it up to me, that Leviathan-be-damned woman would never be allowed anywhere near him ever again," the Wutaiian Turk said, a hint of anger seeping through his carefully constructed calm facade. "And... as pleasant as the fantasy can sometimes be... I don't think throwing her over the edge of the Plate is a very realistic way to accomplish that."

The younger Turk bit back a laugh at that mental image and nodded in understanding. He, too, would have liked nothing more than to protect Reno from Scarlet, but being an executive, there wasn't much he could do. The pair continued on in relative silence for the tram ride, and remained so until they at last reached the security building. Tseng scanned his ID card, granting them access.

Rude had expected to be greeted by whomever was on duty. Security was _never_ unmanned. But as they stepped inside, the reception area was suspiciously empty. Something wasn't right. He glanced over at Tseng, who was frowning deeply, apparently thinking that same thing. As they peered around the corner, down the hallway that led to the brig, their suspicions only deepened.

A booted foot stuck out of an open door about halfway down the hallway. The Turk lieutenant drew his weapon, and Rude quickly followed suit, as they silently crept towards the appendage. Tseng swore softly in Wutaiian as they reached the doorway.

It was a member of security. A very obviously _dead_ member of security. There was, surprisingly, no blood, but the man's eyes were open wide, staring blankly up at the ceiling. His neck bore the unmistakable marks of strangulation.

"Check the detention cells!" Tseng hissed, and Rude nodded, rushing to the far end of the hall and guardedly rounding the corner. He grimaced at the sight that greeted him. Two more security officers lay dead on the floor. A third was locked inside one of the cells, a knife in his chest, blood pooling beneath him... but still clinging desperately to life.

"Sir! We need a medic!" Rude called back to Tseng.

~end chapter 30~


	31. Planning

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 31: Planning**

 **by Desha**

"Well, that's just fuckin' _great_..." Reno muttered, glaring at the pool of blood that had been left behind in the wake of the medical team's arrival. The bodies had been removed, and the lone survivor carted off to the med bay, the evidence of the attack remained. "Who the fuck _are_ these assholes?! I mean, seriously... who just fuckin' murders their way out of Shinra military installation without anyone even noticin'?"

Tseng folded his arms over his chest and scowled as he shook his head.

"The Zenshou are an offshoot of a particularly violent Wutaiian crime syndicate. They're certainly not squeamish."

"Think they're stickin' around? Hopin' to get another shot at those shells?"

"... I'd say no," Rude cut in, "They don't call themselves the Zenshou Traders just for the hell of it. At the end of the day, they're all about profit... and they've already been captured once. Can't have been easy... or cheap... to get in the first time, and now the whole base is on high alert and knows what they look like. Gets to the point that even if they _do_ somehow get the shells, they won't be able to recoup their investment. Better to cut their losses and move on to the next job."

"So what now?" the redhead asked, glancing over at his mentor.

"We're done here," Tseng replied. "Rude is correct. The odds of them making another attempt after a failure like this seem slim. Your mission was to recover the missing shells... and you've done that. Time to return to Midgar and regroup. I suspect this won't be the last we hear of the Zenshou. As I understand it, Shinra presently owns _several_ items on their list. Rude? Go and prep the helicopter for our return trip."

"Yes, sir," the bald Turk replied, and hurried off to see to the order.

"Tch... so just like that, huh?"

"I'm afraid so. There's nothing left to do here that Junon security can't see to. We have other assignments," Tseng replied, guiding his protege out of the bloodied office and into the fresh morning air.

"I fuckin' hate failin' a mission," the redhead grumbled, and Tseng smiled slightly.

"I would hardly class this as a failure. You were _ordered_ to recover the Company's stolen property and capture the perpetrators. That's precisely what you did. Everything beyond that was out of your hands."

"I just feel like I shoulda seen this comin'..." the redhead lamented. If he _had_ those two guards might still be alive, and the third wouldn't be in emergency surgery right now.

"Reno... you have a brilliant strategic mind, but you cannot possibly predict every outcome," his mentor said, firmly. "No one can."

Reno sighed and at last nodded in understanding. Tseng was right, of course. It's not like he could see the future. He just... usually had better instincts than this. He heard Tseng chuckle faintly beside him.

" _Stop_ dwelling on it. That's an order. You can't be right one hundred percent of the time, and you're no more psychic than I am."

Reno snorted softly. "Says the guy who's always right about everything..." he replied.

"Hmph... the fact that you can say that with a straight face just proves to me that you didn't get _nearly_ enough sleep last night. You, of _all_ people, know that I have a far from perfect record in that regard."

The younger Turk cracked a smile at that and shook his head... but didn't voice a denial. Because that was true, too. Tseng had made his fair share of mistakes over the years, and Reno had been on the receiving end of more than a few. His mentor had always made it up to him, though... and he tried very hard not to make the same mistake twice.

"So... any idea what Veld's got for us when we get back?" Reno asked shifting the conversation to a new topic, and Tseng smirked.

"Actually... _I_ have an assignment for you. Or more specifically, I require your help with my _own_ assignment, and I intend to make very good use of you..."

Reno raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh, yeah? What's goin' on?"

"Sykes' Hell Week. You will be assisting me in planning his evaluation."

He blinked in surprise and came to a rather abrupt halt. Tseng, too, paused, and turned back to look at him, clearly amused by the reaction.

"I... always thought that was somethin' you were s'posed to do on your own."

"It is. And I will be _conducting_ his evaluation entirely myself, barring the occasions I need an extra set of hands, as is tradition. But the process is something that I... would like you to have a better understanding of. Particularly since your _own_ Hell Week went a bit off the rails."

Reno laughed quietly. "Yeah, I guess that's _one_ way to describe it..." he snickered.

* * *

For the remainder of the week, Reno spent the vast majority of his time sequestered in Tseng's office, devising what he jokingly referred to as – much to his mentor's disapproval – Rookie Torture Scenarios. As it turned out, there was _a lot_ more to Hell Week than he'd ever realized.

First and foremost, he hadn't known that there were three separate areas that were required in the evaluation. Every Turk got some sort of test in all three of those traits. The first was panic response... which was the same test, universally. The rigged elevator. He vaguely recalled Rude telling him – after Reno'd finally stopped shaking from his _own_ experience in the amusement park ride from hell – that _everyone_ got that one at some point.

The second was the modesty eval, which could, apparently, vary pretty widely in how it was conducted, but always had the same purpose: to determine just how comfortable a Turk was in their own skin.

The third was a simple hand-to-hand evaluation... which usually began with a sneak attack. Reno very vividly remembered his own experience with _that_ , as well. The bruises had stuck around all week, and he _still_ hadn't learned how to effectively counter the move that Tseng had used on him to finally take him down.

Everything else, however, was at the discretion of the examiner. Sometimes the tests focused on areas the rookie in question had obvious issues in. And sometimes they played to the rookie's strengths, to gauge just _how_ good they were with a particular skill. In Syke's case, Tseng had decided on a mixture of the two, though favoring skills the rookie needed to work on. Reno had suggested lockpicking and stealth.

Sykes was almost comically good when it came to stealth. You wouldn't have expected someone with his build and tendency to underestimate his own strength to be particularly agile and silent in his movements... but he _was_. Lockpicking, on the other hand... not so much. He lacked finesse when it came to small, fiddly tasks and quickly grew frustrated with them. The rookie wasn't so great when it came to disarming Sato's dummy bombs, either, for much the same reason.

His suggestions had made Tseng's shortlist of final candidates, as did a few others.

And Reno had to admit, he was enjoying himself. He liked working with the rookies. A lot, actually. Getting to help out with a Hell Week was a whole new experience, and he kind of wished that he could do more than just assist with the planning. But the evaluation was Tseng's job, not his. Still... he hoped his mentor would tap him to participate in an exercise or two at some point.

Kai, too, seemed to be holding out hope for that. She'd somehow gotten wind of the fact that preparations were officially underway, and had spent a great deal of her free time lurking near Tseng's office and "conveniently" bumping into the Turk lieutenant. Tseng, for his part, seemed to take a slightly sadistic pleasure in feigning ignorance anytime his friend tried fishing for information... to the point that the redhead had finally been unable to contain his laughter during their most recent run-in.

By Thursday, Reno, too, had gotten in on the teasing.

As he sat, quietly eating his lunch and pondering possibilities for a scenario Tseng was still somewhat on the fence about, he was interrupted by a loud clatter as Kai set her tray down with far more force than was strictly necessary and sat down across from him, glaring.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

"I _know_ you know..." she said, menacingly, "When is it starting?"

"When's what starting?"

"Stop that! You and Tseng have been _torturing_ me all week! Will you just _tell_ me already?"

The redhead grinned and bit into his sandwich.

"No idea what you're talkin' about, Kai," he replied, grinning.

"Come _on_... You _know_ how much I love Hell Week. I just want to know when it's going to be. That's _all_. Please?!"

"Sorry," he said with an indifferent shrug, "Sworn to secrecy."

"Ugh... You're getting to be as annoying as Tseng..." she groaned in defeat, "You _really_ need to quit spending so much time together. His _worst_ traits are rubbing off on you."

"Thought you two were best friends again..." Reno teased, and the senior Turk rolled her eyes.

"Just because he's my best friend doesn't mean he can't be an asshole sometimes, too. _Especially_ when he _WON'T TELL ME WHEN HELL WEEK IS STARTING_!"

Most of the cafeteria collectively turned and stared at the two Turks following the sudden outburst, and the redhead broke into hysterical laughter.

"For fuck's sake, Kai... I'm startin' to think you're obsessed..." he finally managed. Kai folded her arms over her chest and glowered at him. Reno grinned evilly. " _I'm_ not tellin' you shit... so you might as well give up. Consider it payback for every single time you've called me a baby Turkling..."

"Hmph... Oh yeah?" she replied, smirking in response. "Well, two can play at _that_ game. See if I _ever_ stop calling you that _now_... Baby Turkling."

"... Worth it," Reno snickered.

* * *

As he peered out from behind the bed of a truck, Liam was suddenly tackled to the ground, landing with a loud _oomph_ on hard concrete. He struggled valiantly to break his attacker's hold, but it soon became clear he was out-classed. With a defeated groan, he yielded.

"Okay, okay... you got me..."

Sykes chuckled and helped him to his feet.

"Where the heck did you even _come_ from?" the younger rookie asked, shaking his head. He'd been _sure_ he was out of sight. Hell, _he'd_ thought Sykes was still clear on the other side of the parking deck. Liam had no idea how the other rookie had managed to flank him like that.

"I took the north stairs down to Level 2 and then came back up the east stairs. Right behind you," Sykes replied, grinning, " _You_ need to watch your back better."

There was a soft click, and a moment later, a crossbow bolt embedded itself in the wooden post of a reserved parking sign to their left.

"And _you_ should take your own advice," Petra snickered as the pair turned in unison, twin expressions of shock etched on their faces.

"You do knowthis is supposed to be stealth practice... not sniping practice... right, Pet?" Sykes teased. Petra smirked and walked past them, yanking her bolt out of the post and tucking it back into her quiver.

"There's no reason it can't be both. Snipers _are_ the ultimate stealth agents, after all. By the way... we're going to be late for our training with Kai if you two keep skulking around the parking deck."

Liam glanced over at Sykes.

"... I think we should keep skulking, personally..." he deadpanned. He liked training with Kai. He did _not_ , however, like the Gauntlet. Today was Gauntlet day. Sykes laughed and clapped him on the back.

"We do _that_ and she'll make us run it _twice_ , you know," he said, guiding him towards the elevator. Petra giggled quietly and followed.

Technically, they were on their lunch break... but Petra and Liam had both overheard Kai the day before talking to Reno in the cafeteria about an upcoming Hell Week. Well... "overheard" might have been overstating it a bit. The entire cafeteria had heard it.

And since Sykes had been the first of them promoted to rookie status, it stood to reason that he'd be the first to go through Hell Week. He'd asked them to help him out with a little extra practice ahead of the intimidating evaluation and they'd readily agreed.

"So..." Liam said, as they boarded the elevator, "Do you think Reno's going to be the one testing you? I mean, since he obviously _knows_ about it..."

Petra shook her head, before he could answer. "That's the second in command's job. But I bet Tseng's got him helping, and that's why he hasn't been around much this week."

"I almost hope you're wrong about that," Sykes with a somewhat serious note in his voice, "Just imagine what kinds of tests _Reno_ could come up with..."

Liam couldn't help but think the same thing. The redhead _did_ have kind of a twisted sense of humor sometimes. That, combined with his penchant for both planning _and_ improvisation, as well as just how well he knew all three of the rookies by now, made the thought just a little frightening. Hell Week was rumored to be as much a psychological ordeal as it was a physical one. Who _knew_ what might get thrown at them?

"Hmm..." Petra hummed thoughtfully, and then shook her head, "No... I think I'd rather _not_ have nightmares."

"So... is it really true that they can test you anytime, any _where_?" Liam asked.

"That's what's _I've_ heard," Sykes confirmed.

"Same," Petra agreed, "Of course... that's what they tell _everyone_ in recruitment. No one who's actually gone through it is allowed to discuss it with those of us who haven't."

Liam gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I'm just glad _my_ Hell Week won't be for a good long while yet."

* * *

"How goes the planning?" Rude asked as Reno all but collapsed into his chair sometime after lunch on Friday.

"Fuck, man... I never knew how much _work_ went into this shit," he said, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out his secret stash of gummy worms. He shoved a handful into his mouth. "Did you know that Tseng personally _tests_ all the shit he's gonna put a rookie through ahead of time? He's got me standin' in for him, runnin' shit as if he was Sykes."

"Makes sense," Rude said with a shrug, "It's an eval, after all. He has to make sure it's all going to work the way he thinks it will. And that no one's going to get hurt."

"Heh... yeah, I know. But try condensing an entire Hell Week into one morning, and see how _you_ like it. And then doin' it _again_ in the afternoon. For a week. I'm fuckin' _exhausted_... and I wasn't even the one doing the actual _tests_."

Rude snickered and leaned back in his seat.

"So does that mean Tseng has things finalized?"

"Not quite... there's still a few details we're workin' on. But I think he's pretty close to bein' satisfied."

"When's he gonna tell Sykes?" Rude queried, and the redhead smirked.

"Nice try, pal. But like I told Kai, I'm sworn to secrecy. You're not gettin' anything but bitchin' 'n moanin' outta me," he replied with a wide grin, "And you wouldn't even be gettin' _that_ much if your nosy ass hadn't already figured out what the Boss has me doin'."

"Hmph. Spoilsport," Rude chuckled. The redhead stuffed several more pieces of the chewy candy into his mouth and flipped his friend off. "You seem like you're enjoying it, though."

Reno harshly swallowed the mouthful and grinned.

"Yeah... It _is_ kinda fun, actually."

"Good practice, too."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Practice for what?"

"For when you're doing it on your own one day."

"Tch... when the hell is _that_ ever gonna happen. Hell Week's the second in command's responsibility, 'n last I checked, that was Tseng," he laughed, dismissively, and Rude rolled his eyes.

"Tseng's not going to be Second forever. Eventually he'll take over for Veld, and there will be a _new_ Second."

Now it was Reno's turn to roll his eyes.

"Oh, _come on_ , Rude. You're not still hangin' onto that weird fantasy about _me_ gettin' picked to replace Tseng someday, are ya?" he said, snickering. "I told ya. Never gonna happen. It'll be Remy. Or _maybe_ Kai. For fuck's sake, _you've_ got seniority over _me_. Might just end up bein' _you_."

Rude shook his head. " _You're_ his protege. That counts for something."

The redhead sighed and popped another worm in his mouth. "Yeah, I know. But seriously? Whoever takes over as Second when Veld retires has gotta be the person that's best for the team. And... let's face it. I _don't_ have the best track record. You put me 'n all my fuck-ups as a rookie next to Remy 'n all her experience, and it's pretty obvious who'd be better for the job. That's who Tseng's gonna pick, 'n that's who he _should_ pick... 'cause the team's gotta come first."

"Remy only has all that experience because she's been around longer than you," Rude pointed out. "It'll probably be _years_ before Veld decides to step down. Think you're writing yourself off a little prematurely."

"Think _you're_ livin' in your own little fantasy world," Reno snickered.

"Hmph... You've got it all figured out, huh? So, then, why's Tseng teaching you how to do a job that only _ever_ falls to the second in command?"

"'Cause it's a hell of a lot of work and he needs some help with it. And 'cause _my_ Hell Week didn't exactly go entirely accordin' to plan... ya know, with Heidegger almost killin' me 'n shit. Plus, I was out of the city almost the whole time Cissnei was goin' through hers. This'll be the first one I get to see all the way through with no murder attempts or near-firings."

The bald Turk threw his hands up in surrender. "I give up," he said, with a somewhat exaggerated sigh, "Reason and logic are no match for your inferiority complex."

"Tch... inferiority complex my ass..." the redhead snorted, "I'm just bein' realistic."

Still, though. Rude _did_ kind of have a point. There was really no reason for the redhead to be seeing all the behind the scenes shit if he was never actually going to be doing it himself. Just as quickly as he entertained the thought, though, he dismissed it. Tseng had never so much as _mentioned_ the possibility to him. Surely, if that was his intention – even if he were just being trained as a backup for someone more qualified – his mentor would have told him so at _some_ point. Right?

He didn't have long to think about it, however.

"Got plans for tonight?" Rude asked, and Reno shrugged.

"Nothin' in particular. You wanna do somethin'?"

"How do you feel about Costan food?"

Reno grinned widely and leaned forward. "You really gotta ask? 'Sides... if _you're_ cookin' it, I don't care _what_ you're servin'... 'cause it's _always_ awesome."

"Good. Just got some new recipes. Wanna help me test 'em?"

"Heh... you had me at 'food', pal."

* * *

The redhead moaned faintly, splayed out across the couch. When Rude had said he had some new recipes, Reno hadn't expected to be treated to what felt like nearly an entire cookbook's worth. He felt as though he'd been eating non-stop for hours. The redhead glanced at his watch. Actually... he _had_ been at it for hours. It was almost eleven.

"Rude... I think somethin's seriously wrong with me," he jokingly called into the kitchen, "I'm not hungry anymore."

His friend poked his head out into the room and snickered.

" _That's_ too bad. I was just getting dessert ready."

Reno pushed himself upright and grinned.

"I just said I'm not hungry... I didn't say I was _full_..." he replied. Rude rolled his eyes and disappeared, returning a moment later with a pair of plates, each bearing a mound of... _something_. It looked like some kind of gel... a creamy, pale yellow in color, with a smooth dark brown top and some sort of golden sauce underneath.

"What's that?" he asked, curious. It reminded him a little of pudding, but it looked slightly more... solid.

"Vanilla flan with caramel sauce," Rude said, setting one of the plates on the coffee table in front of him, and taking a seat himself. The redhead poked at it and the little mound wobbled slightly. He shrugged and grabbed a spoon, trying a bite... and blinked.

It was... strange. Not a sweet as he'd expected it to be. And the texture was... weird.

"That's... different," he commented, eyeing it.

"If you don't like it..." Rude began, but Reno shook his head.

"I don't _not_ like it..." he said, trying another spoonful, "It's just... I don't think I've ever had anything quite that... Hell, I'm not even sure how to _describe_ it..."

Rude snorted a soft laugh. "Now that I think about it, that was kind of my reaction to it the first time I tried it, too. I guess I sort of forgot that it's a little bit of an acquired taste. I got so used to eating it when I was flying to Costa del Sol all the time back in the day."

"Huh... ya know..." Reno said, continuing to eat, "It's not what I usually go for, but it's not bad."

"High compliments..." Rude snickered, watching his friend finish off the treat.

"Okay... _now_ I think I might be full," the redhead laughed, pushing his empty plate away. He leaned back, letting his head loll against the back of the couch and closed his eyes in content. There were few things better than a full belly and good company. Tonight was just what he'd needed after the long hours he'd put in with Tseng this week.

"Hmph... good. Means I might actually have a shot at catching you if you try and run off on me..."

He cracked an eye open and stole a curious glance at his friend. "Why would I suddenly try 'n make a run for it... ?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because we need to talk. And you're not gonna like the subject."

Reno groaned and slowly sat up again.

"Oh, I get it. This was all a ploy to lull me into a false sense of security..." he said, and sighed, resigned to his fate, "Asshole. Okay, fine... what's so important ya felt the need to stage an intervention _this_ time..."

"Scarlet," Rude stated, and Reno visibly cringed. "I know. You don't want to. But you _need_ to."

The younger Turk folded his arms over his chest and sank down into the cushions of the couch. He was right about _one_ thing, for certain. Reno _didn't_ want to talk about that. Unfortunately, he'd learned a long time ago that, when Rude decided that something was for his "little brother's" own good, there wasn't any getting out of it. And the son of a bitch had an annoying habit of _also_ being right about that sort of thing. Reno had long since given up trying to fight him on shit like this. It was futile... and, he grudgingly had to admit, ultimately beneficial, anyway.

"Ya know what the _worst_ part is?" Reno finally said after a long silence... during which Rude had merely waited patiently for him to say something. "If it had been just about _anyone_ else, none of this shit ever woulda happened. But it had to be _fucking_ Scarlet. I mean, what the _hell_ am I supposed to do when I got a Shiva-be-damned _executive_ tryin' to forceably get in my pants? Ya know... besides bend over 'n take it."

He shuddered violently at the thought of the woman's hands on him, the memory of his most recent encounter still far too fresh in his mind. And then shuddered again at the thought of "bending over and taking it"... as he realized that Scarlet seemed entirely too much like the type to be into that sort of role-reversal kinda thing.

… Not that he'd never _tried_ that before with some of his more adventurous lovers. But he doubted Scarlet would be as gentle with a strap-on as, say, Izzy.

"... I mean... She could make me do anything she wanted me to," he continued, his voice growing quiet, "And what am I gonna do? Fight her off? Tch... _That'd_ end real well. Hell, if Remy hadn't been there to get her offa me last week..." He swallowed sharply and risked a glance over at Rude. "I didn't even _tell_ ya about that, did I?"

Rude shook his head. "I knew _something_ must've happened, the way Tseng was laying into Veld when he found out where he'd sent you... but I figured you'd tell me about it when you were ready."

"Ya know, I grew up watchin' assholes lookin' at my mom like she was a piece of meat. Lira, too. And I hated it, 'cause I knew _they_ hated it. But I never realized just how _much_ _worse_ it is to be on the receivin' end. Ya can't do shit about it. They got all the power, and you just have to take it. It's like... you're not even a person to 'em."

"What'd she do?"

"Not as much as she _wanted_ to... Hell of a lot more than you'd _think_ she would, with Remy standin' right behind me, though," he replied, and dropped his gaze, "And I just... froze. I just stood there and let her."

Reno swallowed a whimper as Rude reached over and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him tightly against his side. The redhead sighed and leaned into the embrace.

"I don't think I've ever felt more... worthless... than I did in that moment," he added after a brief silence. "Why the hell couldn't I just tell her to fuck off 'n leave me alone? I mean... she probably _wouldn't_ have, but... at least... I woulda been on record as sayin' no."

"You're not worthless. And it's not your fault. None of it's your fault."

"I mean... I _know_ that," Reno said, curling up against his friend. "I just... what if... someone _else_ doesn't think so..."

"Tseng knows that, too," Rude assured him, and Reno was silently grateful that the older Turk understood him so well. With Rude, he could voice his worst fears without coming right out and saying them. "He's the one who wanted me to talk to you, you know. I _was_ going to let you come to me in your own time... because I knew you _would_ eventually. Tseng's worried you think that he thinks less of you after all this. He doesn't."

Reno exhaled a shuddering breath at that declaration. That, at least, was _one_ weight off his shoulders. A rather large one, in fact. He liked to say that he didn't give a crap what people thought of him. He was happy with who he was and if someone didn't like it, they could fuck right the hell off. And for the most part, that was true.

But not when it came to Tseng. Tseng's opinion mattered. The Turk Lieutenant had taken a risk on him... Recruited him. Rescued him. He'd given him a whole new life and a chance to be something more than a pathetic little slum rat. Everything he was now, was thanks to Tseng. Reno didn't want to disappoint him.

He would _not_ disappoint him.

~end chapter 31~


	32. The Purge

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 32: The Purge**

 **by Desha**

Sunlight. The bane of his existence.

Well... at least it was the bane of his existence first thing in the morning. And this _particular_ ray of sunlight seemed to be zeroed in directly on his face, demanding he wake up. Reno grunted softly and tried to roll over, only to find himself pinned in place by his bedmate. Remy was still straddling him, passed out with her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. The redhead grinned and ran his fingers along her spine, eliciting a faint shudder of pleasure from his lover.

"Mmm... What time is it?" she murmured, sleepily.

"Not a clue," Reno replied, snickering. "But the sun's definitely up."

He felt her shift slightly, and a moment later, she slipped off of him, stretching as she rolled onto her back. The redhead took the opportunity afforded by his newfound freedom to drag himself from the bed and start hunting for his clothes.

"Any plans for the day?" Remy asked as he was pulling on his shirt. Reno shrugged.

"Rude's comin' by later to help me clean up my apartment. Gettin' to be kind of a mess. He says I need to 'purge' some shit before I turn into a total hoarder," he snickered, "Uh... any idea where my pants ended up?"

Remy smirked. "Check the living room. We were in a hurry last night."

The redhead flashed her a grin and slipped out into the other room, scanning the space for the elusive garment. He didn't see them, though he _did_ spot his jacket flung haphazardly onto a chair on the far side of the room.

This was the third time this week he and Remy had hooked up... though it was the _only_ time he'd actually spent the night. When they were working the next day, she preferred it if he took off after they finished... which he was good with, too. _He_ tended to sleep more soundly on his own, anyway.

Though after the week he'd had, a good night's sleep was hardly going to be difficult to come by. They'd just completed week two of Hell Week preparations, and Tseng had swapped places with him... having _him_ run through the exercises he had planned for Sykes this time, making little tweaks to the process, and then having him do it again until it was perfect. He got the distinct impression that his mentor _typically_ would have been doing everything on his own, and was taking full advantage of having a helper this time around. It was cool... but it got kind of grueling at times.

And Reno wouldn't have traded it for anything. Since he was no longer in training himself, he didn't spend _nearly_ as much time with Tseng during the workday as he used to. It was nice to get back to that again, even if it was only temporary. And after his... _chat_... with Rude the previous weekend, he'd taken the opportunity of their increased time together to open up to Tseng as well... which had included the understanding that Reno _couldn't_ just avoid Scarlet forever.

They'd ultimately settled on a course of action for dealing with her. The redhead would not be assigned to her _directly_ under any circumstances, for the foreseeable future. If he had to accompany her as part of a larger detail, Tseng would ensure that whomever else was assigned knew what to watch out for... and ideally would pair him up with either Rude or Remy, as both of them were aware of the situation already. And he would most certainly _not_ be sent into her domain again any time soon, with or without another Turk to back him up. Not until he felt he could handle it, at any rate.

The whole conversation had been a relief. He'd already had Rude's reassurance that Tseng didn't hold him at fault for any of this... but hearing it from his mentor directly had helped immeasurably.

Because it wasn't _just_ that Scarlet had decided he was to be her next conquest whether he liked it or not. It also bothered him that the whole nightmare was causing so many problems for Tseng... and the team in general. He'd spent so many of his early days as a Turk feeling like a total screw-up, because everything he did seemed to turn out horrendously wrong and had forced his mentor to clean up mess after mess after mess... and now, when he _finally_ thought he was past all that, Scarlet just _had_ to come along and fuck things up again.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, pressing soft fabric into his hands.

"I found your pants," Remy said, teasingly. The redhead grinned, and turned in her grasp.

"Oh, good... 'cause it _really_ woulda been an awkward trip home without 'em..."

"Hmph... something tells me it wouldn't have bothered you that much," she snickered.

"I _meant_ awkward for anyone I happened to run into," Reno replied, smirking, "People get really weird when they see ya walkin' around with your dick hangin' out, for some reason..."

Remy rolled her eyes and released him. "You have _no_ shame whatsoever, do you... ?"

The redhead chuckled and pulled his pants back on. "Not really, no," he said, before jokingly adding, "'Sides... what do gotta be ashamed of? _I_ think I'm lookin' pretty good these days... and I sure as hell didn't hear _you_ tellin' me to cover up last night."

"Oh, just get out of here," Remy laughed, shaking her head. Reno snickered and grabbed his jacket from the chair before heading to reclaim his boots by the door.

"Yeah, yeah... I'm goin'," he teased. "Later, Remy."

He slipped out the door, and headed out into the parking lot, climbing behind the wheel of his car. He was just about to turn the key when his PHS rang. It took him a moment to dig it out of his jacket pocket, and he glanced at the caller ID before he answered.

"Hey, Rude... what's up?"

"Thought we were purging today," his friend's voice replied. Reno glanced at the clock on his dashboard, and swore softly.

" _Crap_... Sorry, I didn't realize it was already after ten. I, uh... just woke up."

"Hmph... Not in you own bed, I take it..." the older Turk snickered.

"You over at my place already?" he asked, starting the car and pulling his seatbelt across his body.

"Yeah."

"Go ahead 'n let yourself in... I'm on my way home now. Be there in like.. fifteen minutes or so."

"See ya in few," Rude replied. Reno ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat before putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the parking space. A short while later, he was on the freeway, bound for Sector 3.

* * *

"Hey," Reno greeted his friend as he slipped through the door and into the kitchen, intending to put on some coffee before they got started. To his surprise, he found it not only already made, but a plate bearing a large cinnamon roll waiting for him, as well. "Geez, man... ya get bored or somethin' 'n just decide to make me breakfast while you were waitin'?" he snickered.

"Well, I _would_ have... but all you've got in your fridge is half a carton of milk and a six pack of beer. _That_ came from the cafe down the street."

"Yeah... Guess the kitchen's gettin' a little bare," the redhead said, somewhat sheepishly, as he poured himself a cup, "Haven't been able to unlazy myself long enough to go shoppin' after work this week. I've just been orderin' takeout."

Rude shook his head, but didn't comment.

"... Have fun last night?" he teased, instead.

"I'm walkin' into my apartment at almost ten thirty in the mornin'," Reno answered, grinning, "What do _you_ think? So where do'ya wanna start?"

"I'm probably going to regret it... but we'd better start with your bedroom. Something tells me _that's_ going to need the most work."

Reno laughed and downed some of his coffee before turning his attention on the baked good.

"Yeah... That sounds like a good plan. Closet's gettin' to the point I _almost_ can't even open it anymore. Um... what do we... ya know... _do_ with all the crap I don't need anymore? I kinda don't wanna just throw it out if I don't _have_ to."

Rude smirked. "Already thought of that. Found a place that's always in the market for donations. They'll find it all a good home with people who need it."

"... I can live with that," Reno nodded.

A few short minutes later, the redhead had finished his breakfast, dropped the dishes in the sink, and was following Rude into his bedroom.

"Uh... open it _slow_..." he cautioned him, as the older Turk reached for the closet door. "The last time everything avalanched outta there, I just kinda shoved it all back in wherever I could, so... it's probably not gonna _stay_ there."

Rude cocked an eyebrow, but took the advice, inching the folding door open. It only made it about halfway before it got hung up on something. A pillow tumbled down from the top shelf and landed at his feet... followed by a wrinkled pair of jeans and a shoe. He shook his head in dismay.

"I think we decided to do this just in time..." Rude deadpanned, "How bad's the rest of it?"

"Eh... the drawers 'n shit aren't so bad. Relatively speakin'. But the closets are all pretty much like this."

"Start unloading it all..." he sighed, "I'll go grab some boxes from the living room."

He slipped out of the room, and Reno set to work trying to force the closet open the rest of the way. He had to yank an old sock out of the track on the floor to do so... and the moment he freed it, whatever was holding up the load on top gave way as well, showering him in any number of items. Something hard landed on his head, and he yelped in pain, staggering backwards and stumbling over a towel he'd left on the floor the previous morning after he'd showered. He landed awkwardly at the foot of his bed just as Rude reappeared.

"... Guess that's _one_ way to do it..." the bald Turk snickered. Reno rubbed the sore spot on his head and clambered to his feet.

"Tch... Great. My crap's officially tryin' to kill me..." he muttered. Rude set down the boxes he'd retrieved and studied the pile.

"First thing's first. Let's get it sorted out a little. Clothes in one pile, everything else in another. Then you can decide what goes and what stays."

Reno shook his head, and bent down to retrieve one half of a pair of snow boots.

"Heh... hope ya didn't have any other plans for the weekend, pal. I think this is gonna take awhile."

* * *

"What in Titan's name is _that_?" Rude asked, several hours later. They'd made a sizable dent in the clutter, clearing out the bedroom closet, several drawers, and a large cabinet in the living room that housed Reno's video game and movie collection, among other things. Now, they were working on the linen closet... which the redhead seemed to use for just about everything _except_ storing linens.

Reno grinned widely.

"What? Ya never seen a wearable sauna before?" he asked, innocently. Rude removed his sunglasses for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut.

"A _what_?" he queried, not sure he really wanted to know.

"A wearable sauna! Ya know... you put it on, plug it in, and... it makes ya sweat."

"... Why do you even _own_ this?" he asked in exasperation, holding the odd-looking device out in front of him at arms length. It was... sort of robe-like, but zipped up the front and was made of a thick, silvery material with an electrical cord hanging out of the back. To his surprise, his friend burst out laughing.

"I bought it offa one of those late night infomercials."

Rude blinked. "... _Why_?" was all he could think to say, which only made the redhead laugh harder.

"You remember how freaked out I was before my Hell Week? Ya know... 'cause Tseng decided to be an asshole 'n tell me about it like a week in advance?"

The other Turk nodded.

"Yeah, well... I don't sleep so great when I'm nervous like that. So I started watchin' TV to try 'n chill out. I ended up buying it while I was half asleep 'n not thinkin' straight the night before Hell Week started."

Rude snickered and shook his head. "You know... I _think_ I actually remember you mentioning that to me, now. I can't believe you still _have_ it."

Reno rather sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, and chuckled.

"Yeah... It was, uh... kinda expensive. I just couldn't bring myself to toss it. Even though it's a total piece of crap. Probably doesn't even work anymore, it's been crammed in the back of the closet so long."

Rude snorted and set it on the discard pile. "Well... no question about where _this_ goes..."

"H-hey... hang on," the younger man stammered, snatching it back up. "That's got sentimental value!"

"Reno..." he said, warningly. They'd already had this discussion. Several times, in fact. The redhead was a bit... overly attached to some of his possessions. Rude understood... after all, Reno had come from a life where he had almost _nothing_. So on some level, many of the things he'd accumulated really _did_ mean a lot to him simply because they were his. But he just didn't have room to keep it _all_. His friend sighed and reluctantly put it back on the discard pile. Rude snickered and shook his head.

"When we get done, you can go through that stuff again, and if there's something you _really_ can't bare part with, we'll find somewhere to put it."

"... Yeah, okay," Reno reluctantly agreed. He suddenly grinned slightly. "Just about anyone else would think I'm nuts, wouldn't they?"

"I don't _think_ you're nuts. I've known _that_ for years," Rude replied, smirking, which drew a laugh from the redhead. "I get it, okay? My mom was kind of the same way. Had to force herself to get rid of _anything_ , because everything had a memory attached."

"... Must've been hard, goin' through it all after... ya know..."

Rude shook his head. "Not really. Mom was more than just her stuff. I kept a few things that _really_ reminded me of her. Her favorite book. A cast iron skillet that's been in the family for generations. Things that I could actually _use_ , not just stare at or pack away somewhere. But the rest was just... stuff. I didn't need it to remember her. Dad, though... it _was_ hard for him. Most of it ended up in storage in the attic. He probably still has it all..."

"'Least she left ya with _somethin'_ to remember her by. Best I ever had was a photo. Don't even have _that_ anymore."

Rude smiled sadly and squeezed his friend's shoulder. The redhead cleared his throat and glanced away for a moment.

"So... yeah. Back to gettin' rid of shit..."

He quietly let it drop, and instead resumed helping the younger Turk sift through the piles of items. Reno still had a hard time talking about his mother... but Rude had noticed that he seemed to be bringing her up more frequently since his birthday, as if he was trying to condition himself into thinking and talking about her again, instead of burying those memories. A lot of it still centered on her death... but other things cropped up every now and then, too. And when he'd had enough, he quickly changed the subject, just as he'd done a moment ago.

Rude didn't like to push him too hard. He knew how painful losing a parent was. And he knew that Reno desperately _wanted_ to be able to remember his mother without it automatically dredging up memories of how she died... but it was going to take time before he got there. It was best if he found his way to that point at his own pace.

"You getting hungry yet?" Rude asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. His friend flashed him a grateful smile.

"Rude... I'm _always_ hungry. You know that," he joked.

"Let's take a break and grab an early dinner. My treat."

"Tch... _my_ treat," Reno insisted, laughing softly, "You're spendin' your weekend diggin' through all my junk when there are probably a hundred things you could be doin' that are a hell of a lot more fun than _this_. The _least_ I can do is feed ya."

* * *

"Reno?" Tseng's voice addressed him the moment he stepped off of the elevator on Monday morning, and the younger Turk gave a feigned groan.

"Come _on_ , Boss... I just _got_ here. Cant a guy settle in before you start practicin' torture techniques on him for the day?"

Tseng chuckled and gestured in the direction of his office, and the redhead quickly fell into step beside him.

"Actually, you get the day off from torture duty today. I'm escorting Rufus to a meeting with an investor in Costa del Sol. I'll be leaving shortly."

"You sure you got time for that?" he asked as they stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. "I mean... we only got one more week for planning. You're still doin' this next Monday, right?"

"I think we've reached a point where any additional details are only minor ones. There's still some scheduling to work out, but I can easily manage that in the time remaining. Thank you for your help. It's... a lot to do by oneself. I'm exceptionally grateful for the assistance, and if you're agreeable to it, I'd very much like to impose upon you _again_ when Petra's turn comes."

" _Sweet!_ " the redhead said, grinning widely, and Tseng laughed.

"You... rather enjoy dealing with the rookies, don't you... ?"

"Well... _yeah_. I mean... It's pretty cool helpin' 'em learn 'n shit. Um... _actually_... I've kinda been meanin' to ask if I could maybe start doin' a little more of that?"

Tseng's eyebrows rose in surprise, before a smile crossed his face. "That was, in fact, the reason I wanted to speak with you before I left this morning. Obviously, I won't be available for training today, and as I had a fairly rigorous set of sessions planned, I'd like you to take my place on the schedule. And also... to begin joining me for some of the rookies' more advanced training on a regular basis. You're an excellent instructor. It seems a rather foolish waste not to put you to work in such a role more often."

"Seriously?" Reno asked, eyes going wide. He'd kind of expected to have to make his case about the idea. After all... his own promotion to full Turk status had barely even been two years ago. In the grand scheme of things it hadn't really been _that_ long since he'd been a rookie himself. But it was something he really wanted to do... and he'd be _good_ at it. He _knew_ he would.

"You seem rather shocked," Tseng commented, with a quiet laugh. "Reno... don't for a moment think I've stopped paying attention. Just because you're no longer a rookie doesn't mean I'm not still monitoring your progress. You're a _more_ than capable instructor and very good with the younger members of the team on a personal level, as well. You absolutely _should_ be more involved with their training and I'm very pleased that you were sure enough of that _yourself_ to request it before I had the opportunity to bring it up."

The redhead grinned, enjoying the surge of pride that shot through him at his mentor's words. Tseng glanced at his watch and shook his head.

"I have to go and meet Rufus. We'll discuss the particulars of the training schedule a bit more when I'm back tomorrow... and we'll _finalize_ things once Sykes' Hell Week is over and I have time to devote more than five seconds of thought to something other than evaluation scenarios."

"Yes, sir," Reno said, enthusiastically. Tseng nodded a goodbye and headed off towards the elevator, leaving the redhead alone in his office. The younger Turk let out a quiet laugh of excitement before hurrying off to his own office. Taking over for Tseng today _and_ getting to start training the rookies on the regular? Today was shaping up to be a _very_ good day.

When he arrived at his desk, he found Rude already parked in front of his computer terminal, looking through the overnight messages, as usual. He glanced up when the redhead entered, and snorted softly.

" _You're_ in a good mood..." he noted.

"The Boss is gonna let me start trainin' the rookies... like for _real_ , not just when they need someone to spar with or someone else is on assignment 'n they need a replacement."

"Hmph... better you than me," Rude chuckled.

"Aw, come on, Rude... Training is _fun_."

The bald Turk shrugged. "I just don't like having everyone in the room watching me like that," he said, and then smirked, " _Perfect_ job for _you_ ,though. Congrats."

Reno grinned and settled into his chair, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"So... how do you like your apartment now that you can actually find things again?" Rude added. The redhead laughed.

"I gotta admit... it's nice not to get buried under half my wardrobe when I open the closet for a change. Thanks for helpin' me with that. I wouldn't've got it done without someone _makin'_ me do it."

It had taken them until Sunday afternoon... but they'd done it. Everything he could stand to get rid of had been boxed up, and either thrown in the apartment complex's dumpster or loaded into Rude's truck and hauled over to a local charity that helped people in the Slums. Then they'd organized what was left and put it all away, neatly, in the various closets and drawers and cabinets it had come from.

And in the end, he _had_ ended up keeping the damned wearable sauna, much to Rude's amusement.

"Try and _keep_ it that way this time," Rude snickered.

"Heh... No promises," the redhead joked. He suddenly went silent for a moment. "I, uh... hate to keep askin' for favors 'n shit, 'cause it seems like that's _all_ I've been doin' lately... but... you're still comin' with me in a coupleweeks, right?"

"Of _course_ I am. There's no way in the Nine Hells I'm letting you go down there alone."

That was his mother's birthday, and Rude had promised him nearly a month ago that he'd join him at the cemetery this year, both to watch his back and for moral support. He'd done so _much_ for him recently, though... Reno was starting to feel like he was taking advantage of his friend's generosity.

"Thanks. And if ya need my help with _anything_ , just ask. I think I owe ya like... eight thousand favors at this point."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm saving those favors for when I _really_ need them," Rude replied, teasingly.

"I'm serious, pal... Every time I turn around lately, you're doin' _somethin'_ for me. So if there's a way to pay ya back for all that, _tell_ me."

Rude shook his head. "It'll even itself out on its own eventually. Always does... so don't worry about it." He smiled softly. "Besides... I kind of _like_ looking after you."

"Geez, Rude... I never knew you were such a masochist..." the redhead snickered, prompting a laugh from his friend.

The pair remained sequestered in their office for a short while until the morning briefing was about to start, and then grudgingly made their way over to the conference room. The rookies were already there, looking eager... as was Sato, who was seated at one corner of the table, fiddling with a small black box.

"Hey, Sato? Could ya maybe _not_ blow us up before Veld even gives us our assignments for the day?" Reno said, grinning as he sat down. Sato looked up and smirked at him.

"Oh, yeh dinnae need ta worry... _This_ little beauty isn't one 'o my wee toys. It's fer my sweet Victoria. Picked it up on the way inta work this mornin'."

"Ten to one odds it explodes before the end of the day, anyway..." Kai snickered, as she walked into the room.

"Hmph... It had _better_ not. Cost me almost three month's pay..." Sato replied. Kai paused in her bid for a chair and eyed the box. A moment later, her eyes widened and she groaned.

"No... _Don't_ tell me..."

Sato's grin widened and he opened it... revealing a gold ring that sported a pretty hefty-looking diamond. Reno's jaw dropped, and two of the three rookies audibly gasped.

"Holy _shit_... is that thing _real_?" the redhead asked. The thing was the size of a small grape, for Ifrit's sake.

"Aye, she's real, laddie," Sato replied, "... 'n I'm set ta put her ta good use tanight."

"You're not serious..." Kai deadpanned. "Didn't you learn your lesson the _last_ three times?"

"Victoria's a different breed o' woman, lass. She's _nothin'_ like my exes. I love her, 'n I'm goin' ta ask her ta be Mrs. Sato O'Connor number four."

Someone snorted softly from the doorway. "I _strongly_ adviseleaving the 'number four' part out when you ask her..." Remy suggested, as she made her entrance. The senior Turk shook her head. "I'll save my congratulations until we hear what her response is."

"For Hades' sake. Wife number _four_? Always knew you were nuts..." Kai snickered, taking her seat. Sato snapped the box with the ring shut and chuckled.

"Aye... maybe so. But it's a right enjoyable thing ta be, sometimes," he declared, "Wish me luck!"

Reno shook his head, somewhat disbelievingly as several of the other did, in fact, wish the senior Turk luck in his proposal. He, however, was a little too shocked to do much of anything. He'd known for awhile now that Sato had been seeing someone... but he'd had _no_ idea things were that serious between them. Hell, Sato had, on more than one occasion, openly declared that he was done getting married altogether and would absolutely never make that mistake again as long as he lived...

Petra giggled in amusement and looked over at Sato.

"So how are you going to ask her?"

"Oh, I've got a lovely wee surprise planned," he replied. "The still's workin' on a special batch as we speak, 'n Victoria'll be over fer a bit 'o tastin' out on the balcony tanight. She won't be able ta resist..."

"Resist _what_?" Veld asked, guardedly, as he strode into the room at the tail end of the conversation, several folders in hand, and took his place at the head of the table. Kai snickered.

"Sato here's decided that it's been long enough since his last divorce to give it another try."

Veld glanced over at the Mideelian Turk and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you swore off marriage forever after... she who's name we do not speak," he said, in a somewhat teasing tone, and Reno burst out laughing. It was true... they really _didn't_ refer to Sato's third ex by name, by unspoken mutual agreement... but he'd never actually heard anyone openly acknowledge the fact. Not even Sato himself ever called her anything other than The Bitch.

Sato crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked. "Go on, then. Laugh it up yeh bastards. But Victoria's the _one_. Fer _true_ this time. Wouldnae even be _considerin'_ this, otherwise."

A few quiet snickers could be heard around the room before Veld gestured for them to quiet down.

"I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say we're very happy for you, Sato," the Turk leader said. "I trust you'll let us know how it goes first thing tomorrow... but right now, we have assignments to take care of." He picked up one of the files he'd brought in and passed it over to Remy. "An updated inventory of items that may be on our Zenshou friends' shopping list. There are a few new pieces of Shinra tech. See to it that they're secure, and check in on the ones we already knew about, as well. It should keep you busy most of the day. More than one are outside of the city."

"Yes, sir," Remy replied, taking the file and flipping it open.

"Reno, I think you've already been informed that you'll be substituting for Tseng on the training schedule while he's in Costa del Sol today."

"Yes, sir," the redhead answered. Veld nodded and passed a second file over to Sato.

"Sato... interrogation subject retrieval. Kai... you're in charge of Petra's flight certification this morning, and if Sato is successful, you'll have a new... _friend_... to introduce yourself to later today."

The senior Turk rubbed her hands together, grinning. "Oh, good... I haven't made any new _friends_ in awhile..."

"Ya know, Kai... the way ya said that, I'm _seriously_ rethinkin' the whole bein' your friend thing right now..." Reno sniggered.

"Oh, Baby Turkling... You'll _always_ be my friend," the diminutive Turk replied with a feral grin and a tone that implied that that may or may not be a good thing.

"... O _kaaaaay_ , I was only kiddin' before. _Now_ you really _are_ startin' to creep me out."

Kai dropped the facade and laughed, as did most of the other Turks present. Veld quieted them again, and handed his remaining file over to Rude.

"Rude, I need you to have a little chat with Corneo down in Wall Market. It seems that one of his employees at the Honeybee Inn has some... _compromising_ video of a certain high-ranking member of Shinra staff and has submitted a request for payment to hand it over. Take Sykes with you as backup, and remind him that allowing his underlings to engage in blackmail of Company personnel is a bad idea, please."

Rude took the folder and nodded.

"Excellent. I think that covers things. If any of you need me... and for the love of Titan, please, someone find a reason to need me... I'll be in a meeting with Heidegger most of the morning."

A ripple of laughter swept the room before Veld shook his head.

"Dismissed."

~end chapter 32~


	33. A Pretty Fucking Good Day

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 33: A Pretty Fucking Good Day**

 **by Desha**

Rufus stared blandly at the wine remaining in his glass as the executive helicopter streaked across the sky, en route to Costa del Sol. He swirled it for a moment, and then downed it in one go before reaching for the bottle and pouring himself another.

"Sir... Don't you think it's a bit early for that?" Tseng asked, raising an eyebrow. Rufus really wasn't much of a drinker. He liked wine with meals, as well as the occasional brandy at the end of the day... but he was on his second glass and it wasn't even nine in the morning yet. It was... rather unusual for him.

"Frankly, I see no other way of getting _though_ this idiocy..." he muttered, unhappily.

"I... was under the impression that this was a meeting concerning a new investment..." the Turk lieutenant said, uncertainly. Apparently he'd been given the _wrong_ impression, judging by the young man's demeanor. Rufus snorted loudly and drained the second glass.

"Oh, it's an ' _investment_ ', alright. Father has _invested_ in a bride for me. She's from a rather well-to-do family in Costa del Sol. The daughter of an old business associate of his," he said, and suddenly smirked as he reached for the bottle yet again and filled his glass all the way to the rim. "We're meeting to determine... 'compatibility'... and so that _her_ father can render his final approval of the match."

"Ah... That explains the day drinking, then," Tseng replied, and gently plucked the wine glass from the Shinra heir's hand, much to Rufus' displeasure. "Forgive me, sir... But I'm not about to let you make a drunken fool of yourself."

Rufus glared at him.

"If _I_ wish to be seen by my would-be in-laws as a lush, that is my own Ramuh-forsaken business!" he replied, snatching it back, and in the process dumping nearly half of its contents onto his white overcoat. He swore softly and groaned at the sight of the stain. "It _would_ have to be a merlot..."

He sighed and divested himself of the jacket, flinging it onto one of the empty seats with a loud snort.

"It was likely going to be far too hot to wear the damned thing, anyway..." he muttered.

"Sir... there _are_ better ways of getting out of this than jeopardizing your public reputation," Tseng said, taking the opportunity to seize the bottle and re-secure it in the wine cooler. "And while I certainly don't support your father's methods, you have yet to even meet the young lady in question..."

"Hmph... if you're saying that I may grow to like her, save it, Tseng. If she has agreed to this arrangement then it's either because she wants me for money and power, or because she is a weakling who bows to the whims of her father. I'm not interested in _either_."

Tseng shook his head. "Your father cannot _force_ you to marry." Rufus opened his mouth to reply, but the Turk cut him off. "He can _pressure_ you, certainly, but he cannot force you to agree to it."

"He can make my life _miserable_ if I refuse..." Rufus muttered.

"Perhaps." Tseng shook his head and sighed. "I empathize with you, Rufus. I truly do. I, too, lived in my father's shadow for far too long, and I, too, let him control me. But it's not _impossible_ to free yourself from such control."

"Hmph... yes, well, _I_ don't have the option to steal off in the middle of the night and flee to another country like _some_ people," Rufus groused, folding his arms over his chest in a huff. Tseng chuckled.

"No... I would most assuredly _not_ recommend that course of action in your case, sir," he lightly teased, "... if only because I'm fairly certain it would drive me to a nervous breakdown. Please, for the sake of my sanity, don't entertain that idea for any longer than you may already have."

Rufus barked a quiet laugh and shook his head.

"What _am_ I going to do, then, Tseng?" he asked, somewhat pleadingly, "This _cannot_ continue. I'm running out of excuses."

"Have you tried simply _talking_ to your father?" The Wutaiian Turk asked, and Rufus rolled his eyes.

"Of course I've tried. The man doesn't _listen_."

"Then perhaps it's time you _made_ him listen. He is your father... and you show a great deal of deference to him when you speak to him. It's only natural for a child to do so with a parent... but perhaps it's time you reign that submission in a bit. One _can_ be both respectful _and_ firm. In fact, I've seen you do just that on more than one occasion in the many negotiations I've accompanied you on... including in meetings with your father. You might gain a better response if you speak about _this_ to him in such a manner, as well."

The younger Shinra sank back in his seat, apparently pondering Tseng's advice.

"I... suppose I really have nothing to _lose_ ," he said at last, "But what in Ramuh's name do I do about about _this_ meeting?" He gestured in the general direction of Costa del Sol, and shook his head. "I'm stuck spending the day with some money-grubbing harpy."

Tseng frowned thoughtfully and finally sighed. "I am only offering because I can relate to your predicament... but I suppose, just this _once_ , should things prove _too_ distasteful, I can engineer some sort of vague threat to your safety that would require a timely evacuation."

Rufus breathed a sigh of relief and flashed Tseng a truly grateful smile.

"Let's at least _try_ and tolerate the situation for a short while, though, if only to make the report I'll inevitably have to write convincing. And for Leviathan's sake, don't _ever_ tell Veld about this. I'd likely be relegated to guarding Hojo for a month if he found out."

* * *

"So... that's it?" Sykes queried as he and Rude made their way towards the Wall Market train station. Rude smirked slightly. _He_ hadn't thought that things would go quite _that_ smoothly, either. He'd half expected to be denied an audience with Don Corneo entirely... today, at least. Typically, when the Don knew why the Turks were paying him a visit, he made them wait.

It was a blatant power play on his part... and supremely annoying... but that's just how the relationship between Corneo and the Turks worked. Today, however, he and Sykes had been shown right in... and Rude was pretty sure he knew why. The Shinra employee in question was high enough on the company totem pole that, if he wanted to make trouble for Corneo in retaliation for the attempted blackmail, he _could_ have. He was a junior executive who had the ear of the head of the Transportation department, and Corneo did a _lot_ of business with people from the Plate. Cut off or even just slow down transportation, and Corneo took a sizable hit. Rude doubted he was willing to risk it over a subordinate's demand for a measly fifty thousand gil that wasn't even going directly into the Don's pocket.

"We got lucky today. Corneo wasn't in the mood to argue," Rude stated. "Hmph... guess that frees up the rest of my morning." He glanced over at Sykes. "Feel like making a side-stop before we head back to headquarters?"

"Fine by me, sir. Is it a new lead on the Zenshou?"

Rude shook his head. "No. It's... sort of a personal matter. A favor for a friend."

"Sir?" the rookie replied with a puzzled expression.

"... I promised I'd help them find some information. Got a lead I haven't had time to check out yet. Probably oughta be doing it on my _own_ time, but since we finished up earlier than I thought we would..."

Sykes shrugged and followed him into the station. They scanned their train passes and walked through the turnstile and onto the platform, waiting for the next train topside.

"So... what's this favor, exactly?" the rookie asked.

"... It's... private. A friend is looking for information on a family member. I said I'd see what I could find."

A train whistle sounded before Sykes could inquire further, and Rude glanced up to see the engine pulling into the station.

* * *

Petra was... nervous. Or at least that's what Reno _assumed_ the frantic pacing meant. He'd actually never seen her quite so worked up. Usually the rookie from Cosmo Canyon had an almost zen-like demeanor. Not today, however.

Reno, Liam, and Petra had spent a couple of hours in the training hall, per Tseng's schedule, going over improvised weapons. And then the redhead had called for a break, since the older rookie was due to be picked up by Kai for her piloting certification... which seemed to be the source of her anxiety. Reno shook his head, and stepped into her path just as she turned to make another pass across the gym floor.

"Would ya relax already?" he snickered, "You're gonna do fine. The certification exam's not that bad."

Petra groaned, and exhaled a long breath. "Is it that obvious?"

"That you're completely freakin' out?" the redhead laughed, "Uh... yeah. Yeah I kinda got that impression. Think ya might actually be wearin' a hole in the floor at this point."

She groaned again, shaking her head in dismay, just as Liam returned from wherever he'd vanished to after Reno had cut the pair loose for their break. He held a can out to her. Chai latte, Reno noted. Odd... he didn't recall that one being in the vending machines up here. The ones on the exercise floors were stocked with a rather disgustingly healthy selection. No sugary drinks to be seen. The kid had to have gone on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find it for her.

"Here, Petra... It's your favorite," he said, and the other rookie smiled, accepting the drink.

"Thanks, Liam..."

"Heh... Seriously, it's _not_ a big deal. Ya don't do anything ya haven't already done a hundred times. 'Sides... you think _you_ got it rough, when _I_ certified, Tseng told me I'd be takin' my first solo flight soon as I was done. To _Junon_. With classified tech for the war in the cargo hold. I half didn't wanna pass at all just to get out of it," Reno said, grinning.

Okay... that was maybe a _little_ bit of an exaggeration. He doubted much of anything would have _really_ convinced him to fail the exam on purpose. But he hadbeen more than a little nervous about knowing he'd be soloing so soon if he passed. Petra's eyes went wide.

"Oh, thankTypoon I don't have to do _that_ ," she breathed, looking vaguely horrified, and the younger rookie stifled a laugh.

"Come on, Pet... You got this," said Liam. Reno looked up as the doors leading into the training hall opened, admitting the familiar figure of Kai.

"And it looks like you don't have to wait any longer..." the redhead added with a nod.

"All set?" the senior Turk asked as she approached.

"Aside from bein' a nervous wreck?" Reno teased, draping an arm over the rookie's shoulders, "Yeah, she can't wait!"

Petra took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Um... Wish me luck?" she said, in a somewhat small voice.

"Good luck!" both Reno _and_ Liam chorused, grinning, which prompted a soft laugh from the other rookie. Kai snickered and escorted her out of the training hall. Liam shook his head and took a seat on one of the benches that lined the walls of the room.

"I hope _I'm_ not that nervous when I have to take _my_ exam..."

Reno shrugged. "Everybody freaks out a _little_. It's normal. Tch... 'cept maybe Tseng. The boss never freaks out over much of anything. Doubt he was too worried about a piloting test back in the day," he snickered, "So... We got some time to kill before Petra's done 'n Rude's back with Sykes. Anything ya wanna work on that's _not_ on the training schedule? 'Cause I'm fine with stickin' to the hand to hand shit Tseng had planned for ya, but if there's somethin' ya want more one on one practice with while ya got me to yourself..."

"Well, actually... If it's alright with you, sir, I wouldn't mind hitting up the pool," Liam said, "I... er... don't really _need_ the practice, but..."

The redhead grinned. "But hoppin' in the water for awhile sounds a lot more enjoyable than tryin' to break one of my holds?"

Liam sheepishly smiled. "Yes, sir."

"Fine by me," Reno said, "We'll pick up where we left off when the others get back."

The pair made their way out of the training hall on thirty-three and down one floor to the Shinra Building's company pool, quickly changing in the locker room.

"Sir... um... why is it that you don't do this more often? Training us, I mean..." Liam asked, and the redhead glanced up from stuffing his clothes into a locker in surprise. "It's just that... well... you're so much _better_ at it than everyone else..."

Reno laughed, rubbing the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed by the unexpected compliment.

"I am, huh?" he replied, chuckling. "I've only been a Turk for like three years, ya know. And about half that time _I_ was still in training."

"Yeah... but you're better at explaining the stuff I have trouble with. I always seem to catch on right away when _you_ take over..."

"Ya know, if I didn't know better, I might think you were suckin' up to me..." he teased, turning and closing the locker door.

Liam's eyes widened and he shook his head in denial. "N-no! I... I'm not, I swear!"

The redhead grinned. "Relax, kid... I was kiddin'," he snickered, "Heh... 'sides... that would definitely be a first for me. No one's ever really had a reason to wanna get on _my_ good side before. Never really had anything other than jack 'n shit to offer."

Liam laughed quietly. "Well... I think you're a pretty great teacher."

"Heh... yeah, well... Apparently Tseng feels the same way, 'cause he's gonna have me start workin' with you guys more often. Just found out this mornin'."

"Really?" the rookie beamed, "That's terrific!"

Reno snickered loudly and started towards the pool. "Geez... 'n I thought _I_ was excited 'bout that..."

* * *

Rude frowned at the drab wooden door in front of him. There had been no answer to his first knock... and his second, he was almost certain was being ignored, as he had distinctly seen the curtains in the front window twitch slightly a moment ago. He supposed it was his own fault for not setting up a meeting ahead of time, but this _had_ been rather spur of the moment. He sighed and turned to the rookie beside him.

"... Guess I'll have to try again another time."

"But... sir, there's definitely someone in there..." Sykes pointed out, nodding to the window, where the curtains were, once again, moving slightly. Rude shook his head.

"I know. But we're not here in any official capacity... or even an unofficial one. Can't exactly just kick the door in."

It was irritating... but he was used to being patient. He'd get them to talk to him eventually. It just, apparently, wasn't going to be _today_. He turned away from the door of the condo and walked down the small sidewalk, back towards his truck, the rookie trailing behind him. They climbed in, and Rude started the drive back to Shinra headquarters.

"So... this family member your friend's looking for. Is it like... a missing person or something?"

Rude snorted softly in laughter. "No. Nothing like that. Just... someone they haven't seen in a very long time and want to reconnect with."

Which, he supposed, was true enough, even if it wasn't reconnecting in the sense that was implied. But Rude didn't want to blast Reno's personal business all over the office, and the rookies tended to talk... at the very _least_ , to one another. And then they'd get curious and ask the redhead about it directly. Reno was getting _better_ about talking openly about his mother... but not to the point that he'd be comfortable sharing with just anyone.

Besides which... he hadn't even told his friend that he was still looking into his mother's history. Reno likely assumed that, when he hadn't managed to find anything by his birthday, Rude had simply given it up as impossible. He'd already gotten Reno's hopes up once and failed to deliver. He didn't want to put him through that again... because even though the redhead had outright told him he wasn't surprised by the lack of information, Rude knew he'd been disappointed that he'd ultimately ended up being right.

It was a matter for another time, however. Right now, he was on duty and couldn't afford to devote any more of his day to the search.

* * *

Rufus bit back the annoyed sigh that threatened to escape his lips at the sight of the long table laid out with quite a large luncheon spread given that there were only four people in attendance at this little meeting... one of whom was expected to do nothing more than silently stand guard over him for the duration. He and Tseng had been greeted at the door by the family's manservant and ushered out onto the veranda where his father's old business acquaintance and his daughter met them.

"Ah... _Rufus_! It's been ages since I saw you last. You've grown!" a balding man nearer to sixty than fifty proclaimed, climbing to his feet and striding over to the Shinra heir. He grasped the younger man's hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

"Yes, well... one tends to do that as one gets older," Rufus replied. Silas Vasquez had known the elder Shinra since before Rufus had even been born, and was one of Shinra Company's earliest investors. They'd met more than a few times over the years, but this was the first time he'd seen him since taking over as vice president of the company.

"Indeed... indeed," Silas prattled, before turning his attention to the young woman seated at the table. "Serena, come over her and say hello!"

The girl unabashedly rolled her eyes.

"If I _must_..." she said, in a very put-upon tone, and Rufus very nearly laughed out loud at the sputtering reaction her reply generated from her father. She calmly stood up and, in an unhurried, graceful almost-glide, she walked over to Rufus and his bodyguard. "Hello," she stated blandly, and then, in that same graceful fashion, turned on her heel and returned from whence she came.

" _Serena_!" her father hissed, anger and embarrassment very obviously fighting for dominance on his face. Rufus allowed himself a small smirk.

"I get the impression your daughter isn't all that impressed with me," he said.

"Oh, no... No, no... Serena is just a bit.. _shy_... That's all. Please! Have a seat. You must be starving after your flight." He escorted the young executive to the table, placing him in the seat directly across from his daughter, and rubbed his hands together. "Blast... the chef hasn't sent out the wine yet. I'll just go and see what's keeping it."

He swept from the room, a bundle of nervous energy, and Rufus shook his head. The moment her father was gone, Serena fixed him with a glare.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no intention of entertaining this _ridiculous_ notion my father has of marrying me off to... _you_ ," she stated, and the force of her gaze quite literally rendered the Shinra heir speechless for a moment.

"Oh, thank _Ramuh_ ," he breathed, rolling his eyes. In response, the girl blinked owlishly, clearly not expecting the reaction she'd gotten.

"I... beg your pardon?" she stammered.

"Believe me, I have no more desire to be here than you do. This was all _my_ father's idea, not mine."

Serene suddenly laughed. And kept laughing for several seconds as Rufus glanced, rather mystified, back at Tseng. The Turk smiled slightly and shook his head, but said nothing.

"Oh... oh, my..." she managed, still giggling, "And here I was all set to be an absolute _horror_ to you until you finally gave up and went home. I had no _idea_ we were in the same boat, so to speak!"

Rufus, too, was struck by the sheer idiocy of the revelation.

" _I_ had actually intended to show up quite drunk in the hopes of being turned away at the gate. Unfortunately, my plan was foiled," he replied, shooting a pointed look at the Turk standing behind him. Serena sniggered loudly.

"Pity... I would have _loved_ to have seen Father's face if you _had_..."

Rufus' lips curved into a smile. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers in front of him. "Well, then, Miss Vasquez, as it seems that... _sabotaging_... this arrangement would be mutually beneficial... what do you say to a little cooperation?"

Serena leaned forward, mirroring his smile.

"Go _on_..." she replied, and Rufus was quite certain he heard Tseng quietly groan.

* * *

"Hey, Reno... I need you for a minute," Kai said as she was escorting a very pleased-looking Petra into the Turks' lounge. He and Liam had returned upstairs to see if the other rookies were back yet. Sykes had been waiting for them when they arrived.

"Only a minute?" the redhead replied, "Come on, Kai... I can't even get _undressed_ that fast..."

"Keep it in your pants you little, pervert," the senior Turk snickered, rolling her eyes amid a chorus of muted laughter from the rookies, "Now, please? Sato's back with my interrogation subject and Veld wants me wired since the cameras have been a little iffy on the audio lately and I.T. hasn't gotten around to fixing them yet."

"Oh, so ya just want me to feel ya up a little..." Reno grinned, setting his coffee aside and standing up from his comfortable position on the couch.

"Can't you pull your mind out of the gutter for two seconds?"

"Nope," he replied, grin widening, and followed her to her office, calling over his shoulder to the rookies, "Back in a minute, guys..."

"Hmph... What's got _you_ in such a good mood today?" Kai asked. She picked up a small case and handed it to him before slipping out of her jacket and tossing it over the back of her chair. Reno shrugged.

"Tseng's gonna let me start spendin' more time with the rookies. Oh, yeah... and Liam told me I'm a _way_ better trainer than you," he said with a teasing smirk. Kai snorted softly.

"Yeah, right. Keep dreaming, Baby Turkling," she chuckled, unbuttoning her shirt. "So... he's finally making you a proper trainer, huh? Took him long enough..."

Reno grinned and looped the wire for the microphone around her torso, securing it in place with a few pieces of tape. Kai plugged in the recording unit and tucked it into her back pocket. She suddenly snickered and shook her head.

"You're suck a dork sometimes..." she laughed. Reno cast her a confused look.

"What the hell's that s'posed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing... Just that you _always_ get that same goofy look on your face when you know you've done something to please Tseng..."

"Tch... I do _not_ ," he shot back with a slight glare, which only seemed to amuse Kai further.

"Oh, yes you _do_ ," she said, giggling quietly. Reno scoffed and rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his chest. Kai smiled and pushed herself up onto her toes in order to reach over and ruffle his hair. "It's okay to proud of yourself, Baby Turkling. You're adorable when you are. And dorky. Really, _really_ dorky."

"Cut it out, already, will ya? I hate it when you do that..." he groaned, ducking out from under her hand.

"No you don't," she replied cheerfully, "And for Titan's sake, quit growing already... You're getting so tall I can barely reach anymore."

He rolled his eyes again. "We done here? I got another hour I'm s'posed to be in the training hall with the rookies today."

Kai grinned and buttoned her shirt back up, before grabbing her jacket. "Better get used to it. Tseng spends more time than anyone with the Turklings, you know..."

"Well, _yeah_... that's kinda his _job_ ," Reno replied. He shook his head and made his way back to the lounge where the trio of rookies were waiting for him. Of _course_ , Tseng spent a ton of time with them. Rookies were pretty much the second in command's biggest priority when he wasn't actually in the field. Everyone knew that. He didn't know what the hell Kai thought that had to do with _him_ ,though. Unless, of course, Rude had somehow dragged _her_ into his weird little Reno's gonna be the next Second fantasy...

He almost laughed out loud at that thought. Somehow he doubted Kai would get suckered into _that_ idea. She still called him Baby Turkling, for fuck's sake.

"Alright guys..." he said, at last making his return and turning his attention back to his trio of trainees, "Who's ready for a gauntlet run before lunch?"

The question was met with a chorus of unenthusiastic groans.

"... And then we can go grab a pizza. My treat," he said, adding with a grin, "Best time picks the toppings..."

Because... why not? _He_ was having a pretty fucking good day... why not share it? The prospect of food _not_ from the Shinra cafeteria seemed to perk them up almost immediately.

* * *

"Was all of that really necessary, sir?" Tseng sighed. The pair made their way down the cobblestone path that led to the Vasquez manor. A warm breeze was blowing in from the ocean, carrying with it the sharp scent of salt. Rufus gazed out at the tiny triangles that floated amongst the waves... distant boats carrying tourists over the water. He smiled.

"Necessary? Perhaps not. But I fail to see why I shouldn't have a little fun every now and then. And besides... Serena was quite a good sport about it..."

"I'm fairly certain you ruined that lovely dress of hers..."

"And _I'm_ fairly certain she ruined one of my favorite vests," the Shinra heir returned, gesturing to the large brown stain that coated most of his left side. A food fight had, admittedly, been just a bit childish – as had the feigned screaming match that had preceded it – but it had been undeniably... amusing. And freeing. His father would _not_ be pleased when he learned how abysmally the meeting had gone... but for once in his life, he didn't care. Let the son of a bitch be angry. Rufus was fed up with having his life dictated to him. Putting up with the obnoxious and frequent pressure to find a woman to conceive an heir with was one thing... It was irritating, but tolerable. But he absolutely would _not_ stand for an arranged marriage.

Though, as potential partners went, he supposed his father could have chosen far worse than Serena. He'd decided that he actually quite liked her by the time the various foodstuffs had started flying. She was, however, already taken, as it turned out... hence her ardent refusal to adhere to her own father's demands. A local boy, apparently, not nearly as well-off as she was and, if her father's furious commentary was to be taken at face value, very much beneath her... but Rufus couldn't help but admire her loyalty to her beau. And the tenacity with which she refused to back down from her position on the matter.

"Incidentally..." Rufus added, "Aren't you meant to _protect_ me from dangerous projectiles."

Tseng chuckled. "Forgive me for not being in time to throw myself in front of that potentially deadly chocolate pie, sir... I will, of course, include it in my report so that I may be properly reprimanded."

"See that you do," the younger Shinra snickered, "But first... as it seems my lunch is now largely decorating Mr. Vasquez's veranda... let's find something to eat. I'm rather in the mood for something spicy, and Costa del Sol does spicy exceptionally well."

"Independence seems to agree with you, sir," the Turk stated, and Rufus paused, turning to face him.

"I must admit, I _was_ beginning to feel rather trapped," he replied, before hesitantly adding, "I... owe you my gratitude, Tseng. I'm not sure today would have turned out quite so well had you not accompanied me."

The Turk lieutenant smiled, but shook his head. "I suspect you may be withdrawing that gratitude after you have to explain this to your father..."

"No... I don't think I will be," Rufus said, in a tone not to be argued with, "I am an adult, and it's about damned time he started treating me like one. You gave me the push I needed to realize that myself. I won't forget it."

Tseng had, in some ways, at least, been more of a father to him than his _own_ father had ever even attempted to be. It was something that Rufus didn't like to admit, even to himself... but at times like this, it was next to impossible to deny it.

He knew his father loved him... in his own way. But the constant push to conform to his vision of what Rufus should be – whether his son liked it or not – had made it hard for them to ever be close. Rufus was his father's legacy, and while that made him one of the most important things in the elder Shinra's life, it was a... cold... importance.

Tseng had, for years now, been the one he confided in. The one he turned to for advice. The one who encouraged him to think for himself and not just do as he was told.

… And who hounded him to never forget his phone. _That_ lesson had been drilled into him on repeat for nearly a decade, much to his annoyance. But unlike his father's constant nagging... Tseng's goal had always been to keep him safe and whole. His father merely wanted him to follow commands and not embarrass him.

Which was probably why it was _Tseng's_ lessons that had eventually stuck.

* * *

By the end of the day, Reno was _still_ in the best of moods. He didn't even care that the latter half of his afternoon had been devoted to finally getting around filing his report on the Junon mission... after Veld had outright demanded he do it immediately when he'd returned from the last of his training sessions with the rookies. He'd had a great day, and even paperwork couldn't put a damper on it.

On top of that, he had Sykes' Hell Week to look forward to – not to mention the rest of _this_ week, which he planned to spend pointedly _not_ telling Kai when Tseng was planning on holding it.

Rude walked into their shared office just as he finished up the mission report.

"Hey, partner, what are you doin' tonight?" he asked, grinning widely. Rude snorted a laugh.

"I'm guessing we're going out for a drink. Why are _you_ in such a good mood?"

"No reason. Just a good day. And if the rest of the week goes even half as well, it's gonna be an awesome week, too. Why not enjoy it while it lasts?"

Rude snickered and settled into his chair. "Fair enough," he replied, "I really _could_ go for a beer right about now..."

"Heh... so what are we waitin' for? Clock says it's quittin' time."

"I literally _just_ sat down..." the older Turk teased.

"Then ya haven't had time to get comfortable yet," Reno reasoned. Rude laughed and got to his feet.

"How in Titan's name do you still have so much energy by the end of the day? Especially after spending most of it in the training hall..."

The redhead shrugged and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Don't know... don't care. Now let's get outta here, already!"

The pair stepped out of the office and bid a friendly good night to Sato as they passed him in the hallway...

… only to be told to "wait fer it". Reno eyed the Mideelian Turk.

"Okay, what's gonna explode?" he asked, and Sato grinned impishly. A moment later, there was... not so much an explosion, as a very loud pop. It was followed by a cloud of black smoke billowing out of Kai's office and harsh coughing as Kai herself staggered into the hallway.

"Sato! Goddammit!" she shouted as her eyes locked onto the snickering Turk.

" _That's_ fer makin' fun 'o my plans this mornin'..." he teased.

"Ugh! You Shiva-be-damned lunatic..." she growled, her face coated in black soot. She stormed up to him, and punched him in the stomach. Sato, took the hit and staggered backwards, still laughing. "You're cleaning up that mess. _First_ thing in the morning!"

"Sato!" Remy's voice shouted, before he could respond, "For Leviathan's sake, what in the Nine Hells is _wrong_ with you?!"

Reno watched as she angrily stomped towards them, pausing only when she was inches from the deeply amused Turk.

"I have had _enough_ of this! You can't just keep planting explosives in people's offices. It's _not_ funny, and _someone_ is going to get _hurt_!"

"Aw, calm yer tits, Remy... 'Twas just a wee smoke grenade. Wouldnae hurt a fly."

"You and I will be speaking to Veld first thing tomorrow," Remy ground out, narrowing her eyes as she poked him in the chest. With that, both she _and_ Kai turned on their heel and went to survey the damage. Reno shook his head, but couldn't stop the soft laugh that escaped.

"Ya know, Sato... one of these days, you're gonna piss 'em off so much they finally just chuck you 'n all your bombs off the roof."

Sato smirked and brushed some invisible dirt off his sleeve. "Aye... but 'til then I plan on enjoyin' myself," he chuckled, "'Night, boys... I've a date with a lovely wee lass who's finger's in desperate need 'o a new ring."

"Heh... Good luck, man," the redhead snickered.

"Maybe try not to blow _her_ up," Rude added, jokingly. Sato laughed, and beat a hasty exit to the elevators. Reno turned to Rude.

"Uh... think we oughta help 'em clean shit up before we go?"

"Hmph... Let Sato do it in the morning. It's _his_ mess, after all."

"Yeah... I know," he said, glancing back at the still-smoking office, "But I mean... the guy's gettin' engaged tonight. And Veld's gonna be pretty pissed when Remy tells him about this..."

Rude shook his head. "Fine. We'll see if they need some help."

* * *

It was close to an hour later before they found themselves happily seated at a bar in Sector 0 called The Phoenix Nest. They'd helped clean up a few things that couldn't wait, but eventually Remy had sent them off, telling them that it wasn't their responsibility and that Sato would see to it tomorrow. Or else.

Reno sighed in content as he sipped his first beer of the evening. Rude, meanwhile, was quietly snickering into his own.

"What?" the redhead asked. His friend shook his head.

"You."

"Tch... what about me?"

"You get happy over the weirdest things sometimes..." Rude teased, "Tseng essentially told you that he's gonna be increasing your workload permanently this morning, and you're _thrilled_ about it."

"I don't mind hard work," Reno replied, shrugging, "'Specially when it's somethin' I enjoy doin' anyway."

" _And_ when it comes with the added bonus of hearing Tseng say how proud he is of you..." his friend added, smirking.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well... I didn't get to hear shit like that real often before Tseng came along. So excuse me if it's somethin' that makes me feel good."

Rude chuckled and slung an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I'm just teasing you..."

"I _have_ told ya before that you're an asshole, right, pal?" Reno laughed.

"Once or twice," the bald Turk said, smiling. He turned back to his beer and was about to take another swig when the familiar sound of Reno's PHS made itself known from his jacket pocket. Less than a second later, his own phone echoed the shrill cry. He glanced at the redhead, who was already reaching for his, and frowned, following suit. Reno's face took on a serious expression as he read the text message that had appeared on the screen.

"Well, fuck. Shoulda known today was goin' a little _too_ good..." he said. Rude grunted in agreement as he scanned the short missive... an emergency summons to an address in Sector 2. No additional details. Just a foreboding 'Get here _now_ '.

~end chapter 33~


	34. A Pretty Fucking Terrible Night

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 34: A Pretty Fucking Terrible Night**

 **by Desha**

The scene was chaotic when they arrived. Fire engines, police cruisers, ambulances... You name the department, their rescue personnel were there. Reno's stomach twisted unpleasantly as he pulled into a parking lot three blocks away. Rude pulled in next to him and climbed out of his truck. It was the closest they could get in a vehicle. They'd need to travel the rest of the distance on foot.

A crowd of onlookers had gathered well before their arrival, gawking and pointing upwards at the shattered windows, and wisps of smoke still trailing upwards. Reno tried to elbow his way through, but no one seemed to be in any hurry to give him access.

"Rude... ya mind?" he said at last, glancing over his shoulder at the the his fellow Turk... who smirked and made quick work of the multitudes blocking their path. The redhead hurriedly fell into his wake, ignoring the annoyed protests of those who were suddenly being physically moved out of their way.

"Fuck..." he said, turning his gaze towards the damaged section of the building. "Tell me that's not the eighteenth floor..."

"Little too busy to count right now," Rude replied, still plowing his way through the crowd. Reno didn't really _have_ to count. The address was a familiar one. And why the fuck _else_ would they have been called out here?

"Hold it! No civilians past the barricades!" a voice commanded, and Reno very nearly walked straight into Rude as he pulled up short in front of one of the cops working crowd control. He grumbled and peered around his friend's larger frame.

"We're not fuckin' civilians, pal," he replied, whipping out his credentials and scowling in irritation. He ignored the man's stammered reply and slipped around Rude, ducking beneath the plastic tape that had cordoned off the area beneath the broken windows. The ground was littered with shards of glass that crunched loudly underfoot as the pair made their way across the parking lot and into the building's lobby. He spotted Kai near the stairs.

"What happened?" he asked, and the senior Turk shook her head.

"Exactly what Saya always _told_ that idiot cousin of hers would happen someday..." she replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't know _what_ blew up... but I'm sure it was something he built."

"The others already upstairs?" Rude queried.

"Veld and Remy are, yeah. I don't think they bothered calling in the rookies for this, and Tseng's still en route from Costa del Sol. Do me a favor... when you get up there, smack Sato upside the head for me, will ya? Thanks to him, I'm stuck keeping the unauthorized assholes at bay instead of enjoying a nice long soak in the nice hot bath I was going to run as soon as I got home."

Reno snorted softly in amusement and stepped past her, into the elevator. Apparently Kai was still a little ticked about her office being invaded by a smoke cloud earlier. Rude followed him and he hit the button for the eighteenth floor. The car obediently delivered them to the requested destination.

The hallway was filled with a pungent, lingering smoke, and fire fighters were guiding a few straggling residents out of their apartments and down the nearby stairs. Reno coughed faintly in the foul air and shook his head. It was a little too reminiscent of the aftermath of his _own_ former apartment's encounter with one of the Mideelian Turk's homemade devices.

"Man... Sato really knows how to destroy an apartment. Wonder what the damage _inside_ is like?"

A door a little farther down opened, and a familiar figure stepped out into the hallway. Remy paused, now yet noticing the pair, pressing her fist to her lips and squeezing her eyes shut. Reno frowned and quickened his steps.

"Remy?" he queried, and she looked up at him, "What's goin' on?"

"I-it was that Leviathan-forsaken still of his!" she said in a tone that was equal parts furious and... something else entirely. "I _told_ him... _Saya_ told him. That damn thing was an accident waiting to happen!"

Her lip quivered slightly, and the redhead suddenly became very aware of the fact that she was desperately holding back tears.

"... Sato's... _okay_ , though... right?" he asked, not entirely sure he wanted to hear the answer. Remy shook her head and tried to reply, but all that came out was a sob.

"Oh, fuck..." he breathed, feeling an unpleasant sinking sensation in his stomach, and a moment later, Remy was in his arms, crying. He swallowed sharply and glanced back at Rude, who was standing behind him with a somewhat shell-shocked expression on his face. "Go see if Veld needs any help. I... uh... I'll stay with Remy."

The order seemed to snap his fellow Turk out of his momentary shock, and Rude nodded, pushing open the door to Sato's apartment and stepping inside. Reno looked around and spotted a door on the opposite side of the hall still ajar... probably left open when the tenants had been evacuated. He guided Remy inside, and found himself in a cozy little living room filled with quilted and knitted and crocheted... everything. The place looked like it belonged to the most grandmotherly grandmother that ever grandmothered. He ignored the décor and sat her down on the couch.

"You okay?" he asked. Remy's grip on him tightened, and he gently rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles.

"No..." she said softly.

"... Is he... ?" he began, somehow needing to hear the words themselves, but not able to finish the sentence. Not that he needed to. Remy nodded against his chest.

"He must have been right next to it when it exploded," she replied in a quiet voice, "You can see where he... was thrown against the wall. He was dead before we got here... and we got here fairly quickly. Veld was close enough to hear the explosion on his way home, so he came to investigate. Then he called the rest of us in." Her arms squeezed him in desperation. "I... Oh, Reno... The last thing I said to him..."

"Hey... Come on. You didn't know this was gonna happen. And ya _know_ he did it just to piss you 'n Kai off. He _liked_ pissin' people off. 'Specially _you_. Remember? It was practically his favorite pastime."

Remy managed a small sob of a laugh, and pulled away from him. She wiped a hand over her eyes and exhaled a long, slow breath.

"I'm sorry. I... I'm having a hard time keeping it together right now," she said. "I just... can't believe it."

"... Yeah," was all Reno could think to say. Somehow, _he_ couldn't quite believe it, either. It had long been a running joke in the office that one of these days Sato was going to blow himself to kingdom come, but no one _really_ took it seriously. Sato was... _completely_ nuts. Even _he_ admitted _that_. But he knew what he was doing when it came to explosives. Probably better than just about anyone. Remy sniffed and stood up.

"I'm... going to go tell Kai what's going on. You should go help Veld and Rude."

"... 'Kay. You sure you're gonna be alright?"

"... I'm not really sure of anything at the moment," she replied, "But we have a job do."

* * *

Veld was staring silently out at Midgar through the broken windows when Rude walked into the apartment. The younger Turk could see the telltale signs of a recent explosion... Scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. Debris strewn across the floor, emanating from the source of the blast. Bits of shattered glass hanging from the window frames. The acrid smell of smoke lingering in the air.

"Sir... ?" he queried, hesitantly. Veld turned and heaved a great sigh.

"I... assume Remy told you?"

"... Yes, sir." His eyes flickered briefly to the still figure laying on the floor on the far side of the room, cloaked in a crisp, white sheet. Veld nodded.

"As it turns out, there's very little, if anything, for us to do. I suppose my summons was a bit premature. City services has things well in hand. They'll be up to remove the body as soon as they've cleared the floor. I just... didn't want to leave him here alone." The Turk leader scrubbed his hands over his face. "I should inform Kai. She's been in the lobby this whole time."

Rude glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps, and spotted Remy through the open door, walking swiftly towards the elevator. A moment later Reno made his way inside.

"Remy's headin' downstairs to let Kai know what's goin' on," he informed them. "She's... uh... pretty upset. Her 'n Sato kinda had it out earlier 'bout him smokin' Kai outta her office before we took off tonight. Think she's feelin' kinda guilty right now."

The redhead's eyes strayed towards the white sheet, and for several long moments, he could only stare at it in silence.

"Has... um... has anyone told Victoria?" he suddenly asked. Veld visibly cringed.

"I'm a bit ashamed to say... I hadn't even considered that yet," he sighed, shaking his head. "She was coming to see him tonight, wasn't she? She may be downstairs somewhere. Someone should try and find her."

"... I'll do it," Reno said quietly. "Think I'm the only who's actually met her. 'Least I know what she looks like."

The younger Turk cast one final glance in Sato's direction before turning back the way he'd come. Rude remained where he was, unsure of just what he ought to be doing.

It was one thing to lose a fellow Turk on the job. But to lose one like _this_? It just felt wrong and... pointless. Sato would never have been accused of being the sanest of their ranks, but he was a damned good Turk. To see him go out like _this_...

He sighed and turned his attention to the small box that sat unassumingly on the coffee table in the living room, reaching out to pick it up. Rude opened it, revealing the diamond ring inside.

"Sir?" he asked, holding it out to the Turk leader. Veld grimaced and took it from him.

"I... suppose he would have wanted Victoria to have it. I'm not sure what the best time would ever be to give it to her, though... assuming there _is_ a good time."

Rude nodded, and was extraordinarily glad that decision wasn't up to him. He didn't envy Veld at times like these. As commander of the team, breaking bad news fell to him almost exclusively, particularly where a Turks' family or significant other was concerned. He had his doubts as to whether or not _he_ could ever handle such a massive emotional weight hanging over him constantly... and frankly, he didn't want to have to find out.

Veld sighed and sat down in one of the arm chairs in the living room, taking out his PHS.

"I should update Tseng and see if he wants me to inform the rookies or if he'd prefer to do it himself in the morning," he noted, and Rude couldn't help but notice that for a moment, the Turk leader seemed to look every one of his fifty-seven years. He wondered, and not for the first time, just how many such phone calls he'd had to make during his tenure as Turk leader. As he dialed, Veld added, "This really _is_ the worst part of the job."

* * *

The elevator deposited Reno on the ground floor, and he was forced to sidestep an incoming gurney and pair of paramedics in order to exit. Obviously... they were there to take Sato away. He swallowed against the lump the thought left in his throat and walked a little ways down the hall, spotting Kai and Remy just beyond the entrance doors. Kai was sitting on a short retaining wall, her head in her hands.

It just wasn't fair. First Cissnei... now Sato. Both taken out by what essentially amounted to freak accidents. Why the hell was this happening? Was it some kind of karmic onslaught, in response to what they did for a living? Or had the universe as a whole just decided to pick a few people at random for a nice big fuck you?

Turks died. They'd died in the past. They'd die in the future. It was something they had each accepted as part of their job. But getting taken out while you're just at home minding your own damn business? Where the _fuck_ was the sense in that? It wasn't fucking _fair_.

Of course... _life_ wasn't fair. He knew that as well as anyone. This was still some fucking bullshit, though.

He paused at the doors, taking a moment to calm himself down, before pushing them open and stepping outside. The air was warm and felt like rain was incoming. The crowds had thinned a bit, but there were still a fairly significant number of people hanging around.

"Hey," he said, making his way over to Remy and Kai. The former nodded in acknowledgment, but said nothing. The latter didn't even look up.

"Reno?!"

The redhead turned at the sound of his name, looking for the source. It didn't take him long to spot her, caught up in the crush of people near the front of the barricades, waving frantically at him. Before he knew it, he was walking towards her waving off the police officers that were trying to keep order.

"It's okay. Let her through," he said, when he reached them, and the officer grudgingly complied. Victoria glared at them angrily as she ducked under the tape and hurried over to the redhead.

"What in Shiva's name happened here? I get here for our date and all hell has broken loose. I've been trying to reach Sato for ages! _What_ is going on?!"

Reno mentally groaned and wondered what in the Nine Hells had ever possessed him to volunteer for this. It was bad enough seeing Remy break down a short while ago. Now he had to tell Victoria the bad news. _She_ wasn't a Turk. _She_ wasn't going to just pull herself together on sheer will alone because there was shit that needed to get done the way Remy had. _She_ was about to find out that the guy who was going to fucking propose to her tonight was dead, and _he_ was going to be the one who had to tell her.

He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"There... was an explosion. Up in Sato's apartment," he said, not sure if he should just come right out and say it, or try and break it to her gently. He didn't really _know_ Victoria; what kind of person she was... how she reacted to shit like this. He'd only even _met_ the woman once... and likely the sole reason she'd even recognized himtonight was because his appearance was far more memorable than most and he tended to stand out in a crowd. "I..." he began again, running a hand through his hair, "Fuck... I don't... I don't even know how to say this."

He couldn't just fucking say "Sato's dead". He just... couldn't. The words wouldn't even form, for some reason. And the way she was looking at him, wide eyes already wet. She knew. She was just waiting to hear him say it. And he couldn't.

He was mercifully spared from having to utter any such pronouncement, as the paramedics wheeled out a covered body and began to load it into the back of a waiting ambulance.

"No!" Victoria screamed, and surged toward the sight. Reno grabbed her on instinct, stopping her in her tracks. She didn't need to see him like that. _No one_ should have to see someone they cared about like that. He held her, pulling her tight against his chest, and letting her wail on him with angry fists... until finally she stopped struggling and just sobbed.

"I'm sorry..." he managed, in a choked voice.

* * *

Once Sato's body had been taken away, Reno was mercifully able to let Veld take over with Victoria. He felt bad thinking like that, but he... just didn't handle crying women very well. He _wanted_ to help... but he never knew what the hell he was supposed to do, and the thought of just making things worse terrified him.

By then, the crowds had largely cleared out, and most of what remained were reporters and displaced residents of the building. Veld had told them to go home... and that he would make sure Victoria made it home safely. They had lingered for a short while, no one quite sure what to say, but not yet ready to split up for the night... but at last, it seemed silly to stay any longer, and they began the walk towards their vehicles.

"Reno? Would... you mind giving me a ride? I took the train this morning and... I'd rather not have to deal with it right now..." Remy asked of him, quietly.

"Yeah... Sure, Remy," he replied, leading her towards his car. Kai was already speeding off into the night on her motorcycle by the time they got there. The senior Turk had been unusually quiet... not that Reno could blame her. He couldn't think of much of anything to say, either, after all.

He waved to Rude as he was climbing into his truck, and opened the passenger door of his car for Remy, ushering her in, before circling around to the driver's side.

She was silent for most of the ride... In fact she said virtually nothing until they reached her apartment complex, and even then, it was only a soft "Thank you" as she pushed the door open. Reno shut the engine off and got out as well, escorting her to her apartment.

"... I'll see ya tomorrow," he said, after making sure she got inside alright. He turned to go, only to be caught by the wrist and pulled back around to face her.

"Please... I... don't want to be alone tonight," Remy said. "I just... _please_ don't go."

Reno let her pull him into the apartment, shutting the door behind him, and pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head against his shoulder. Truth be told, he wasn't really in any hurry to go home alone right now, either.

* * *

He woke the following morning with an uncomfortable pins and needles sensation in his right arm... which, he surmised, was likely due to the fact that Remy was presently sleeping on top of it. Quite soundly. Reno winced and flexed his fingers in the hopes of restoring blood flow without waking her, but eventually realized that if he was to have any hope of regaining feeling in the limb, he was going to have to extricate himself.

That thought in mind, he began the slow, careful process of easing his arm out from beneath his bedmate's body.

There hadn't been any sex last night. Neither of them had been in the mood for anything like that, for obvious reasons. Remy had just wanted... to be held. And to be fair, he'd found it comforting himself... much more than sleeping alone would have been, that's for sure.

He'd managed to free himself as far as his elbow when the obnoxious blaring of an alarm clock echoed from Remy's bedside table. The senior Turk stirred slightly, and a few seconds later, groaned and slowly rolled over, swatting at the device until it shut off. She rubbed her eyes and turned to him, an expression of grief flashing across her features, as the events of the night before came back to her.

"I... have to admit, I was hoping it was all a bad dream..." she said quietly, moving to resume her place against the redhead's side and resting her head on his shoulder. Reno sighed.

"Yeah... me too."

"... I..." she began, awkwardly, clearing her throat, "Thank you. For staying. I know we said this was... _only_ meant to be physical."

The redhead shrugged and managed a slight smile.

"Tch... come on, Remy. What was I gonna do? Just take off 'n leave ya here all by yourself?" He shook his head. "I couldn't do that to ya."

Remy reached over and gently stroked her hand along his cheek.

"We should probably get ready for work..." she said, and Reno had the distinct feeling that there was more she wanted to say... but she didn't. Instead, she turned her gaze on the clock and frowned. "You're never going to have time to get home and clean up..."

The redhead wasn't worried. "Eh... I _always_ look like I just rolled outta bed anyway. I got a spare uniform at work. Learned my lesson about _that_ a long time ago. I'm just gonna head straight to the office 'n grab a shower in the locker room."

He'd learn that lesson a _very_ long time ago, in fact. He hadn't exactly enjoyed spending almost the entire day in borrowed sweats just because Rufus had decided he needed a swimming lesson on his first day... and he'd kept extra clothes in his locker ever since, just in case.

Remy nodded and sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed. He grunted softly as the off-putting feeling of a still half-asleep arm made him flinch.

"Are you alright?" Remy asked, brow furrow. He smirked.

"Yeah... but next time ya use me for a pillow, try not to cut off the circulation, huh... ?"

The senior Turk smiled faintly, and followed him as he stood, gathering up his jacket and PHS and weaponry. She caught him by the wrist, just as she had last night, and leaned in close to him, kissing him. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. Reno merely shrugged again and turned to go.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, forcing a smile in spite of the events of last night, "I'll... see ya at the office, okay?"

Remy nodded, and walked him to the door, closing it behind him with a soft click.

* * *

"Reno..." Tseng called out as he stepped onto the Turks' floor a short while later, fresh from the locker room showers on Thirty-one, "I... could use your assistance."

"Yeah, sure. What's up, Boss?"

"Sato's office. I normally wouldn't put a high priority on removing personal possessions, but given some of Sato's _hobbies_ , Veld and I agreed that we should go through it sooner rather than later. Just in case."

Reno snorted softly. "You sure we shouldn't get SOLDIER's bomb disposal unit to do it?"

The Turk lieutenant cracked a sad smile. "It _would_ probably be safer... but, no. This is a Turks matter. And I would be grateful for the help."

The redhead nodded and obligingly followed his mentor down the hallway to Sato's office. Reno frowned as he stepped inside, shaking his head. Sato never _had_ removed Saya's desk from the space they once shared. It still sat, devoid of her personal possessions, her notes, her paperwork... right where it had always been. Just... empty, now.

The Mideelian Turk had long since accepted that his cousin was gone... but Reno got the feeling that he'd never quite gotten over her loss. For a long time after her death, Reno had caught the man occasionally looking for her after cracking a joke she almost certainly would have berated him for, or after setting off one of his "toys" in the office. And he'd seen the sadness in Sato's eyes when he remembered that Saya wasn't there. It had faded with time... but everyone knew that a part of him had died with her that day.

"... Hard to believe they're _both_ gone, now..." Reno said, softly, trailing a hand along the edge of the empty desk.

"Yes... It is," Tseng agreed, and then cast him another small smile. "You know... when Saya died, I don't think anyone was more surprised by it than Sato. I honestly believe he never expected to outlive her." He picked up a sheaf of papers from the desk, giving them a cursory glance. "I... have not yet informed the rookies. They've been notified to report to my office and wait for me as soon as they get in. How are the others taking it?"

"Remy was pretty upset last night. Think Kai was, too, but she took off soon as we were done at Sato's place. They... uh... kinda didn't part with him on the best terms at the end of the day. Sato blew up Kai's office. Again."

Tseng sighed heavily, and tidied the stack of papers before setting them on the corner of the desk.

"That is... unfortunate," he replied. "There are few worse feelings than regret. Particularly a regret you will never have the chance to make right."

Reno nodded somewhat absently as he pulled open one of the filing cabinet drawers... and quickly recoiled when something inside beeped loudly. His eyes widened and he instinctively took a step back, gaze locked on the open compartment, searching for the source. He relaxed a moment later as he recognized one of Sato's training units for bomb disposal. He rolled his eyes and groaned as he reached in and quickly switched it off before it could detonate.

"For _Ifrit's_ sake..." he breathed, "Why the _hell's_ he gotta keep shit like that just sittin' in a random drawer?!"

Tseng chuckled softly and shook his head. "That's Sato for you. I would strongly suggest opening things _carefully_. I very much doubt there's anything truly deadly... at least not that would be so easily triggered. But I wouldn't put it past him to have boobytrapped his office to at least _some_ extent, on the off chance someone came snooping..."

"Seriously, Boss... is it too late to call in the bomb squad on this?" he muttered. He carefully pulled the device out, made absolutely certain it was indeed shut off, and set it aside on Saya's old desk. "... Ya think Remy 'n Kai'll be okay?"

"Regret is something one eventually learns to live with," Tseng replied.

"Yeah," the redhead nodded, "I guess. But it never really goes away, does it? I mean... not really."

"No, it doesn't," his mentor agreed, "It's... why I try never to stay angry with someone I care for... not for too long, at any rate. One never knows what the last thing one ends up saying to a friend may be..."

Reno swallowed sharply, and glanced back at him. "I was ticked at _you_ for weeks after... ya know. Sector 4... 'n now I can't help thinkin' that if somethin' had happened to you while I was busy bein' the world's biggest dickbag, I don't think I'da ever forgiven myself."

Tseng paused in his search of the office and turned to his protege, letting a hand rest on his shoulder.

"It's a lesson I hope you never have to learn the hard way," he said, and smiled faintly. "Though for the record, I never once took any of that personally, even when you were at your worst. I knew how much you were hurting."

"Tch... doesn't excuse me bein' a total asshat for so long."

"I never said it _did_ ," Tseng chuckled, "And you _were_ quite adept at _being_ a total asshat, incidentally. But I understood."

The redhead snorted softly at the statement. It always struck him as just a little bizarre when Tseng parroted his own less than classy vocabulary back at him in conversation. It didn't fit the man's prim and proper demeanor at all, and it reminded the former slum rat that there _was_ ,in fact, a fairly snarky sense of humor buried under all that polish.

He eased open another drawer and cringed.

"Uh... Boss?" he said, hesitantly. The Wutaiian Turk glanced over, and sighed.

"Wonderful..." he groaned, upon seeing the drawer half-filled with live grenades, neatly stacked in rows of six. "How these offices haven't simply been wiped off the map already, I will never know. Don't touch them yet. I'll get a proper munitions box for those..."

"Umm... Sato didn't keep shit like this at _home_ did he?"

"Veld said he swept the apartment last night before he finally went home. Thankfully, Sato preferred to do most of his... tinkering... here at the office. The few potentially dangerous items that _were_ stored there have already been secured."

Reno snorted a faint laugh and shook his head. "Man... I'm really gonna miss that psychopathic nutjob... Which probably makes me at least _half_ as crazy as _he_ was..."

Tseng glanced up at him, faintly amused. "You know... I have to admit, I'm a little surprised. You're taking this extremely well..."

"Yeah. It's weird. I _feel_ like I _oughta_ be depressed 'n shit, but... It's Sato. I mean... you _know_ he wouldn't've wanted that. He was all _about_ celebratin' a person's life. Not mournin' their death. Even when it was Saya, 'n I _know_ how much _that_ loss affected him."

"Mmm... you're right. He did have a rather... unique... outlook on such things. I suppose I'll need to procure the fireworks he always insisted upon for his funeral."

Reno smirked slightly. "And the strippers?" he asked, remembering his friend's oft-repeated proclamation for his final wishes. Tseng rolled his eyes.

"I am _not_ hiring strippers."

"You sure? I could ask Lira. I'm sure she knows some girls who'd like to make some extra gil topside..."

" _No_ strippers," Tseng said, emphatically. The redhead snickered quietly and resumed his search of the office.

"... I'm not even going ask," Rude commented from out in the hallway as he poked his head in. "Sir... Liam and Petra are in your office."

Tseng glanced up from his investigation of a canvas bag in the corner. "I didn't expect them to arrive so early..." he commented, and looked over at Reno. "I'll be back shortly."

The redhead nodded and his mentor hurried off to see to the rookies. Rude, however, remained behind, leaning against the doorframe.

"Already clearing things out?" he asked.

"Heh... the Boss figured we'd better get to it as soon as possible, considerin' how much shit in here might potentially blow up..."

"You okay doing it?"

Reno paused, holding the framed photo of Sato and Saya that had been sitting on the former's desk in his hands. He shook his head, and set it aside for the moment.

"I've done it before..." he replied, "Ya know... back when we lost Luca. 'Sides... Tseng asked for my help. He'd be stuck doin' this shit alone if I ducked out." He hesitated a moment and glanced up at his friend. "I'm kinda just glad he didn't ask me to come with him to talk to the rookies. _This_ I can handle. I'm not so sure I could keep my shit together listenin' to him break the news to 'em... I suck at shit like that."

Rude stepped fully inside the room and joined the redhead as he opened a small supply closet.

"Want some help until Tseng comes back?"

"Sure..." Reno replied, turning his attention on the interior of the space... and immediately wishing he hadn't. "What the ever-living _fuck_... ? Okay, I know everyone's always joked about it, but for real, man... Sato was fuckin' _insane_."

"Is... that C-4?" Rude hesitantly asked, eyeing a stack of tightly wrapped packages sitting on one shelf, labeled by weight.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is. And... I don't know what half the rest of that shit is, but I suddenly _really_ don't wanna be in this room right now..." he replied with a nervous laugh. The entire closet looked like it ought to have been part of the Junon munitions storage they'd recently had cause to tour. Plastic explosive, liquids in vials covered in warning labels, powders, fuses... the inventory would have been impressive had it not been utterly terrifying. Rude shook his head and slowly backed away.

"I'm not sure I want to be within 2 miles of the _building_ right now..."

Reno looked back at Rude, and then into the closet... and then back at Rude again.

"Fuck _this_. I'm not touchin' _shit_ 'til Tseng gets back."

Rude sighed softly, still shaking his head. "I can't believe I've been right down the hall from all of this for four years and never even knew it..."

"What in the Nine Hells are we gonna _do_ with all this?" Reno asked, laughing incredulously. "I mean... We find this kinda stash just about anywhere _else_ in the building, 'n Veld would be callin' for an immediate evacuation." The redhead groaned and carefully shut the door. "Forget Tseng... He's gonna be busy for awhile 'n I'm not so sure this can wait. I'm gonna go see if Veld's in yet. Uh... don't, like... sneeze too hard or anything while I'm gone..."

"Gee... thanks for the advice..." Rude snickered.

Reno darted out of the office and hurried down the hall and around the corner. When he reached Tseng's office, he spotted Sykes being ushered inside. As the door closed behind the rookie, the redhead hurried to the office on the opposite side of the hallway and knocked.

"Come in," a voice inside called out to him, and he eased the door open silently, slipping inside. Veld looked up from a pile of paperwork and nodded a greeting to him. "Something I can do for you, Reno?"

"Uh... yeah. Tseng asked me to give him a hand with Sato's office. He's in talkin' to the rookies right now, 'n..." The redhead shook his head, still in disbelief. "Sir, you're gonna have to come _see_ this one to believe it. Sato's got an Ifrit-forsaken _closet_ fulla high explosives. Not exageratin'..."

Veld roughly pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned as he got to his feet, following the younger Turk into the hallway.

"Why am I not surprised... ?" he muttered in an exasperated tone.

* * *

Liam leaned against the railing that surrounded the rooftop of the Shinra Building, staring out across the city, but not really seeing it. He was far too lost in his own thoughts to take much interest in the sights.

When he'd woken to a message to report to Tseng's office first thing that morning, he hadn't been sure what to expect. A training activity? A test of some sort? Maybe even a small mission? It certainly _hadn't_ been what he'd walked into. He hadn't been a Turk even half a year yet... and already _two_ of their number were gone. He'd known, going into this, that Turks didn't always have the longest of lifespans, but...

He wiped a stray tear that had managed to slip free away from his eye.

"Hey."

Liam turned at the sound of the familiar voice, and found Reno standing behind him. He blinked in surprise, not having heard him approach on the windy rooftop.

"Your partners in crime are startin' to worry 'bout ya. Said you don't usually skip out on lunch," the senior Turk said. Liam ducked his head and returned his gaze to the city.

"... How'd you find me?" he asked. Reno joined him at the railing, leaning against it and looking out into the distance.

"Came up here more than once myself as a rookie when somethin' was on my mind. Still do sometimes, actually... Good place to be alone 'n think. I figured it couldn't hurt to check."

The younger man was silent for a long moment, before exhaling a long breath and dropping his gaze to the street far below.

"... I don't know if I can do this, sir..." Liam softly admitted. For a moment, he half-thought the senior Turk hadn't heard him over the wind. A moment later, though, an arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"We all have that thought once in awhile, kid," he said, "It's one thing knowin' that _you_ might end up dyin' on this job. Whole other pile of shit when you realize that everyone _else_ might, _too_."

Liam glanced up at the redhead. "How do you live with that, sir? I mean... how do you come in every _day_ knowing that someone might not be there anymore by the time we clock out?"

"You askin' me _personally_ , or just in general?" Reno queried, with a slightly teasing smile. "'Cause I think that answer's probably gonna be different for everyone."

"I guess... you, personally."

"Hmph... me? I don't really _have_ anything else. I got one close friend back down in the slums, 'n everyone _else_ I give a shit about is right here. What else _would_ I do? I decide I can't take this shit anymore 'n all I'd be doin' is abandonin' the most important people in my life. Fuck that. I up 'n leave 'n somethin' happens to one of 'em that maybe I coulda prevented? Couldn't live with _that_. I _know_ I couldn't."

Liam breathed a heavy sigh as he realized that Reno had a point. What if he _did_ decide that the Turks just weren't for him and then something happened to Petra or Sykes because he wasn't there to watch their back? They... were the first _real_ friends he'd ever had. All the moving around his family had done when he was younger had made it hard to form any kind of lasting relationships beyond his parents and his sister.

Still, the reality of this life was... hard to accept. He'd thought he'd been prepared for that reality when he'd been told he was being promoted. But knowing the dangers inherent in being a Turk, and living with the ramifications of them, were two _entirely_ different things.

"I'll leave ya alone for awhile. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Heh... Probably oughta get back, anyway. _I_ don't usually skip lunch, _either_... 'cause the Doc throws a goddamn fit when I do 'n she finds out about it. Fuckin' pain in my ass. I keep tellin' her I just _don't fuckin' gain weight_ ," he said, teasingly, "But... you ever, ya know, need to talk to someone... come find me, 'kay? Trust me... I know what it's like to wonder if you're really cut out for this shit."

"Yes, sir," Liam replied, a grateful smile flitting briefly over his lips.

"Tch... and knock off the 'sir' bullshit on personal time, will ya? It seriously weirds me out," he added, with a slight grin before heading back towards the elevator and leaving Liam to his thoughts. The rookie watched him go for a moment before turning back to the railing.

Liam had worked _hard_ to get to where he was now. He didn't want to just throw that all away. But he couldn't help but wonder if he really had it in him to do this job. None of the others seemed to struggle with losses like this, so why was _he_ having such a difficult time? Why was it so hard for _him_ to accept?

He didn't know. But he felt the tiniest bit better knowing that at least _one_ member of the team seemed to understand.

~end chapter 34~


	35. Moving On

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 35: Moving On**

 **by Desha**

Reno hit the floor hard, flat on his stomach and coughed faintly as he fought to regain his breath. The person who'd _put_ him there, however, didn't seem overly inclined to allow him to recover, and seconds later, his arms were twisted behind his back, pushing his face into the vinyl covering of the practice mats.

"Ya know... I'm not sure they're gonna learn a whole lot from this demo if ya just keep beatin' the crap outta me, Boss..." he managed to get out, and heard a chorus of barely suppressed snickers from somewhere to his left. Tseng chuckled and released him, before pulling the younger Turk to his feet.

"If nothing else, it will teach them what _not_ to do..."

The redhead scowled and brushed himself off. He _hated_ that move. And it didn't seem to matter how many times Tseng showed him how to counter it, he could never quite get the timing right. It annoyed him to no end... especially when his mentor used it against him specifically for that reason. The Turk lieutenant _definitely_ took some amount of pleasure in it, no matter how much he denied it.

Still... Reno _was_ rather enjoying his new routine. Not only because he liked being a more involved trainer... but also because it afforded him more time with Tseng. It was quite a bit more work than he was generally used to, particularly since he was not only responsible for helping with the actual training sessions he shared with his mentor four times a week, Tseng had also put him in charge of the training schedule itself... which meant coordinating with _everyone_ on the team to see who was available when, finding out when the various training spaces were free, and then amalgamating all of that information into something resembling a logical timetable. It _wasn't_ as easy as it sounded, and he suspected that his mentor wasn't overly upset to be handing off the job. In fact, Tseng had looked downright gleeful for a brief moment between setting him the task and schooling his expression into its usual professional mask.

But... on the bright side, it had provided him with a much needed distraction. Sato's memorial had come and gone, as had his _actual_ funeral back home in Mideel. Remy, having family in the region she could stay with, had gone as something of a representative of the team... and as something of an escort for Victoria. He'd been buried next to Saya, on land owned by their family for generations. Tseng had ensured that there were fireworks for both services... _after_ ensuring that the powder keg of a closet in Sato's office had been safely emptied.

Somehow, though, now that it was over and done with, the loss felt far more real... well... to Reno, at least. It probably hadn't helped that his annual visit to his mother's grave had fallen during the interim, and he was immensely glad that, for once, he hadn't opted to go alone. He'd been more than a little upset at the time, and if Rude hadn't been with him, he probably wouldn't have fared well trying to get home when it was done.

He'd spent the night at Rude's place, just... talking – Probably more than he _ever_ had on the subject, in fact – while his friend simply listened. And cooked. He _definitely_ hadn't gone to bed hungry that night. It had been easier to talk about her this time. Not _easy_ , but easi _er_. Even though it had hurt, and even though his mind strayed to her death for more often than he would have liked, there had been good moments, too. Things he hadn't thought about in years. Hadn't even realized he'd forgotten.

It had... given him hope that it wasn't a lost cause... that one day he'd be able to just talk about her and think about her and remember her and _not_ picture her the way he'd seen her last. That there was more buried in his brain than just that one moment, if he was just brave enough to search for it.

But at the same time, it put Sato's death in stark contrast to hers. Really, he'd known Sato _almost_ as long as he'd known his mother, when it came right down to it. Memories of Sato were so easy to recall... and so untainted by heartache. Even with his loss being so fresh in his mind, it didn't sting the way his mother's still did.

He didn't think he could say the same for Victoria. Reno hadn't seen the late Turk's would-be fiance since the night it had all happened, but according to Remy, she'd... well... she'd been kind of a wreck at the memorial service. After that, they'd returned home to Midgar, and she hadn't contacted any of them since. And though he didn't like to speak ill of the dead... Reno couldn't help but wonder what in the Nine Hells Sato had been thinking. After all... he knew as well as anyone how deadly their job was, but he'd still dragged some poor, unsuspecting civilian into it... let her fall in love with him... even gone so far as gotten ready to propose. And then he'd up and died on her. And yeah, he hadn't _intended_ for it to happen, but still...

It just seemed... unnecessarily cruel.

And then there were the rookies... They still had days when they struggled with the reality of being a Turk. Especially Liam. The youngest of the three had stopped by his office to talk to him privately several times now. He was a good kid... and he couldn't blame him for having his doubts. Reno had certainly had his share of his own when he'd first started out. It wasn't _easy_ being a rookie, by any stretch of the imagination.

He hadn't been shy about telling the kid as much, either, sparing no details when asked what _his_ first few months on the job had been like, and the losses _he'd_ experienced before he was ready. If you could ever really _be_ ready. Liam had seemed... reassured, at least... by the knowledge that it hadn't been any easier for the redhead than it was for him.

"That's all for today," Tseng announced, "I believe all of you have assignments this afternoon?"

"Yes, sir," the three rookie's acknowledged, and the Turk lieutenant nodded. "You're dismissed, then."

As they made their way out of the training hall, Tseng turned to the redhead and smirked slightly.

" _You_ , however, still need more practice with that counter."

Reno groaned, and rubbed his somewhat sore ribs. "Boss... ya know I don't give up easy, but I think I'm gonna have to beg ya for mercy on this one. My ribs would _really_ appreciate a break... and _not_ the kind that means I end up havin' to go see the Doc again."

Tseng chuckled and guided him off towards the locker rooms. "After lunch, then," he replied, ignoring the repeated groan that emanated from his protege. "Incidentally... I'd like your opinion on something, as well."

Reno raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Uh... 'kay. What?"

"Promotions. We are, after all, a man down... and Veld and I have been considering the possibility of more than one, given that even with our current crop of rookies, our numbers are still considerably lower than they really _should_ be."

"W-wait... you want _me_ to help pick our next rookie?" Reno replied, blinking, and Tseng nodded.

"In so much as I'd like an unbiased opinion on the options Veld and I have already narrowed the field to, yes. I want you to join me for the next round of observations, and let me know what you think." He shook his head, frowning. "We... would like to do everything in our power to avoid another situation like the one with Rodney. Veld and I have decided that the best way, going forward, would be to have another set of eyes on the recruits."

"And, again, I gotta ask... You want _me_ to do it?" the redhead choked, taken aback. Tseng laughed, and placed an arm around the younger man's shoulders as they walked into the locker room.

"Yes, I want _you_ to do it. You're very good at reading people, Reno, and the more data Veld and I have on potential new rookies, the better prepared we will be when we make our final decision."

Reno looked over at him uncertainly. "Yeah... but... what if I, ya know... pick wrong?"

"I trust your instincts, and so does Veld. I'm asking for your input so that I can make the most informed decision possible," he replied, and laughed softly, "You don't need to personally handpick the next member of the Turks for me. That... is a just _bit_ more responsibility than I think you're ready for."

"Tch... you 'n me both, Boss," Reno snickered.

"Though _speaking_ of new responsibilities... you seem to be enjoying yours."

The redhead grinned as he reached his locker and stripped off his sweatshirt.

"I could do without the bonus paperwork every week... but other than _that_ … yeah," he replied, teasingly, drawing a chuckle from his mentor.

"I'm glad. You've been doing a very good job of it. It seems to suit you. And insofar as paperwork is concerned... you can take next week off. Liam and Petra will be joining Kai for survival training until Tuesday morning, and then will be kept on assignment elsewhere for the remainder of the week... while Sykes' Hell Week _finally_ proceeds as planned."

The evaluation had been put on hold temporarily following Sato's accident. Tseng and Veld had both agreed that putting so much strain on a rookie so soon after a loss was not only much too cruel, but would also almost certainly skew the results.

"Ha... 'bout time. You put it off any longer 'n Kai's liable to lose her shit." Reno's grin widened. "Ya know... assumin' she doesn't lose it when ya tell her that she's gonna miss the beginning of it."

Tseng smiled mischievously. "Which is why I don't plan on telling her until she returns on Tuesday, lest she murder me in my sleep on her way out of town. Though it's hardly _my_ fault she decided to postpone and reschedule her training session at the last moment simply because of a little rain in last week's forecast."

"So I guess that means I shouldn't take her up on the offer of a bribe 'n _accidentally_ let it slip, huh..." Reno snickered.

"Only if you value your life..." Tseng said, pointedly staring him down.

"I really hope that was a joke," the redhead teased.

"Well, there is _one_ way to find out. Though if it wasn't,I can assure you that I will at _least_ do you the courtesy of making it quick and painless."

Reno laughed and headed for the showers. "Ya know somethin', Boss? I'm _pretty_ sure ya'd never legit try 'n kill me, 'n _still_ don't wanna risk pissin' you off..."

"Always a wise choice," Tseng replied with a smirk.

* * *

It was lunch time... but Tseng was making his way upstairs, ostensibly to check in with Remy on some interrogation transcripts he wanted to look over before they were filed. Really, though, he was simply avoiding the cafeteria. _Reno_ might be able to happily consume what passed for food there... but the Wutaiian Turk had his limits to what he was willing to risk. Today the Shinra Cafeteria had advised the various departments that they would be serving "traditional Wutaiian cuisine". Something told him that it was going to be a blasphemy he simply didn't want to witness, much less taste. Frankly, he'd prefer to starve.

"You're going to be late," a voice called out to him before he could step into his office, and he turned to find his mentor approaching him, a rather badly disguised smirk on his face.

"For what, sir?" he queried, forcibly refraining from rolling his eyes. He already knew where this was headed.

"Why, for lunch, of course!" Veld chuckled, "I hear they're serving some of your favorites today... I'm surprised you're not first in line!"

Tseng scowled. "Whatever comes out of that kitchen, it will _not_ be something I have any desire to eat. They can _barely_ manage a ham sandwich that doesn't make half their customers nauseous. I refuse to subject myself to their ill-conceived take on Wutaiian dishes."

Veld's smirk morphed into a wide smile before he burst out laughing.

"Calm down, Tseng... I was only joking," he replied. "Actually, I was just coming to see if you'd care to join _me_ for lunch. I'm in the mood for some of your homeland's delicacies myself... though certainly not whatever the cafeteria may be dishing out."

Tseng allowed himself a small smile. "That would be _far_ preferable to enduring the utter revulsion I'm sure awaits me downstairs, sir..."

An elevator ride to the first floor concourse and a short walk found the pair seated inside of a busy Wutaiian restaurant not too far from the office. It was one that Tseng was quite intimately familiar with, as it had been there at _least_ as long as he'd been a Turk himself. In fact, he'd spent a rather significant chunk of his paycheck here every week as a rookie.

Veld chuckled softly.

"You know, back in the day, I never had to wonder where you disappeared to at lunchtime... because you were almost _always_ right here."

"Hmph... right up until I ate myself out of an apartment..." he replied, chagrined. To say that he hadn't been very good at budgeting as a younger man barely even scratched the surface of how irresponsible he'd been with his funds as a rookie. He'd ultimately had to move in with Veld for awhile. It was either that or beg his father for a loan... a humiliation that to this day he wasn't certain he would have survived.

Veld laughed and took a sip of the tea their waitress had brought them.

"Well... To be fair, you were a remarkably _sheltered_ child," he teased, "You never had much experience with looking after yourself on your own before you arrived in Midgar. Though you certainly opted to learn things the hard way." He smirked, and jabbed a finger at him. "You learned a _lot_ of things the hard way, as I recall."

Tseng, this time, did _not_ resist rolling his eyes. "Sir... are we here for lunch, or simply to revisit the many follies of my youth?"

"I wouldn't mind a bit of both, really," Veld teased, "But to be honest, I wanted to ask after your _own_ protege. How is Reno acclimating to his new duties?"

"He's settling into the responsibility quite nicely," Tseng replied, his earlier irritated expression replaced with a slight smile. "And I plan to involve him in Sykes' Hell Week where possible, as well."

"And the other matter we discussed?"

"I informed him this morning, sir. He was... hesitant. Concerned he wasn't up to the task of weighing in on something so important."

"Not surprising. He's young and he's still learning... and to his credit, he _knows_ it," Veld said with a shrug. "You weren't exactly confident the first time I asked _your_ opinion on potential rookies, either, and if you'll excuse me for saying so, you were considerably less... _humble_ back then... than Reno is."

"Yes, sir," Tseng agreed, laughing softly. A part of him would much prefer to forget some of the stupidity and arrogance of his younger years. Veld refused to allow that, however... and perhaps rightly so. As the saying went, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. And there were plenty of moments from his rookie days that Tseng would never wish to repeat.

"You have an exceptional future Second on your hands, Tseng. He has the potential to be nearly as good as _you_ , I think."

" _Nearly_?" Tseng challenged, and his mentor's smirk returned.

"Well... I'm almost certainly biased, but I find it hard to believe anyone could surpass _my_ protege," he teased, "I did far too good a job with him."

Tseng groaned faintly and shook his head.

"Have you discussed _that_ with him yet?" Veld continued, ignoring the response, "After all... it's been your intention for quite some time now, hasn't it? Don't you think he ought to know just what it is he's being trained for?"

"I know. And you're right," Tseng replied, "I just... think it may be too soon. He may, for all I know, already suspect, but being _told_ that he's expected to take over for me one day makes it much more... real. It's a lot of pressure to put on someone so young. Especially when, as you yourself noted, he _knows_ he doesn't have the required experience yet. He will inevitably assess himself for the job as he is _now_ , rather than as he will be when the time finally comes. I'd prefer to simply let him continue to learn and grow _without_ that hanging over his head for awhile."

"It's up to you," Veld said, "He's _your_ successor, after all." He chuckled softly. "Try not to wait _too_ long, though... Knowing how protective you are of him, he _may_ not find out about his impending promotion until the day I decide to step down."

Tseng snorted softly in amusement.

"I assure you, sir, I _will_ tell him before _then_. Perhaps the day _before_ you step down..." he joked, winning a hearty laugh from his mentor.

* * *

"Uhhh... okay, I give. How the fuck do you do this?" Reno asked, as he attempted to prod one of the overdone noodles out of the bowl with a pair of chopsticks. Rude and Kai both snickered loudly across the table from him.

"For Titan's sake," Kai grinned, shaking her head. "You _lived_ with Tseng for almost a year, and I know _exactly_ how often he orders from that little hole in the wall Wutaiian restaurant six blocks over from his place... How is it you've never learned?"

The redhead scowled at the alleged "eating utensils" and set them aside before simply picking up the bowl and tilting its contents into his mouth. He refused to take her bait today. Besides... Tseng had always just let him use a fork like a normal human being.

Rude rolled his eyes, and reached across, gently gripping his wrist and forcing him to set the bowl back down.

"It's really not that hard..."

"I'm _hungry_..." Reno moaned, "I don't have to to learn how to eat with couple of hunks of wood. I'm gonna starve to death."

"Oh, please. _You_ starving to death is about as likely as _me_ ending up in bed with Rufus Shinra," Kai snarked in response.

"You _tryin'_ to ruin my appetite?" Reno shot back, a slightly smug look on his face. In response, the senior Turk merely flipped him off and then expertly extracted a dumpling from her bowl with her _own_ chopsticks, popping it into her mouth.

"You know... considering the source, this isn't half bad..." she commented. "I've definitely had _better_... but I'm counting today as a rare win for the Shinra Crapateria."

"That's it. I'm gettin' a fork," the redhead muttered, abandoning his meal temporarily to make his way over to the counter. He returned a minute or so later with the aforementioned utensil, and happily dug into the food in earnest.

"You won't be able to do that if you're on the detail to Wutai for the reactor opening, you know," Rude pointed out, "It's considered uncouth, _especially_ at formal dinners."

Reno paused, and looked up. "Wait... what?"

Kai snorted softly. "Tseng didn't tell you? The security detail for the opening will be joining the President and Vice President for the formal dinner after the parade. If you're on it, you'll be dining with Wutaiian nobility as a representative of the Company. And Wutaiian culture puts a _lot_ of emphasis on etiquette. Did you know there's something like forty rules _just_ regarding chopsticks?"

"What?!" the redhead cried, blinking in surprise. He glanced over at the abandoned chopsticks and groaned. "I'm gonna have to learn all that shit just to _eat_ in Wutai?!"

His reaction prompted immediate laughter from his two dining companions. Of course... there was always the possibility that he _wouldn't_ be tapped to go. But banking on that was probably more than a little foolhardy, given that Tseng would almost _certainly_ be on the Wutai detail – for obvious reasons – and where Tseng went, the redhead was often assigned to follow. Particularly if babysitting Rufus for an extended period of time was involved. They'd be in Wutai for almost a week.

Besides... his mentor's homeland was still on his list of places he needed to see.

"I really _am_ gonna starve..." he moaned, as Remy made her way over to the table, tray in hand. She raised a curious eyebrow, but said nothing... merely took a seat next to the younger Turk, and set her meal in front of her.

"I'm not even going to ask..." she stated. Rude snickered softly.

"He's freaking out because he can't use chopsticks. For the Wutai reactor assignment."

"Oh, for Leviathan's sake..." Remy sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's not _difficult_. It just takes a little practice."

"Tch... yeah. 'Cause I got _so_ much free time to practice _that_ right now, with all the new stuff Tseng's givin' me to do. You got any idea how much time I gotta put into the Ifrit-forsaken training schedule to make sure there's no overlaps or conflicts or shit?"

The half-Wutaiian Turk shot him a knowing smirk.

"Yes, I know _precisely_ how much time that takes. _I_ did it while Tseng was on his leave of absence... remember?"

"... Fuckin' know-it-all..." Reno muttered, and speared some sort of grilled vegetable with his fork, stuffing it angrily into his mouth. Kai giggled and finished off her lunch.

"Well... as much fun as it is watching you panic over formal dining etiquette... I have a courier assignment to get to."

"And I'm leaving to take Liam on a tour of Junon in a little while," Rude added, getting to his feet.

"Gee, _thanks_ ,guys... Tell me about all this shit 'n then just _abandon_ me."

"Happy to help!" Kai teased, as she sauntered off. Rude quickly followed. Reno rolled his eyes, and went back to his lunch with an irritated grunt. He continued eating in silence for a few minutes until he finally heard a quiet sigh from the woman to his right.

"What are you doing tonight?" Remy asked. The redhead glanced up and grinned slightly.

"You?" he asked, hopefully. It had been awhile. His part-time lover hadn't really... been in the mood... in the weeks following Sato's death. Not that he could blame her. But he'd be lying if he said that he hadn't missed being with her. The senior Turk shot him an annoyed glare. Reno sheepishly grinned. "I know... no discussin' that on clock... Sorry."

Remy shook her head. "There's a nice, quiet place that serves some very tasty Wutaiian cuisine near my apartment. If you want a little help, I suppose I could be persuaded to give you a quick lesson."

"Really? That'd be awesome... Thanks, Remy!"

The senior Turk cleared her throat and subtly glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "You can... _thank_ me... by coming back to my place after dinner."

The redhead's grin widened noticeably.

"So... How hard do ya want me to _thank_ you?" he teased, earning a sharp smack to the back of his head.

* * *

Later that night, Reno found himself, thoroughly satiated, in Remy's bed, the sounds of a city that seldom truly slept muffled beyond the curtains of her bedroom. His lover slept peacefully in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, arms coiled almost possessively around his slender frame.

He'd been a little surprised she'd asked him to stick around. It was something they just... didn't do... when there was work in the morning. Not that he was complaining. It saved him the trouble of driving home in the dark, half-exhausted from both the long day at work _and_ the sex.

Dinner had been... nice. She had, indeed, lived up to her promise of a lesson in the finer points of picking food up with pointy sticks – which, he'd been informed repeatedly, were _not_ under any circumstances to be used to skewer the contents of his plate – and though he had a long way to go before he mastered it, it wasn't quite as tricky as he'd initially thought it to be.

But it was more than just the alleviation of some of his anxiety that had made for a pleasant evening. The company had been equally as enjoyable. Remy was... _different_ outside of the confines of the office. When she was off-duty, she let her hair down a little, and was warmer and more talkative... _almost_ flirty at times. Though, to be fair, that may have only been because they were _definitely_ alreadyplanning on fucking later. Still... it was a side of her that he didn't really see all that often, and he kind of liked it.

He sort of hoped this wasn't going to be a one-off thing. After all, Remy had been pretty fucking clear about the nature of their relationship. It was _purely_ physical. And it's not like he was looking to _date_ her or anything, but to be honest, he could get to like hanging out more with Remy like they had tonight. You know... more of the _friends_ part of friends with benefits. They really never had before, other than times when the whole team was together – like the Christmas party, or Veld's surprise birthday party awhile back – and he was finding her to be a lot of fun just one on one. And not _just_ because the evening always ended with sex. Remy was a pretty cool person, something he'd never had the opportunity to realize before now.

Not really, anyway. She was all business on the clock, and since their off-duty interests had never intersected much before now, he just... hadn't spent much time alone with her. Hell, until they'd started sleeping together, he'd never even reallypictured her as _having_ much of a life outside the Turks, for some reason. Of course, he could have said the same of Tseng before he got to know the guy... and met Vir.

Reno snickered softly to himself. People in general just seemed a lot more... human... to him once he knew a thing or two about their sex lives. Remy stirred in her sleep and the redhead forced himself to settle down. He didn't want to disturb her with his own wakefulness. As much as he enjoyed having a beautiful women lying naked in his arms, he'd always had a lot of trouble falling asleep like that unless he was dead tired. Lira had teased him about it for years, saying he was just too protective to let himself drift off.

And maybe that _was_ part of it. At least where Lira was concerned. Until she'd moved to Wall Market, he'd been her protector. It was how they'd first met, and it was what he'd been until the day he'd escorted her all the way over to the Honeybee Inn. It was almost laughable to think of himself that way, as puny and pathetic as he'd been back then... but he'd done his best and he _had_ rescued her from some pretty dicey situations over the years.

He'd failed on occasion, too... and still berated himself for every last time it had happened.

Remy, though, didn't need his protection. The woman was tough as nails, and he had no doubt that she could deliver a pretty thorough ass-kicking to anyone who threatened her before Reno could even get a punch in. She was beautiful... _and_ deadly.

 _Annnnnnd_ he was going to end up waking that beautiful, deadly woman up if he didn't fucking try and get some damn sleep. Reno relaxed and let his eyes close, reveling in the warmth of the soft body pressed so deliciously against his own, and gradually allowed sleep to claim him.

* * *

"They finally got one," Rude reported to him the moment he walked into their shared office the following morning. Reno's gaze flicked towards him, eyeing him over the cup of coffee he'd been moments from sipping, and blinked.

" _Who_ finally got one?" he asked. It was too fucking early to play the pronoun game. He wasn't even properly caffeinated yet.

"The Zenshou," his friend elaborated, "They got one of the items on their list last night."

"Crap. Somethin' of ours?"

Rude shook his head. "No. It was a museum piece from the Gold Saucer. Rumor has it, Dio's _beyond_ pissed about the theft."

"Heh... any chance on gettin' sent over to... ya know... check things out? 'Cause I'd totally volunteer for the assignment..." he said, grinning. Rude snorted in laughter.

"I'm _pretty_ sure it wasn't stolen from the roller coaster. Or the arcade. Or the buffet," he snickered.

"Too bad. I'd investigate the _hell_ outta the buffet..." Reno joked. "Seriously, though. Think they'll send someone out?"

"Don't know. Not really a Shinra matter, and Dio's not exactly the Company's biggest fan, from what I hear."

The redhead raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? How come?"

"Dio had an arrangement with Corel for years. Got most of the power for his park from their coal. Then they hit a mako vein, shut down their biggest mine, and Shinra swooped in and made a deal with the town to build the Corel Reactor on top of it."

"Oh... I get it. He got shut out, 'n now he's stuck buyin' power from Shinra at a premium instead of gettin' it on the cheap from what they were minin' in his backyard."

Rude nodded.

"Tch... fuckin' business bullshit. Glad dealin' with that shit's not in _my_ job description," he laughed, "Anyway... What went missin'?"

"A claymore sword from Mideel. Supposedly belonged to some ancient king back when they still _had_ such a thing. I'd venture a guess that the Mideelian Historical Society's not real happy about the theft, either. They've been trying to get it back for years, but Dio wouldn't sell."

Reno shrugged. "Or maybe they're they ones who put out the contract in the first place. We still don't _know_ where all these... requests... are comin' from. Maybe it's not just _one_ source. Or maybe there's a middle man, coordinatin' shit with the Zenshou for the smaller players."

"Thought crossed _my_ mind, too," Rude replied, "It's definitely a possibility... but it's going to be hard to prove, since I still have no _idea_ who the Zenshou are actually dealing with. Might be heading out to Mideel myself to talk to someone from the Society in person... if I can arrange a meeting. Wanna come as backup?"

The redhead had to stop himself from immediately agreeing. The closest he'd ever gotten to Mideel was a brief flyover and touchdown to pick up Sato and Kai following a mission about a year ago. He didn't count that as actually "visiting" Mideel... so it was still very much on his list.

"Uh... _When_ , exactly were ya plannin' on goin'?" he asked. Tseng had told him that he might need his help during Sykes' Hell Week. He didn't want to up and vanish on his mentor. Rude shrugged.

"Depends when I can arrange a meeting. Monday, hopefully. _Sometime_ next week, for sure."

Reno mentally groaned... and his fellow Turk suddenly grinned.

"Tseng's doing it next week, isn't he?" Rude said, having little trouble reading his friend's reaction.

"I'm sayin' _nothin'_..." the redhead replied, ignoring the other man's snickering, before rolling his eyes and muttering, "Fuckin' nosy son of bitch... alright, _fine_. Yeah, it's gonna be next week."

"Knew I'd break you eventually..." Rude teased, calmly taking a seat at his desk as the annoyed redhead flipped him off.

~end chapter 35~


	36. The Week of Hell Begins

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 36: The Week of Hell Begins**

 **by Desha**

Reno peered around the the corner, keeping as silent as possible... and paused when he spotted a familiar figure bent over a pile of papers, writing furiously. Hesitantly, he knocked on the doorframe, announcing himself. Tseng looked up in surprise.

"Hey, Boss... uh... got a minute?"

"Of course," the Turk lieutenant replied, waving him inside. Reno stepped through the doorway, closing it behind him, and sat down in one of the chairs across from his mentor.

"So... I know you want me to be ready to go for Hell Week, but... um..."

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "But something else has come up?" he surmised.

"Rude's headin' to Mideel sometime next week. It's the Zenshou situation. He wants me to go along as backup."

" _That_ assignment has priority. Obviously, you'll go."

"... I mean, yeah. But... don't _you_ need me?" he queried.

"It's hardly the first Hell Week I've conducted on my own," his mentor replied with a dismissive wave.

"I just feel kinda shitty leavin' ya in the lurch like that..."

Tseng chuckled. "You've already been of _immeasurable_ assistance. If there is greater need of you elsewhere, I will just have to manage until you return. I'm sure others will be on hand to fill in for you while you're gone."

The redhead relaxed and settled back in the chair. Really, he didn't know why he was so worried about this. Like Tseng had said... the bullshit with the Zenshou took priority right now. Even over something as important as Hell Week. Fuck, it was _so_ high priority that, being in charge of the investigation at this point, Rude had essentially been given free reign over the use of Turk resources for the time being... and that included personnel. Per Veld's orders, if he needed it, he got it. The necessary paperwork could be submitted after the fact.

"Reno... I will never be upset with you for doing your job," his mentor added, "I will _indeed_ need additional help at some point... but if you're still unavailable when that need arises, that is _my_ problem to deal with. There's no need to concern yourself about it when there are more important things happening."

"Yes, sir," the younger Turk replied, relieved.

"... I _do_ have onething you can do for me, right _now_ , however, if you're really feeling that guilty about it..."

"Sure, Boss... Just name it," Reno said, eagerly. Tseng passed him half of a pile of what the redhead quickly realized were requisition forms and cleared his throat.

"With everything that's been going on lately, I'm afraid I've gotten a bit behind. These are due for submission tomorrow morning by eight thirty, and quite frankly I have little chance of meeting that deadline unless I stay late tonight. Which, normally, would be no great inconvenience, but I... have a prior engagement this evening I'd prefer not to miss."

The redhead cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he accepted the forms.

"What kinda _prior engagement_?" he asked.

"I... am meeting Viridia for dinner. The Junon Materia Corps is in Midgar giving a recruitment demonstration this afternoon. They'll be leaving first thing in the morning, so obviously her time here is rather limited."

A wide grin spread over the younger Turk's face, and Tseng rolled his eyes.

"I don't need your usual commentary on my relationship or my off-duty activities. Just your assistance in filling these out," he preemptively added.

"Tch... sure... just suck all the fun right out of it..." Reno snickered, reaching for a pen.

* * *

As it turned out, Reno didn't have to miss the beginning of Sykes' Hell Week after all... because Rude hadn't been able to even get _ahold_ of a representative of the Mideel Historical Society until Sunday afternoon. Apparently, they were a rather... _informal_... group. The meeting had been set up, though. For late Tuesday morning.

Which meant that, on Monday, he was able to happily join Veld, Rude, Remy, and Tseng as they gathered in the hallway of the Turks' office shortly before eight in the morning and waited for the unsuspecting rookie to step aboard the Elevator of Doom.

"Kai is going to be extraordinarily disappointed that she's missing this..." Veld commented.

"The timing of her field training for the other rookies _was_ rather unfortunate. But I wasn't about to postpone Hell Week yet again simply because she opted to alter her _own_ schedule."

Reno not-so-subtly elbowed Rude in the ribs. "You'd better have plenty of popcorn ready for us when she gets back tomorrow, pal. The screamin' fit's gonna be epic," he joked. Rude snickered quietly.

"Plain or buttered?"

"Tch... who the _fuck_ eats plain popcorn?" the redhead replied in a mock-offended tone.

" _I_ do..." Remy responded, arms folded over her chest in challenge, "It's healthier. Besides which, _you're both_ leaving for Mideel in the morning. You won't even be here."

Reno eyed her for a moment and then shook his head. "Tch... We're gonna need some in-flight snacks, aren't we? Whatever. If you wanna eat it _wrong_ , I guess that's your business..." he replied, before turning back to Rude, "You can just put all _her_ butter on _mine_."

Before Rude could respond, the light on the panel next to the elevator doors lit up, illuminating the "Up" button. Veld chuckled softly.

"I have to admit... I've always rather enjoyed this evaluation..."

"It has always been my _least_ favorite..." Tseng opined with a faint snort, which only caused his mentor to laugh louder and clap the younger Turk on the back as the display on the wall showed the elevator car climbing past the fifty-eighth floor.

"You're not _still_ sour over that after all these years, are you, Tseng?"

The Turk lieutenant sighed and shook his head, refusing to answer the question. Instead, he focused on the panel, which now displayed sixty-nine. A few seconds later, it clicked back to sixty-eight. Then sixty-seven... and simply kept going, the number flickering through so fast, Reno couldn't actually read them. They dropped through the sixties... then the fifties... the forties... By the time it hit the thirties, the sense of anticipation was almost palpable.

Fourteen. Reno had finally stopped the damn thing on fourteen... and that number, he was fairly certain, was permanently etched into his memory after the experience. He'd learned later that rookies tended to find the emergency brake somewhere between ten and twenty floors from certain death... which placed him comfortably within the average, though he knew of at least _two_ Turks who had exceeded that score pretty drastically. Remy, who'd held the previous record of thirty-two... and Rude, who'd stolen her record by saving himself at an utterly ridiculous thirty-eight. He couldn't help but wonder where Sykes would place.

As the display clicked over into the twenties, it became obvious that Rude's title was safe for another Hell Week, and the redhead was almost certain he heard a faint, irritated sigh from Remy's direction. He snickered quietly to himself. The senior Turk _still_ held a little bit of a grudge against his friend for so easily obliterating her old record.

The elevator dropped past the twentieth floor and into the teens, and Reno wondered how his own score would compare to Sykes'. Fourteen wasn't exactly anything to brag about, after all... but it wasn't bottom of the barrel, either. It was just... average. Good _enough_ , but nothing special.

As the numbers reached single digits, though, he was suddenly very glad for that good enough, average fourteen. Suddenly, the descent abruptly stopped, the LED panel reading "3" in bright red. There was a collective groan, amongst the assembled Turks. Sykes had hit the failsafe.

"Well... seems our young Sykes has at least _one_ thing to work on," Veld commented, as the numbers on the panel began a slow increase, finally stopping at fifty-eight. The elevator chimed, and a very _pale_ rookie staggered into the hallway. Reno snickered and slipped under one arm, while Rude hurried to follow suit, propping the younger Turk up.

"Welcome to Hell Week," Tseng said, smiling faintly. Sykes groaned as his knees buckled, and had the other two Turks not been holding him up, Reno was fairly certain he'd have ended up on the floor. The Turk lieutenant chuckled. "Take him to the lounge and let him recover for a bit."

Reno and Rude gladly obliged, half-escorting, half-carrying the rookie down the hallway, finally installing him on the couch near the window. Sykes glanced up at them, still looking somewhat dazed.

"... I have to survive a whole _week_ of this?" he asked, vaguely horrified. Reno grinned widely, and took a seat next to him.

"Ah, don't worry. Tseng's not gonna do anything that's _actually_ gonna kill ya..." he replied, and then let his grin widen even more, "Ya know... unless ya like, have a heart attack or somethin'..."

Sykes groaned and leaned forward, placing his head in his hands.

"What was that even supposed to evaluate?" he asked, his voice muffled by his palms.

"Panic response," Reno and Rude chorused. The rookie looked up again, an expression of dismay on his face.

"R-really?" he said, quietly.

"Yep. They do that to everyone. There's an emergency brake in the wall panel. Faster ya find it, the better your score," Reno replied.

"I must have lowest score _ever_ ,then..." Sykes said, miserably.

"... You don't," a voice from the direction of the doorway informed him, and the on-edge rookie jumped violently in response.

"Geez, Boss... watch it with the stealth approach, will ya? Kid's _already_ half-traumatized," Reno snickered. Tseng chuckled faintly and crossed the room, holding a mug of tea out to Sykes.

"Forgive me. It's a difficult habit to break."

The younger Turk gratefully accepted the proffered beverage and took a tentative sip before dropping his gaze again and staring into the translucent, golden liquid. He sighed heavily, but before he could say anything, Tseng had taken a seat beside him.

"Don't dwell on it. The purpose of Hell Week is to establish areas of strength and areas where improvement is needed. Nothing more. You're... not the first Turk to fail to find the brake."

He tentatively raised his eyes to meet Tseng's. "I'm not?"

Tseng sighed heavily and shook his head. "No. You're not. As much as I hate to admit it... the same thing happened to _me_."

"Whoa... whoa, whoa, whoa... Back up," Reno interjected, "You never told _me_ that!"

The Wutaiian Turk turned his attention on his former rookie. " _You_ stopped the car on the fourteenth floor," he said, pointedly, "I saw no benefit to revisiting my past failings in yourcase." He finally refocused on the still somewhat ghostly-looking rookie on the couch. "It's not the end of the world. It simply means that we have some additional work to do."

"Yes, sir..." Sykes replied, managing a faint smile. Tseng nodded and glanced over at the redhead. "May I borrow you for a few minutes before the morning briefing?"

"Sure, Boss," Reno replied, and followed him out into the hallway. As the door to the lounge closed behind them, the younger man grinned widely. " _Sooooo_..."

Tseng rolled his eyes as he paused in his bid for his office. " _Yes_ ,I failed the panic response evaluation as a rookie," he sighed, "Go on and make your jokes... I'd prefer you simply get it all out of your system now, rather than having to endure an entire week of commentary on the subject."

The redhead snickered. "Ya know... under normal circumstances I probably _would_ be jokin' about that. But I think I'm still too fuckin' shocked that I actually _beat_ ya at somethin' to come up with anything decent. _My_ score suddenly doesn't seem quite so... ya know... underwhelming... anymore..."

Tseng shook his head, and escorted his protege into his office.

"There is nothing 'underwhelming' about a fourteen," Tseng stated, firmly, as he took a seat at his desk. Reno quickly took up residence in the chair opposite him. "In fact... I was rather impressed with your score."

The redhead looked at him somewhat quizzically. "... Why?" he asked, mystified. "I mean... it's barely even average. Rude scored a fuckin' thirty-eight."

"Rude had also been training in the recruitment program for nearly a year before his promotion to rookie. Considering how much _less_ training you had by the time _your_ Hell Week came around... yes, it was impressive. There are surprisingly few people in the world who are not naturally predisposed to panic during a crisis."

Reno snorted in laughter. "Considerin' I almost crapped myself when the fuckin' elevator dropped, I'm not so sure about that whole 'not predisposed to panic' thing..." he laughed.

"Yes, well... Given that nearly as soon as I _exited_ said elevator I had to sprint for the restroom to vomit... I perhaps have a rather different perspective," Tseng deadpanned, before sternly adding, "And if you value your life, _that_ bit of information goes no farther than this office. _Ever_."

"W-wait... You... You puked after they pulled that on ya?"

The Turk lieutenant groaned and leaned back in his chair. "Yes. I did. It _wasn't_ exactly the highlight of my career. And I swear to Leviathan, if you mention that to _anyone_ –"

Reno grinned. "Relax, Boss... Your secret's safe with me," he snickered, "I won't even tell _Rude_."

Tseng nodded and settled in his seat. "My point is... even the best of our ranks did not start out _being_ the best. We've all have a great deal to learn when we were first starting out, and it takes _years_ for a Turk to reach their full potential. No exceptions. What a rookie, or even a young Turk, may regard as a shortcoming or poor performance, _I_ may consider nothing more than something upon which we can improve. Experience only comes with time, after all."

"Yes, sir..." Reno acknowledged. It was weird thinking about Tseng as a rookie, no more experienced than he was himself. His mentor was... one of the best of the best. Somehow, he'd never really given much thought to how he got there. And he inexplicably wanted to know more... even though it likely meant having the image of, well... his hero... being permanently altered.

"In _any_ case," Tseng continued before he could question him farther on the subject, "I _did_ have a reason for asking to speak to you privately... beyond humiliating myself with tales of my rookie days, that is. You and Rude will not be leaving for Mideel until tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah... We're takin' off first thing. Rude figures we probably won't be back 'til sometime Wednesday. He want's to talk to some of the other locals, too."

"Good... Then you're free to help me this evening. Sykes' second evaluation will be taking place at the Sector 0 train station when he leaves for the day."

"Fuck, Tseng... not even gonna give the poor kid a day to settle down?" he snickered.

"I like to keep my evaluation subjects off-balance. If they have no idea when to expect the next test, they never truly relax," the senior Turk replied, and the younger man shook his head.

" _Man_ ,am I ever glad I don't have ta go through this shit ever again," he laughed. Tseng smiled somewhat disconcertingly.

"You think _not_ , do you?" he chuckled, and the redhead froze.

"Uh... what's _that_ s'posed to mean?" he asked, hesitantly, but his mentor merely shook his head, dismissively.

"Nothing. Just that there are occasions where additional evaluation is needed. For example... I myself will _eventually_ go through such an examination as second in command. Not quite on the scale of Hell Week, of course, but it's supposedly rather nerve-wracking nonetheless."

Reno's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Oh, yeah? When's that gonna happen?" he asked.

"I have no idea. And I won't know until after the evaluation has already begun. It could be tomorrow, or a year from now. The timeframe isn't as defined as it is for Hell Week. It will happen when Veld decides I'm ready for it... and... when _he's_ ready for it."

"What'dya mean when he's ready?" Reno queried, confused.

"The evaluation of a Second is meant to determine how prepared he or she is to take over as Commander. It does little good to conduct it too soon, before they've gained the necessary on the job experience. Similarly, it's unwise to wait until the current commander is considering stepping down, as it would be difficult to address any serious issues with a retirement looming."

"So... it's like your final exam?"

Tseng laughed softly. "Yes, I suppose you _could_ look at it like that..." he replied, and then quickly returned to the subject at hand. "In addition to Sykes' exercise tonight, I _also_ need you this afternoon, immediately after lunch. We'll be going to the recruitment training facility to observe candidates for promotion. It will probably take at _least_ an hour or two. Possibly longer, depending on how many candidates they have for us."

Reno blinked in surprise. "A-already?" he stammered. Tseng had only _just_ told him that he'd be helping out in that department. He hadn't been expecting to have to give his opinion on potential rookies so _soon_.

"We're shorthanded, and have been for far too long," Tseng replied, "And with Sykes moving on to the next stage of his training, and Petra not _that_ far behind him, now is as good a time as any to begin making our selections."

"So... these guys could be joinin' us like... _tomorrow_?" he asked, wide-eyed. But Tseng shook his head.

"Not quite _that_ soon. Probably in another month or two... possibly not until after the Wutai reactor opening, as we're going to be obscenely busy facilitating that event. Once we have our finalists, we'll pull them for additional observation and testing before making our final choices. Veld wants at least two new Turks from the current crop of recruits."

"... Um... Okay," the redhead managed, still a little taken aback by the suddenness of all this. He _still_ didn't feel like he had any right to offer an opinion on who should or shouldn't be a Turk. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he ought to be looking for. No one had ever really told him much about the recruitment program and he hadn't considered it important enough to ask about, beyond the very basics of how it worked. Tseng smiled reassuringly.

"Don't overthink this. I'm not looking for an in-depth analysis. Just... observe the candidates and give me your first impressions."

"... Right," Reno said with a nod, "Got it."

"Good. I'll see you this afternoon, then," Tseng said, and the redhead took that as his dismissal. Just in time, too... It was nearly time for the morning briefing, and as much as he would have liked to have stuck around to help out with additional Hell Week prep, Veld likely had other assignments for him to take care of while Tseng was busy torturing the rookie.

* * *

The lunch hour found the redhead picking unenthusiastically at his meal. Not that it was especially appetizing to begin with... the Shinra Cafeteria was back to their regular menu, and whatever improvements they'd seen from last week's specials had fallen by the wayside. Rude had been expecting as much... which was why he'd opted to pack his _own_ lunch today.

"What's wrong _now_?" he asked with a sigh.

"Nothin'... I'm just nervous 'bout this whole observin' the new recruits thing, 'n you _know_ I can't fuckin' eat when I'm nervous."

Rude chuckled, shaking his head. His friend really was a walking contradiction at times. Exceedingly confident in a crisis where split second decisions could mean the difference between life and death, but let him stew about something for too long and, well... you ended up with _this_. Reno's problem was that he occasionally saw too _many_ possibilities. His ability to view a situation from so many different angles, to look at all the choices he could make and work out multiple possible outcomes, was one of his greatest strengths... as well as his biggest weakness. It made him a little neurotic at times.

"Why?" Rude asked. Sometimes all it took to snap him out of that mindset was the opportunity to talk through it with someone who could offer an outside perspective and maybe redirect his thought process a bit.

"'Cause what business do _I_ have pickin' out new Turks?" Reno asked, looking up from his unfinished plate. He paused for a moment and then conceded, "Okay... maybe not _actually_ pickin' 'em. But the hell do I know about even havin' an opinion on somethin' like that?"

The bald Turk shrugged his shoulders, and reached into his lunch bag, pulling out one of his freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. He offered it to the redhead. Sure... he tended to lose his appetite when he was nervous, but Reno was seldom so preoccupied that he'd turn down chocolate.

"Nothing," Rude said, "I think that's the point. Tseng wants a fresh perspective."

Reno gave a quiet laugh, recognizing the gesture for exactly what it was, and accepted the proffered treat.

"Yeah... I guess..." the younger Turk agreed, obligingly taking a bite. "I just... _really_ don't wanna fuck this up. I don't want the Boss to start thinkin' he's makin' a mistake givin' me all these new responsibilities 'n shit."

"You think you can't handle it?" Rude prodded, which earned him an indignant glare from the redhead.

"'Course I can handle it!" he declared, and then deflated slightly, "... 'least I _think_ I can. I mean... the training shit, yeah. Definitely. The other stuff, though... It's just really _weird_. I was the team screw-up for so long... 'n now I'm not 'n it's kinda a lot to get used to."

Rude snorted softly. "You were never the 'team screw-up'," he said, rolling his eyes, "You just occasionally made mistakes... like every rookie in the history of the Turks."

The redhead looked over at him, somewhat incredulously. "Yeah? Tell that to Veld. We're _still_ on SOLDIER's shitlist 'cause of me... And don't even get me _started_ on what happened during Hell Week."

"Okay... so some of your screw-ups _were_ pretty epic," Rude chuckled, "That doesn't make _you_ a screw-up. Finish your cookie and then eat your lunch. The last thing Tseng needs is you fainting from hunger when you're supposed to be observing recruits."

Reno laughed softly and stuffed the remainder of the dessert into his mouth before he stabbed what the cafeteria staff had dubiously referred to as "pot roast", and studied it intently.

"I dunno, man... Fainting from hunger might be better than takin' a risk on today's special. This shit looks a little questionable even to _me_."

"Hmph... and that's why I brought my _own_ food to work," Rude replied, laughing as he bit into the chicken salad sandwich he'd prepared that morning.

"Well... that's certainly a ringing endorsement for Shinra's cafeteria..." a voice off to Rude's left stated, and both Turks turned in surprise to find Tseng standing at the end of their table. Reno was the first to recover.

"Okay, I know I've said it like a million times by now, but... you _gotta_ teach me how you just appear outta thin air like that one of these days."

"I'll take it under consideration," Tseng replied with a slight smirk. "I finished my preparations for the next exercise earlier than expected. I thought I'd rescue you from... whatever _that_ is..." he continued with a nod towards the younger Turk's plate, "and suggest that we find something to eat on our way across town instead."

Reno gladly set the mystery meat back on his plate and shoved it away from himself.

"Ya know... I generally don't like wastin' food, but I'm not so sure that's what this _is_. Where'd ya have in mind?"

Rude repressed a quiet snicker at the change in attitude. He'd been right. A little distraction from his own thoughts was all his friend had really needed.

* * *

It was a surprisingly drab building, all things considered. Set off in a lonely corner of Sector 8, surrounded by nondescript apartments and a handful of offices, the Shinra Recruitment Center was... not really what he'd been expecting. Though to be fair, he wasn't really sure _what_ he'd been expecting... just that it wasn't this.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the place. It wasn't run-down or anything... but it wasn't exactly on the scale of the Shinra Building, either. It was just a boring warehouse-looking building plopped in the middle of what could easily been mistaken for just about _any_ small residential area in Midgar.

"That's it?" Reno asked, as they made their way up the front walkway. Tseng laughed softly and swiped his ID card in the reader at the door.

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, that was the exact same reaction you had the first time I escorted you into our offices..." he teased. Reno snickered quietly to himself. He didn't doubt that Tseng was right about that. The Turk's floor had been a little underwhelming at first glance... to the point he'd actually been kind of shocked by the sheer uninterestingness of it.

"Yeah, okay," he chuckled, as they walked inside, "Fair point."

A guard nodded at Tseng in recognition... and eyed the redhead with no small amount of suspicion before he apparently decided that if he was accompanying the Turks' second in command, he didn't present a threat to security.

"So... what all do they do here, anyway?" the younger Turk asked. The building was rather large; three stories high and easily occupying the space of four city blocks. He imagined that at lest _some_ of it was dedicated to training halls and gun ranges, and the like... but there had to be more in here than just that.

"The first floor is largely training space. The second floor consists primarily of classrooms, workshops, and administrative offices. The third floor is the dormitories, lounge, and cafeteria," Tseng replied, leading him through a set of glass double doors, and down a long, paneled hallway. They passed several additional doors off to each side, labeled with names such as Training Hall B, and Demonstration Arena, and Urban Obstacle Course. Reno pause briefly to peer inside of a few of them, but couldn't really see much before having to hurry to catch up to his mentor.

"Dormitories?" he queried, "So... like... the recruits actually _live_ here?"

Tseng nodded. "Some of them, yes. Shinra recruits from all over the planet. Obviously those we bring in need _someplace_ to stay, even if only temporarily until they find accommodations of their own. And, of course, a few remain in-house until they're promoted by one of the company divisions. I did so, myself, in fact."

He opened a door marked "Observation Room 1" and ushered the redhead inside. A narrow set of stairs led up to a sort of balcony that overlooked a large room below. It was shielded from view by one-way glass, and the space was lined with a small set of stools at abutted a countertop that ran along the bottom of the window. Tseng took a seat and gestured for Reno to do that same.

It was almost like sitting at a bar... except, instead of looking at a collection of liquor bottles, the redhead found himself staring out across what what he belatedly realized must have been the Urban Obstacle Course they'd passed on the way in. It was like a tiny slice of a city down there. Sure, the "buildings" were just woodframe boxes and the "roads" looked like they were made from that same rubbery material they'd used on the running track back at the gym in the Shinra Building... but on the whole, it was a suitable stand-in for a city street. The area was even filled with things you might find around such a place in real life: dumpsters, park benches, a car or two... Lots of places to hide. Lots of things to climb or scramble over and around.

"The object is to procure the target flag by whatever means necessary and return it to the start as quickly as possible," Tseng explained. Reno glanced down to the far end and spotted the aforementioned yellow flag, hanging from a simulated streetlight.

"Seems easy enough..." he shrugged, and his mentor chuckled.

" _Now_ , perhaps. It's not as simple as it looks. Things get decidedly more... intense... once the clock starts." Tseng smiled knowingly. "In _fact_... I may have _you_ run the course once the recruits have finished, just to see how well you handle it."

Reno grinned widely. "I'll run it if _you_ do..."

The Wutaiian Turk cocked an eyebrow. "Are you _challenging_ me to a race?"

"Loser buys dinner after we finish with Sykes for the day?" the redhead offered.

The door in the room below opened and a group of young men and women walked in, followed by two instructors in Shinra military uniforms. Tseng leaned forward, resting his elbows on top of the counter and steepling his fingers in front of him. He smiled slightly.

"Very well," he replied, "On the condition that our little competition _also_ serves as a demonstration for the recruits."

Reno laughed. "You're on, Boss. 'Sides... you know I love an audience."

~end chapter 36~


	37. On Your Marks

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 37: On Your Marks...**

 **by Desha**

"Oh... Ow. _That_ had hurt," Reno noted, cringing as he watched the... well... to call him uncoordinated would have almost been _kind_... young man take a swinging bag to the chest. It sent him flying into one of the wooden buildings that lined the faux street. He crumpled to the ground, where he lay for a moment, thoroughly dazed.

The redhead glanced down at the dossier in front of him. Fitzsimmons, Aden. Twenty-two, hailing originally from the Great Glacier. Thus far – aside from the fact that he was presently laid out flat on the ground – his physical abilities hadn't exactly set him apart. He'd already exceeded the slowest time of anyone in the group by about fifteen seconds, and he hadn't even _reached_ the flag yet.

Still... Reno wasn't _entirely_ willing to discount him. According to his file, the kid's parents were researchers at an outpost near Gaia's Cliff, and he himself had just completed degrees in chemistry and geology before joining the recruitment program five months ago. So... maybe not the most physically gifted, but the guy definitely seemed to have some brains.

Although, at the rate he was going, those brains were gonna end up scrambled. Reno cringed again as the recruit clambered to his feet, only to get broadsided by the bag a second time as it swung back in the other direction.

Reno felt a little bad for the guy. He obviously was pretty far behind the others when it came to the obstacle course. But damned if he didn't _want_ it. The redhead watched as the recruit struggled through the remaining distance – taking several more hits in the process – to the flag and clawed his way up the pole to seize it... only to almost immediately lose his grip on said pole and drop back to the ground in a barely controlled slide. Still... he'd grabbed it. It had been a last ditch effort, but the flag was in his hand, and quite honestly, no one seemed more surprised by the fact than Aden did. He hesitated a whole three seconds, just staring at it before apparently remembering that he was only halfway done and taking off, back towards where he'd started from.

Tseng shook his head as the young recruit stumbled and nearly went down again.

"I almost wish I could simply call an end to this and put him out of his misery..." he commented. Reno snickered.

"Yeah... I know what ya mean. This kinda hurts just to _watch_. Can't fault the guy for his determination, though. He's gettin' his ass kicked like there's no tomorrow, but he's still tryin'."

"... There... _is_ something to be said for that," Tseng noted, thoughtfully, reaching for the dossier. "And as I recall, his marksmanship has been rather impressive. He's also highly educated, which could be beneficial. I'm not sure that's enough to carry him through, however, if he can't perform physically."

The redhead shrugged. "I kinda sucked at this shit at first, too, ya know... Remember what I looked like after the first time Kai put me through the gauntlet?"

"Hmm..." was all Tseng said in response.

The young man finally crossed the finish line, and dropped to his knees, panting in exhaustion. His final time had been almost a full minute and a half longer than anyone else.

"He's only been in the program for five months, and you're right... he does seem very driven. I don't think he's ready quite yet, but it may be too soon to write him off entirely. Perhaps a candidate for the _next_ round of promotions..."

Reno had to agree with that assessment. Right now... there was just no way in hell Aden was gonna be on the same level as anyone else they chose. But who knew what the future might hold? The kid needed more training, plain and simple, and while his own rookie career had proven that a Turk _could_ be trained in the field... something told him that in this kid's case, it wouldn't work out so great.

"That's the last of them," Tseng noted, closing the dossier, and gathering the folders into a pile. In all, they'd observed fourteen potential Turks. At least six of them, Reno had been pretty impressed by. Tseng stood up and turned to look at him, smirking faintly. "Well? Are you ready?"

Reno snickered and got to his feet. "I am _so_ kickin' your ass, Boss."

"... We shall see."

The younger Turk heard a definite note of challenge in his mentor's voice, and grinned in response, following him down from the observation room and through the door leading to the obstacle course. The would-be Turks looked up in surprise at their unexpected appearance, as Tseng pulled one of the instructors aside to speak to him.

Reno, meanwhile, lingered near the entrance, silently watching the recruits as they watched _him_ right back. There had been some very enthusiastic conversation when they'd walked in, and he was sure he'd caught Tseng's name whispered more than once. They _obviously_ knew we _he_ was... though they seemed to still be trying to puzzle out the redhead's identity. He imagined that it was more than apparent that he was a Turk... though the reason for him accompanying the Turks' second in command was likely a little mystifying. He still found it decidedly weird himself.

At last Tseng stepped away from the instructors and rejoined the younger Turk, turning to face the recruits.

"I suspect most of you have at least some idea of who I am, but for those not as informed as your comrades, my name is Tseng Itsudake. I am second in command of the Turks," he said, before turning to the redhead, "This is Reno Donovan, my personal protege."

Reno blinked, slightly caught off guard, as he'd never actually been introduced as such. Sure, as Tseng's first rookie, he supposed that's what he technically _was_... but his mentor hadn't gone out of his way to mention it to anyone like that before. He didn't have much time to think about it, however, as Tseng quickly moved on.

"As I'm sure you have all heard by now, promotions to the Turks are presently under consideration. We've been observing today, and, as such, have decided that a small demonstration is in order."

"Recruits! Line up on the sideline!" one of the instructors ordered, and the young men and women scurried back over to the small, cordoned-off area along the edge of the course where they'd previously been observing from. The second man in the military fatigues followed them.

"Just couldn't resist showing off, eh, Tseng?" the instructor chuckled.

"Actually, I was challenged to this," Tseng replied, as he slipped his jacket off, and folded it neatly over a railing next to the starting line. He nodded towards Reno. "... on pain of having to feed _him_ should my time be slower."

The instructor snorted. "Him? Seems like you'd be getting off pretty easy, win _or_ lose."

The senior Turk laughed softly and the redhead couldn't help but grin widely himself.

"Don't let his appearance deceive you. You, my friend, have never been to dinner with Reno. He is the human embodiment of a bottomless pit, and I've _already_ treated him to lunch today. If I'm forced to pay for dinner as well, I may very well go broke."

The man laughed and held up a stopwatch.

"Runner, take your mark!" he declared, and the senior Turk stepped up to the starting line, preparing to make a mad dash for the flag one hundred and twenty yards away while Reno stood by, watching in anticipation. "Go!"

* * *

It had been quite some time since he'd done this. Years, in fact. That's not to say he was out of shape by _any_ stretch of the imagination, but the familiarity he'd once had with this course had faded over time. There had also been a number of changes since his rookie days.

Still, as he hurdled over the hood of a car blocking his path and sidestepped the first of the swinging bags, he was confident that he could meet, if not better, his old personal best of a minute nine. After all... he'd fought his way through much more difficult terrain in the years since his promotion. This little obstacle course was largely geared towards beginners. The Gauntlet back at headquarters was far more demanding.

And as he found himself knocked off his feet, he cursed himself for his complacency. Tseng let himself fall into a graceful roll, quickly recovering from the stumble, and vowing to be more careful. After all... he had fourteen recruits watching him. He could hardly afford another foolish mistake like that. Moreover, _Reno_ was watching.

He ducked beneath a barrage of rubber balls sent flying his way by a series of air cannons, and skirted around a cluster of trash cans, before sprinting towards the streetlight. It took him mere seconds to scale it and snatch the flag from its hook, and prize in hand, he dropped, landing neatly on the ground below.

All that remained now was the return trip. Smoke jetted into the street, obscuring his view of the path ahead of him. He hurried into it, listening more than watching for the pendulum-like bags he knew were waiting for him, and dodged the first easily. The second, however, he misjudged slightly, and was forced to stop short as it sailed into his path, missing him by mere inches. He swore under his breath in Wutaiian.

That delay was going to cost him. Every second counted in this run, because his young protege was no slouch when it came to speed. Reno's _endurance_ was sometimes a bit lacking, but the redhead's natural agility and coordination made him incredibly fast over short distances. He'd have to make up the time in the final sprint.

Another barrage of projectiles was... mostly... avoided. He _did_ take one stinging hit to the small of his back, but it was easy enough to ignore. He hit the ground in a forward roll, not willing to risk being toppled by the next set of swinging bags, and once he was safely past them, sprung to his feet again and raced for the finish line. Tseng flew over it, flag clutched tightly in his right hand.

"One minute, seven seconds!" the instructor declared, and Tseng smiled to himself as he fought to catch his breath. He'd shaved a solid two seconds off of his old record. He glanced up at the redhead and allowed himself a smirk.

"Let's see if you can beat that," he goaded the younger Turk.

* * *

"That all ya got, Boss?" Reno teased... though in reality, he wasn't anywhere _near_ as confident as he sounded. Seriously... a minute fucking _seven_? That was gonna be hard to beat. Not totally impossible, but... hell, he'd seen at least two significant stumbles during Tseng's run and the senior Turk had _still_ managed a time like that. Reno would almost have to have a near perfect run to even have a chance.

That, of course, didn't mean he wasn't going to _try_. Dinner was on the line. And so were bragging rights. He _really_ wanted those bragging rights. After all, it wasn't every day that he could say he beat Tseng at... much of _anything_. His mentor was just too fucking _good_.

The recruits seemed to be rather impressed with the Turk lieutenant's performance as well. Reno couldn't hear what they were saying, but there was certainly plenty of conversation going on among their ranks.

It took a couple of minutes for the instructors to reset the course, but it wasn't long before the redhead was standing at the starting line. One plus to going second... he'd gotten a chance to see Tseng's strategy before he had to try it himself. And it was certainly an effective strategy. He had a feeling he could improve on it, though. There was one point where the senior Turk had been forced to pause, or take a hit. That had cost him a few precious seconds, and now Reno knew not to make the same mistake. It was still going to be tricky getting through there in time to beat him, though.

"Runner, take your mark!"

Reno flashed his mentor a wide grin, before readying himself for his own attempt.

"Go!"

He left the line at a sprint, hoping that, if he could save some time early on, he'd have a little bit longer when it came to the more difficult parts of the course. He opted for the same path Tseng had taken to start out with, sliding across the hood of the car. It was simply far more direct than going around.

When he reached the first of the bags, however, instead of sidestepping the way Tseng had, he went straight into a forward roll, avoiding them entirely. Once he was back on his feet, he kept low, and used the dumpster for cover from the air cannons before jumping the trash cans just beyond. That just left the flag at the top of the streetlight.

It was an easy climb... but he quickly realized he could shave a tiny bit more off off of his final time if he had a little bit of a boost. That in mind, instead of skirting around the _second_ parked car, he planted a foot on the hood and ran straight up onto the roof, jumping for the pole. He managed to grab on about three quarters of the way up, and hurried to pull himself up the rest of the way, snagging hold of the flag, and immediately dropping the the ground with it.

"Halfway there..." he breathed, as he turned just in time to see his path filling with smoke. This was going to take some effort. He could only _just_ make out the vague outlines of the bags as they swung wildly through the cloud of smoke, and he paused for the briefest of moments before sprinting forward, hoping he had the timing right. He ducked the incoming volley of projectiles and ran for it, easily slipping past the first of the bags. When he reached the second, however, he suddenly realized that the smoke had completely obscured the one beyond it.

He swore loudly and altered course in an attempt to compensate... only _just_ managing to avoid a hit that likely would have sent him flying had it connected. A second barrage of rubber balls from the air cannons was likewise avoided with some quick footwork and a dive for cover behind a bench along the side of the street, and he quickly chastised himself. He should have just taken the hit and kept going they way Tseng had. Finding cover had left him in a less than ideal position to deal with the final set of swinging bags.

There was nothing for it now, however. He swiftly dodged the last of the pendulums, hurtled himself over the hood of the initial car for the second time, and crossed the finish line at a dead run that carried him several paces beyond the line before he could stop himself.

"One minute, _nine_ seconds!"

" _Fuck_..." he swore softly as he panted from the exertion, turning to face his mentor... who looked entirely too pleased by the loss. The redhead managed a laugh and shook his head. "Guess dinner's on me tonight, after all..."

Tseng chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, before turning his attention on the recruits, who, by then, were making their way back over towards the starting area.

" _That_ is the level of skill the Turks expect you to eventually attain," he said, "We'll be watching."

With that, he nodded to the instructors and headed for the door. Reno hurried after him, still breathing somewhat heavily. Once in the hallway, he sighed.

"So much for kickin' your ass..." he said somewhat wistfully. Tseng placed a hand on his back and guided his protege back towards the building entrance and out onto the street.

"I have to admit... I _was_ a bit concerned for a while there. If you'd chosen to endure the air cannons on the return trip I think you very well may _have_ beaten my time," he said, smiling. "Either way, however... it was a good run."

"Heh... just not good enough to get me outta shellin' out for dinner," the redhead snickered.

"A fact I intend to take full advantage of. After all... I have a date tonight, remember?" Tseng replied with a teasing look. He paused for a moment in his bid for the car, and his hand moved to the redhead's shoulder, squeezing slightly as he looked the younger man over. At last, he shook his head and laughed. "You really _have_ come such a long way since the day I first brought you to the Plate..." 

Reno shrugged, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. "Yeah, well... I have a pretty good teacher, ya know..."

"Or perhaps I just have an exceptional student," Tseng replied with a quiet chuckle. He glanced at his watch. "I think we should hurry if we want get back in time to conduct Sykes' next evaluation." He smirked and added. "And then, we'll meet Viridia for dinner. I don't know about you, but our little race worked up quite an appetite."

"You 'don't know about me'?" Reno repeated with a snort of incredulity. Tseng laughed as he climbed into the car.

"You're right. I really don't know what I was even thinking, saying that."

* * *

Sykes breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he made his way down to the train station beneath Shinra Headquarters. He'd been absolutely certain that something _else_ was going to happened today... but, as he'd learned just a little while ago from Petra, Tseng had actually been out of the building all afternoon. He'd been worried over nothing. And now he was on his way home. Safe. Until tomorrow, at any rate.

Oh, sure... he'd been hearing the rumors about being tested "anytime, anywhere" since he was in the recruitment program... but surely that was just something they told recruits to scare them. Just a mind game they played to keep them off-balance. At least that's what Petra kept insisting. Liam didn't seem wasn't quite as convinced... but Petra had a habit of being right about these things. He was going to go with _her_ opinion on this one.

Besides... if he _didn't_ , he was liable to spend the entire week looking over his shoulder and unable to sleep for fear of a middle of the night evaluation.

The platform was largely empty when he reached it. No real surprise, given that he'd stayed a little later than usual, and missed the _first_ train. Most of Shinra's employees had already cleared out, and only a few stragglers like himself remained waiting for the next train. He spared a glance up at the clock above the entrance. He had another eleven minutes before it was due.

He shrugged and changed course, making his way over to one of the snack machines that lined the far end of the station. The rookie perused its offerings, looking for something to tide him over until he got home and had time to make some actual food.

As he was silently debating between the ultra spicy corn chips and the sandwich crackers with peanut butter, a faint chill went down his spine and the unpleasant feeling that he was being watched settled over him. He turned away from the machine, scanning his surroundings, but saw nothing. In fact, aside from an older man half asleep on one of the benches waiting for the train, and a janitor sweeping up trash near the stairs... there was no one. Sykes shook his head.

"This whole Hell Week thing is making me _paranoid_..." he breathed. But no matter how he tried to convince himself it was all in his mind, the rookie couldn't shake the thought that someone was there. After another few moments, he couldn't stand it any longer. He abandoned his quest for snacks, and walked back over towards the main platform, subtly scanning every inch of the station, every corner, every shadow in search of his mysterious stalker. Sykes' hands clenched into fists as his apprehension began to increase. He _wasn't_ imagining this. _Someone_ was there.

And when the attack finally came, he was ready for it. What he _wasn't_ ready for, however, was for it to come from two completely different directions. A figure cloaked in black tackled him from behind, and the rookie instinctively shook the assailant off, sending him flying into a trash can. It toppled over with a loud clatter that echoed in the spacious terminal, spilling its contents on the floor. His attacker landed nearby, flat on his back, and Sykes turned to advance on him.

Before he could take more than a step or two, however, a second body collided with his, sending him staggering to the left, off-balance. The next thing he knew, he was fending off a flurry of kicks and punches, deflecting them as best he could while trying to get a hit or two of his own in. This second stalker was almost too fast to keep up with, though... and when the first recovered from his unexpected flight and joined in, Sykes knew he was outmatched.

He responded with a wild, and admittedly somewhat desperate, haymaker, catching the smaller of the two in the side of the head. He went down with a loud grunt, but the second man took advantage of the sudden opening in Sykes' defense, hooking his ankle and knocking his legs out from under him. The rookie, too, went down and, within seconds, found himself pinned in place with his arm bent roughly behind his back.

It was a hold that he knew how to break, however. He kicked out at his captor's legs, catching him by surprise, and the grip on his wrist loosened enough that he could twist free. He rolled to one side, and kicked upwards, aiming for the man's chest. His attacker was still too fast for him, however, and dodged the incoming blow.

"Enough," the man said, and Sykes froze in shock at the familiar voice. The man lowered the hood of his sweatshirt, revealing a notably pleased-looking Tseng. Sykes heard a faint groan to his left, and glanced over to see the other assailant picking himself up off of the ground.

"Fuck, man... Remind me never to piss you off..." Reno said rubbing his head. "Think my ears are actually ringin' after that one..."

Sykes flushed slightly in embarrassment as he realized he'd just thoroughly clobbered a senior Turk.

"... Sorry, sir."

"Don't be," Tseng said, "That was quite a performance." He nodded to the redhead, and Reno quickly hurried over to join him. "Goodnight, Sykes. I'll see you tomorrow." He smirked somewhat fiendishly, and added, "Bright and early..."

With that, he turned, leaving the rookie standing on the train platform, the redhead falling into step beside him.

"Can we _eat_ now?" Sykes heard Reno ask as the pair walked back towards the stairs that led into the Shinra Building.

The rookie groaned softly to himself. It was technically still only the _first day_ of Hell Week.

* * *

Tseng watched, amused, as his protege fumbled inexpertly with a pair of chopsticks. Their food had arrived almost five minutes ago, but the younger Turk had only managed two or three bites in that time. A soft snickering could be heard just outside of his current range of view, as footsteps approached their table.

"You're holding them too close to the end. Try moving your fingers back a bit."

The Turk lieutenant smiled as he turned to see Viridia walking up to them. He got up from his seat and and kissed her before pulling a chair out for her.

"Who the hell came up with these things, anyway..." the redhead grumbled, as Viridia joined them... but did as the woman advised and was soon having far better luck with his meal. Tseng turned to his lover, and chuckled.

"I hope you don't mind me ordering for you. Reno was, allegedly, starving when we arrived, and I didn't want you to have to wait for your food while we already had ours."

"Oh, no, that's fine. You know what I like," she replied, and grinned, "I didn't expect extra company tonight, though..."

"Normally, I _would_ prefer a quiet meal alone with you... but Reno lost bet," Tseng noted, with an uncharacteristically smug grin, "As a result, he'll be paying for our dinner tonight."

"Yeah, yeah..." the redhead muttered softly as he dropped whatever morsel he'd succeeded in capturing, and growled in frustration. "Assumin' I even get to eat..."

The senior Turk shook his head and laughed.

"They _will_ provide a fork if you ask..."

Reno rolled his eyes. "I'm _gonna_ get this, even if I gotta starve to death in the process..." he muttered.

"That seems just a _little_ counterproductive, don't you think?" Viridia snickered, and Reno pulled his attention away from his plate just long enough to shoot her a vaguely annoyed glare. The younger man finally succeeded in snagging a particularly elusive slice of beef and getting it into his mouth.

"Why the sudden determination to learn a new skill, if you don't mind me asking?" Tseng asked.

"Rude said I'd _have_ to if I ended up on the security team in Wutai 'cause we'd be stickin' around for the formal dinner 'n shit. Figured I'd get a jump on it."

"Ah..." Tseng acknowledged. "In that case, remove your elbows from the table and sit up straight. If you're going to learn, you may as well learn properly."

Reno groaned and did as he was told, causing both of his dining companions to laugh softly.

"Hey, Boss? Are there _really_ like forty rules for usin' these things, or was Remy just shittin' me?" he asked. Tseng smiled indulgently.

"Forty... may be a slight exaggeration. But, yes, there _is_ a fair amount of etiquette surrounding meals in general. Especially those of the formal variety." He chuckled again, and teasingly added, "Really, I suppose it's for the best that you learn now. After all, _improper_ usage is a sign of poor upbringing, and given that you're _my_ protege..."

He trailed off, and Reno heaved a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, great. No pressure."

The Wutaiian Turk smiled and Viridia had to smother an amused giggle.

"You worry too much sometimes, Reno," his mentor said, gently, "No one will fault you for a slip or two, knowing that you were raised in an entirely different culture. I've never been overly adherent to such things, _myself_ , to be honest. At least not since I was old enough to protest them being forced upon me. My parents are... somewhat _excruciatingly_ traditional."

"Hmph... from what you've told me, _that's_ putting it mildly," Viridia snorted, and Reno got the impression that she was none too pleased with the Wutaiian Turk's family. "Particularly considering what they did to you..."

Tseng sighed and glanced over at her. "I know you don't agree with it... but all the disapproval in the world will not change my father's mind about what I did, nor about my currently disowned status."

"That doesn't mean I can't still be angry with him for it," Viridia said, firmly. The senior Turk smiled somewhat sadly.

"And your anger on my behalf will never go unappreciated... but perhaps we could stick to less depressing topics over dinner?"

"So... What'dya mean they're excruciatingly traditional?" the redhead asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from _that_ particular sore spot. Tseng didn't talk much about what had happened between himself and his father, and Reno didn't have to wonder why. He returned to the task of pincering the various edibles on his plate.

"Merely that they very strictly kept to what I suppose you could call the 'old ways' when I was a child. They became a bit more open-minded once my siblings and I grew up, but they're still rather fastidious about any number of traditions. I was always a bit more... modern... in my thinking and preferences. My father and I routinely butted heads over such matters, particularly when I became more rebellious as a teenager."

Reno snorted faintly, and swallowed the bite he'd taken.

"Boss, no offense, but tryin' to picture you as a 'rebellious teenager' is kinda like tryin' to picture Sykes doin' that ice dancin' shit he says he did back home," he snickered, and Viridia nearly choked on the sip of water she'd just taken. Tseng joined them in their amusement and calmly took another bite of his own dinner.

"I... eventually grew out of that phase. Thankfully. But, I can assure you... I was quite the defiant little troublemaker at sixteen or so," he replied, and shook his head. "I pity my poor mother for what I must have put her through. I suspect I may have been even more troublesome than _you_ were at that age in some ways. Though in my defense, _I_ never stole a car or had to have someone bail me out of jail in the middle of the night... _or_ blew up my living space."

"You're never gonna let me forget about that are ya?" Reno said, rolling his eyes. He grinned a moment later. "Heh... but I'm not buyin' it. No way you were worse than _me_."

"I'm sorry, Tseng, but I'm going to have to agree with Reno, here..." Viridia interjected, snickering. "He was nothing _but_ trouble when you first found him."

"Hey!" the redhead faux-protested, grinning, "Come on... I was bad, but I wasn't _that_ bad..."

"Oh?" Tseng queried teasingly, raising an eyebrow in challenge, and then smiled. "Well, I suppose it's a matter of perspective, really, anyway. To be fair, I didn't _dare_ misbehave publicly. At least not on purpose. I would have been skinned alive within five minutes of my father learning of my misdeeds. But I was never the most obedient of sons, and more than once I went against my father's wishes solely because whatever I happened to be doing _was_ against his wishes. It's how I wound up in Midgar, in fact."

The redhead stopped eating momentarily and looked up at the senior Turk, curious.

"Okay... now _that's_ a story I wanna hear," he said, grin widening, before taking another bite.

"Hmm... Well, I suppose it _began_ when I was engaged to be married."

Reno immediately choked, and spent the next several seconds violently coughing as Tseng sat calmly across the table from him. Once he'd managed to clear his airway, the younger man reached for his drink and downed about half of it, in an attempt to placate his abused windpipe. Eventually, he wiped away the tears from his eyes and returned his attention to his mentor, ignoring the stares he was receiving from several of the other tables.

"Ya know, if ya accidentally _kill_ me, you guys are gonna have to pay for your _own_ dinners, Boss..." he snarked.

Tseng smiled and sipped his tea for a moment before answering.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't resist," he chuckled.

"The fuck d'ya mean you were _engaged_?" Reno demanded, ignoring the apology. Viridia grinned and reached for Tseng's hand, gently entwining her fingers with his.

"You mean he's never told you about... _the other woman_?" she joked. The Turk lieutenant rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the ribbing.

"I meant just that. I was _technically_ engaged. My father had made an arrangement with a long-time family friend that I would marry his youngest daughter as soon as we were of age. It's a practice that has largely fallen out of favor in Wutai, but as I mentioned... my parents are traditionalists. _Their_ marriage had been an arranged one. If it was good enough for them, my father was of the opinion that it was good enough for me. I... disagreed. Vehemently."

Reno's eyes widened. "Wait... so he just... tried to marry you off? Just like that?"

"More or less. There was some bargaining involved, as being the middle child, I was a slightly less desirable match than one of my elder brothers would have been. But the short of it is that an agreement was reached, and I was to marry the girl in the spring of my eighteenth year," Tseng replied, "So... the night before I was to meet my intended, I said goodbye to my sister, snuck out of the house, and stowed away on the first ship leaving Wutai. I ended up in Midgar about a week later, and applied to the recruitment program at the earliest available opportunity. My father was, to put it mildly, less than pleased when he found out... but by that point there really wasn't anything he could do about it."

Reno stared at him, mouth slightly agape, his meal forgotten for the moment.

"... You _serious_?"

Tseng and Viridia laughed at the reaction and his mentor took another bite.

"I was always very much the black sheep of the family, I'm afraid," he snickered, "The life my father wanted for me... was not the life _I_ wanted. I eventually realized that, unless I did something about it myself, that was the life I'd be stuck with."

The redhead blinked and turned back to his food, shaking his head in vague disbelief.

"Geez, Boss... always knew you were a badass, but... _fuck_."

"I was a headstrong, and somewhat foolish, young man who _thought_ he knew everything. Thankfully, I was accepted into the program immediately. Had I _not_ been... I had no backup plan, very little money with me, and no place to stay," Tseng admitted, "Fortunately, the risk turned out to be worth it and things worked out in my favor."

"I don't think I'da had the balls to do all that..." the younger Turk chuckled. "Hell, _I'd_ still be stuck down in the slums if you hadn't come along."

"Perhaps," Tseng acknowledged, "Though I have my doubts on that. It may have taken longer... but I think you would have found a way out of there on your own, eventually."

Reno snorted. "Tch... Don't kid yourself. I'd be in Wall Market with Lira by now. And most likely _not_ tendin' bar like I was when you found me. Gettin' out was just a fantasy, no matter _how_ much I wanted it. I was too busy just survivin' to even _try_." He looked up at him, an earnest expression on his face. "I'm not like Lira. I don't have it in me to do that shit. That kinda life woulda killed me, eventually. It woulda worn me down 'til there was nothin' left, just like it did my mom. You saved me, Tseng."

The Wutaiian Turk reached across the table and rested his hand on top of the redhead's.

"Consider it returning the favor, then," he replied, "I'm not sure you've ever realized it, but if I hadn'tmet _you_ when I did, I very well might not be here."

The redhead blinked in surprise. "Boss?" he queried.

"You gave me the chance to escape my pursuers that night. Had they seen me, it's very unlikely I would have survived the ensuing confrontation. I was injured, _and_ they had me outnumbered. The odds were... _not good_... that I would have walked away from it if it had come down to another fight. Even _with_ your timely distraction, I was lucky I made it to my extraction point when I did. I was bleeding rather badly at the time."

He had, in fact, been barely half-conscious by the time Aaron had arrived in the helicopter. He didn't remember much of anything after that until he woke up at Midgar General Hospital some time after sunrise, mid-transfusion.

Reno looked up at him, shock clearly etched across his face.

"How come ya never told me?" he breathed.

"Or _me_?" Viridia added, folding her arms over her chest and staring him down.

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly and brushed the back of his hand softly over his lover's cheek. "In your case... you worry _enough_ about me, and though it was certainly serious injury, it wasn't so serious that I felt I should have Veld summon you from Junon to sit at my bedside. Once the bleeding was finally under control, I was fine. In fact, I was released that very afternoon with nothing more than some stitches and an order for a day or two of quiet relaxation at home to show for it."

He turned back to Reno. "In _yours_... it was mostly pride, I suppose. I've grown rather accustomed to you looking up to me. A part of me doesn't want to risk losing any of that admiration. But you're not a child anymore, or a rookie, or even an inexperienced young Turk. You are very much becoming my equal, and I have no business remaining on such a high pedestal any longer."

The redhead gave a somewhat self-deprecating laugh, and returned his attention to his food once more.

"I kinda don't even know what to _say_ to that..."

Tseng smiled and resumed his own meal. "A response isn't necessary."

~end chapter 37~


	38. A Visit to Mideel

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 38: A Visit to Mideel**

 **by Desha**

"So _you've_ been to Mideel before, right, partner?" Reno asked. He circled a wide expanse of green, checking that it was safe to land. Satisfied that they weren't going to have any issues, he eased the aircraft downward, setting them on the ground with a soft bump.

"Couple of times," Rude replied, his voice sounding oddly far away over the headset. Reno made a mental note to mention that to vehicle maintenance when they got back. The headsets weren't _great_ even on a good day, as loud as the cockpit could get at times. The last thing they needed was the sound quality going _completely_ to shit. He shut down the engines and the older Turk hurried to unstrap himself, tossing the offending earphones back onto their hook. "Think I still have an aunt living here somewhere."

Reno raised an eyebrow as he, too, released himself from his safety harness.

"You _think_ you have an aunt?"

Rude shrugged. "Only ever met her once. She was Mom's sister. They had some big fight when I was little and never spoke again. Didn't even come to the funeral."

"Wow," Reno replied, a little surprised. "Musta been a hell of a fight..."

The bald Turk shrugged again and didn't elaborate. Reno took that as a sign that his friend didn't want to talk about it. Or maybe just that he didn't have anything else to say on the matter. After all, if he didn't know anything about her, there wasn't exactly a whole lot to talk about.

"So... is it _always_ so hot here?" he asked, changing the subject. He hadn't even had time to move yet, and he could already feel the sweat starting to bead on his forehead. Rude snickered and started towards the town a short walk from their landing site.

"You think it's hot _now_ , just wait until summer's in full swing... Gets almost as warm as Costa del Sol. Only sticky and miserable for weeks on end."

"Sounds pleasant..." the redhead snorted.

"The rest of the year's not so bad, though, from what I've heard," Rude added, "Mild winters, cool in the fall, wet in the spring. Kind of like the southern part of Wutai, but without the mountain ranges... and a whole lot more humidity _this_ time of year."

They made their way into town, and Rude paused, looking around. "Think it's this way," he said, heading south down the main road. Reno trailed along behind him taking in the sights. It was early yet, and the town seemed to still be sleeping, for the most part. A few businesses looked to be preparing to open for the day, but other than their proprietors, there were few people out on the street.

It was a cozy little village, though, stretching from the edge of the interior forest to the southern shoreline. He'd seen a number of docks as they'd arrived, largely empty, though he'd spotted a few small boats heading out to sea, so the rest had probably simply left earlier.

"Heh... so where do they make that whiskey they're so famous for?" the redhead teasingly asked. He _still_ hadn't opened the bottle Rufus had gifted him. He wasn't sure why. It just seemed... too special to waste. He wanted to save it for something _really_ once in a lifetime... because if the rumors about the stuff were true, he'd probably never get his hands on another bottle. Maybe on his next birthday... when he was finally legally _allowed_ to drink and could ditch the fake IDs once and for all. Or maybe... when the team celebrated Tseng taking over for Veld? That'd be a hell of a special occasion, and he doubted either senior Turk would turn down the offer.

Whatever. He'd know when the time came to finally crack it open. Until then, he was happy to let it remain in a place of pride in his growing collection of spirits. The good stuff... the _really_ good stuff... was best saved for just the right moment.

Rude grinned and shook his head. "Not around here. The distillery's up north in Banora... where they grow the Banora Whites."

Reno snickered quietly and he quickened his pace to catch up to his friend. "Ya mean the dumbapples?"

"Yeah, those," Rude confirmed with a snorted laugh at the more common name for the odd little fruit.

"So's it true they really just show up at random?"

"Apparently," the other Turk shrugged, "They say there's no rhyme or reason to when the trees bear fruit. It just happens whenever the hell they feel like it."

"... Weird."

"This is it," Rude noted, pausing in front of a small cafe. Reno raised an eyebrow.

"Thought we were here to meet with the Mideelian Historical Society."

"We are. Head of the society _also_ runs this place. They don't really have a headquarters, or anything. They just meet here."

The redhead followed him through the outdoor seating area and into the building. A number of ceiling fans spun lazily in the quiet dining room, banishing the worst of the morning heat. The soft breeze they created felt unmistakably pleasant against his skin as he and Rude seated themselves at one of the empty tables. A handful of other early risers were scattered throughout the space, drinking coffee or enjoying breakfast before their days got started.

"What kin I get yeh lads," a friendly voice boomed. Reno glanced up at the boisterous, rotund woman that had bounded up to their table within seconds of them sitting down, notepad in hand, ready to take their order. "We're havin' a special taday on dumbapple eggy bread 'n coffee."

"We're actually here to speak with Melinda," Rude said before Reno had a chance to respond.

"Ah, right! Yeh must be the one lookin' inta the Kingsword. That'd be me, then," she said, smiling, "Let me just take care o' a couple 'o things, 'n we'll sit down fer a nice chat. Yeh sure I can't getcha anythin' while yeh wait?"

Rude shook his head. "... Just a glass of water, please." He glanced over at the redhead and snickered. "Pretty sure _he'll_ eat, though."

Reno rolled his eyes at the teasing, but otherwise ignored it. It wasn't like Rude was _wrong_ , after all.

"I'll try that special..." he replied.

"Comin' right up, love," Melinda happily replied. With that, she hurried away to check on another customer, before slipping into the kitchen in the back.

"Hey, so... what's eggy bread, anyway?" Reno asked. Rude shook his head.

"Why'd you order it if you don't even know what it is?" he chuckled.

"It sounded good," the redhead shrugged.

"You really _will_ eat anything, won't you?"

"Long as it's food..." Reno grinned. "So... what they hell'd I order?"

"It's a kind of toast, more or less. You scramble an egg or two, soak slices of bread in it, and fry it. Then you add whatever toppings or sauce. Can be served savory _or_ sweet. Guessing sweet if it's got apples."

"That... sounds _really_ fuckin' good right now."

Rude simply sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"Hey... don't gimme that look. _You're_ just as into food as _I_ am," Reno said, accusingly.

"Yeah... but I like to actually _taste_ mine..." the old Turk teased, "Not just inhale one plate and move on to the next."

"I'm not _that_ bad..." the redhead declared. In response, Rude merely stared him down. "... Okay, maybeI _am_ that bad. I can't help it, man... I'm always hungry. My body's just weird like that."

Rude snorted softly. "You're just weird in general," he said, jokingly.

"Hey!" Reno laughed. " _Anyway_... food aside, I could definitely use another coffee right now, considerin' you made me get up at the asscrack of dawn to get here."

Rude snickered softly and leaned back in his chair. " _That's_ going to be interesting..."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You've never _had_ Mideelian coffee, have you?" he replied, grinning back at the redhead somewhat smugly.

"Coffee's coffee," Reno said.

"Hmph... Coffee, for you, is about seventy-five percent sugar. You'll notice there _isn't_ any on the table."

The redhead blinked and his gaze immediately snapped to the little collection of condiments in the center of the table. There were the usual staples – salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard – and a couple of not-so-usual ones – one of which was simply labeled "brown sauce" – but no sugar.

"Umm..."

"They don't _put_ sugar in it," Rude clarified, an amused expression crossing his face. "It's also _really_ strong, and kind of on the bitter side."

Reno mentally groaned. He... didn't really like bitter. Not that it would stop him from drinking it, but there was a reason he added so much sugar to his coffee back home. Well... technically, there were _two_ reasons. The sugar gave the caffeine an extra punch. Finally, though, he shrugged.

"Whatever. _Still_ gotta be better than that pond water Tseng drinks..."

He didn't get the appeal of tea. It tasted pretty much like exactly what it was. Hot water that had had some leaves soaking in it. It really _was_ like drinking pond water that had been collected on a particularly warm day. Rude simply shook his head and chuckled.

"... Hey," the redhead said, somewhat hesitantly. "When we're done here, ya mind if we take a little detour before we find somewhere to stay for the night? I... kinda wanna... ya know... go pay my respects while we're in Mideel. Feels wrong to be here 'n _not_. 'Specially since we could only make it to the memorial back in Midgar..."

"... Was thinking the same thing myself," the bald Turk replied.

"Any idea where it is?" Reno asked, and Rude shook his head.

"No... but the locals'll know. They keep track of that sort of thing. Ancestry's big around here. Ask just about anyone how they're related to anyone else, and they'll tell you down to where one side of the family married into the other," he snickered, "Shouldn't be too hard to find a grave."

Reno nodded and sighed. "I really miss that nutjob..." he said softly, "Office has been _way_ too quiet."

"Want me to set off a grenade or two when we get back?" the old Turk gently teased, and the redhead laughed quietly.

"Better not. Remy'll kill ya. And I've been to _enough_ funerals lately."

* * *

The elevator pinged faintly as it arrived on the Turks' floor, and the doors slid open... only to reveal a _very_ displeased-looking Kai. Tseng was stopped short in his bid to step aboard the car as she stormed out into the hallway, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"How _could_ you?!" the diminutive Turk demanded, furiously. The Turks' second in command slowly raised his hands in surrender as she backed him up against the wall.

"I apologize... but it was planned well before you decided to reschedule your training session with the rookies. There was nothing I could do."

"Nothing you could _do_?! You _could_ have told me when Hell Week was _starting_ , you asshole! I could have put the rookies' survival course off another week, you know..." She glared at him. "I'd _better_ not have missed anything _good_ , Tseng..."

The Wutaiian Turk edged away from her accusatory finger. "Calm down... We've hardly even begun. Sykes has only had the panic response evaluation and a hand to hand exercise, thus far. You haven't missed anything of consequence."

His response seemed to mollify his friend somewhat, and Kai grudgingly backed down.

"In fact..." he added, smiling slightly, "Reno is out of the city on assignment, and I _could_ use a hand with today's testing. If you're interested..."

Kai narrowed her eyes. "If you're trying to get back in my good graces by bribing me..." she hissed, staring him down, before her face suddenly split into a wide grin, "... it's totally working. What'd you have in mind?"

Tseng snickered and moved towards the elevator, pressing the button again to recall it to their floor. "Something that will almost certainly make you forgive me entirely for failing to inform you of my timetable," he replied, smirking.

* * *

Reno had to resist the urge to moan in pleasure.

It was fucking _amazing_. It was soft and chewy... and at the same time a little bit crunchy around the edges. And it was _slathered_ in some sort of warm, gooey, apple-y goodness... kind of like pie filling. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever tasted. Could a person _taste_ beauty? He was pretty well convinced that he could...

He heard a smothered laugh from across the table and glanced up.

"What?"

Rude snorted softly. "You're looking at that plate like a man who hasn't seen food in days..."

"Rude... pal... this stuff is _incredible_. You, uh... think she'd give me the recipe?" he queried, and his friend laughed outright this time, shaking his head.

"What would _you_ do with a recipe?" he teased, "... besides maybe burn down half your block, I mean."

"Geez... ya set _one_ kitchen on fire..." the redhead snickered. "But, I mean... _you'd_ make it for me. Right?"

The older Turk grinned and snatched the fork out of his friend's hand, stealing a bite of the dish and returning the utensil before he even had a chance to complain.

"Suppose I _could_..." he replied, "Or... I could teach you how to cook _without_ turning everything in a ten foot radius into a raging inferno. Probably be doing the city a _favor_... by eliminating its biggest fire hazard."

The younger Turk rolled his eyes, but smiled. He was used to the teasing. Hell, he'd _more_ than earned his reputation as an outright menace in the kitchen, and even though he'd improved a bit since the 'kitchen incident', as everyone tended to refer to his accidental immolation of Rude's stovetop, he was under no illusion that he actually knew what the fuck he was doing. Not that he wouldn't have minded _learning_... He'd just never found the time. It was a hell of a lot easier to just order pizza or something.

Further discussion had to be put on hold for the time being, however, as the cafe's proprietress made her way back over to their table, smiling broadly, and took a seat.

"There we are, then," she said, happily, "That should keep the regulars quiet fer a wee bit. Now... about the Kingsword..."

"How long have you been trying to get it back from Dio?" Rude asked, switching into professional mode. Melinda huffed and shook her head.

"E're since that bloody bastard bought it out from under us in the first place, six years ago. The Historical Society had a deal ta purchase it from the sleazy little arsehole who unearthed it. Didnae _want_ ta give 'im so much as a gil, but... he was _technically_ in the right. Found it on land he had a legal claim ta. So we worked out a price... 'n then Dio swoops in 'n outbids us three times over! Couldnae even match it, much less _beat_ it. Son of bitch sold it ta _him_ instead o' _us_. That sword's part o' Mideel's history. It ought ta be _here_ , not in some Titan-be-damned amusement park museum... 'n _now_ come ta find out someone's gone 'n walked off with it. 'Tis a bloody shame."

"I take it Dio was never interested in selling?" the bald Turk asked, making a note of something in the field book he'd brought along for this interview.

"Nah... 'n believe me we _tried_. Got donations from all over Mideel... held fundraisers here in town fer a wee bit more. We squeezed out e'ry last gil we could. Wouldnae take it. Said it was his 'prize display piece' 'n he wouldnae part with it fer anything."

Rude frowned thoughtfully. "Has anyone ever approached you with an offer to get it back _for_ you?"

Melinda hesitated a moment, before nodding. "Aye... Few months back. I'm shamed ta admit ta it, but I gave very serious consideration ta takin' 'im up on the offer fer a wee bit there. But the thought of stealin' it didnae sit right with me... or with the other members o' the Society.. We'd have it back... but we'd have ta hide it away again or risk havin' the law or worse sent after us. History should be out there where people can see it. Touch it. Not packed away in a crate."

"Wutaiian guys? Kinda on the dangerous lookin' side?" Reno asked, but Melinda shook her head.

"No, no... It was only the one fella. _Definitely_ not Wutaiian. Had a wee bit o' a Costan accent, actually. Bit muddled, though, like he'd been livin' somewhere else fer quite awhile. Had a tattoo on one arm, too. Mighta been military o' some sort. Uncle o' mine had somethin' like it 'n he was Shinra Materia Corps back in the day."

The redhead glanced over at Rude, who raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He could tell that his friend was thinking the same thing _he_ was... that they may have just stumbled across their theoretical middle man. Someone who was actively seeking out clients who wanted these weapons, hiring the Zenshou to actually do the dirty work and obtain them, and probably keeping the difference between their fee and whatever the clients were paying for himself.

"Did he give you any way to contact him?" Rude inquired.

"Nope. N'er even told us his name. Said it was a one time offer 'n if we changed out minds, we were outta luck. Havenae seen him again since we turned 'im down."

Rude nodded. "I see. If he _does_ happen to contact you, let me know."

"Aye, I will," she replied. "Yeh'll... eh... _try_ 'n get the Kingsword back, won't yeh? I'm none too fond o' Dio havin' his grubby wee mitts on it but... I s'pose it's better off on display at the Gold Saucer than Titan only knows where."

"If we track these thieves down, anything we find will be returned to its owners," the bald Turk replied.

"Well, I s'pose that'll have ta do, then," Melinda sighed.

* * *

Syke's all but _ran_ into the Turks' lounge, slamming the door behind him and leaning his full weight against it. For a few moments, he simply stood there, eyes shut tight, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

"What in Leviathan's name are you doing?" a voice queried. The rookie's eyes shot open, and it was all he could do to contain the yelp of surprise that threatened to escape.

"Don't _do_ that!" he hissed in a loud whisper. Remy raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't comment. Sykes' flushed in embarrassment. "S-sorry, ma'am. It's just..."

"Hell Week," Remy finished for him, with a faint nod of understanding before turning her attention back on the intelligence report she'd been reading through. "You can't hide from it, you know. Tseng _will_ find you, eventually."

"He already _did_ ," Sykes muttered, finally stepping away from the door and wandering over to the couch by the windows. He dropped onto the cushions with a soft thump, flinching slightly as his battered backside protested. "He and Kai rigged the gauntlet so that I had to pick a bunch of locks in order to get out of the shooting gallery. It took me almost twenty minutes. I'm gonna be _so_ bruised in the morning..." He glanced over at the senior Turk. "Er... you haven't seen Liam and Petra today, have you, ma'am? I thought that since Kai's back, _they_ must be, too..."

"They're on a training assignment with Veld today. You won't be seeing much of them this week, I'm afraid. After all... we can't have _their_ Hell Weeks spoiled for them."

Sykes' groaned and let his head flop back against the couch. Great. It was only Day Two. He had to get through all of Hell Week _without_ his friends for support? There was no way in hell he was going to make it...

"I'm gonna die..." he moaned, sinking down deeper into the forgiving softness of the couch.

"You're not going die," Remy calmly stated, rolling her eyes.

"... Then I'm gonna have a nervous breakdown..."

To his surprise, the senior Turk laughed softly. Remy was usually the most serious of the team. She almost _never_ laughed. At least, not in public...

"Hmm... now _that_ is entirely possible," she replied, smiling in amusement. "Look... Just take things as they come and focus on getting through the task at hand. Don't bother worrying about what comes after that until you _have_ to. You'll get through this. Everyone does."

"... Are you sure?" Sykes asked, "Because I'm not entirely convinced that, somewhere out there, there's a secret society of former rookie Turks who have all been driven insane by the nightmare that is Hell Week..."

Remy shook her head and got up, walking over to the coffee maker and pouring herself a fresh cup.

"To my knowledge, no Turk has ever gone insane due to Hell Week," she said, and then smirked as she gathered up her files and headed for the door. "... Though Reno was very nearly fired during _his_. When he gets back from Mideel, you should ask him about _that_. If _he_ could survive Hell Week, so can you."

"W-wait... _what_?!" he stammered, eyes widening in horror, but Remy had already slipped out into the hallway and started back towards her own office. Sykes shook his head. She... she was just saying that to scare him. Right? Reno was really, _really_ respected by... well, pretty much everyone. No way he'd messed up one of his evaluations so bad he'd almost gotten fired over it.

He shut his eyes again, wishing his fellow rookies were here... even if it was just for moral support. Or, barring that, Reno himself. The redhead was becoming something of an unofficial mentor to Liam since he'd started taking a more active roll in the rookies' training, and all _three_ of them found him to be, by far, the easiest of the senior Turks to talk to. Plus, he always seemed to have good advice. If nothing else, _now_ Sykes wanted to ask him about his own Hell Week.

Sykes sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, biting back yet another groan of frustration and terror. He didn't care what Remy said. If he was still sane by the end of this, it would be a miracle.

* * *

Reno gazed silently down at the freshly carved stone marker, and the nearly identical one next to it, swallowing sharply. He'd never been a particularly big fan the graveyard back in Sector 2... As it turned out, the one in Mideel was no different, save for the heat of the sun beating down on it late in the afternoon.

Rude was kneeling down beside the older of the two graves, setting a small bouquet of flowers at the base of the stone. The redhead smirked slightly and reached into his jacket, extracting a small, rounded object, and placed it on the more recent addition. His friend snorted softly.

" _Really_?" he said, rolling his eyes at the sight of the grenade, "You're just gonna leave that there?"

"Ah, it's just a smoke bomb," Reno said, with a shrug, "Won't hurt anything even if it _does_ somehow go off. Figured Sato'd appreciate _that_ more than flowers."

The older Turk snorted and stood up.

"Don't think Saya'd entirely approve," he pointed out. Reno laughed softly.

"I dunno... She only _really_ got pissed when he did somethin' stupid. When it was just harmless fun, she was always laughin' right along with him." He sighed almost inaudibly and turned back to the gravestones. "Hey... Rude?"

"Yeah?" 

"You think there's anything after this?"

"Hmph... besides a four hour flight back to Midgar in the morning?" Rude teased.

"Not what I meant 'n you know it..." Reno said, with a pronounced roll of his eyes. The other Turk only shrugged.

"No idea. I'd like to _think_ there is, at least."

"Yeah. That's kinda what I'm afraid of. I mean... is there _really_ some kinda afterlife? Or is that just some kinda bullshit we tell ourselves to make us less terrified of kickin' the bucket?"

Rude leaned over and wrapped an arm around his friend. "Only one way to find out for sure... and personally, I'm not in any hurry."

"... I hope there is," Reno said softly. "I hate that they're gone... but I wanna believe they're together again now. Somewhere. They deserve that much, at least." The redhead relaxed somewhat as his friend's grip on him tightened, and he smiled faintly. "We should probably get back to town. We got one more meeting, right?"

"Not for another hour," Rude replied. "We can stay awhile longer if you want."

Reno shook his head and glanced up at him. "Nah... We did what we came here to do." He smirked slightly. "'Sides... Sato'd be pissed if we spent _all_ our down time mopin' around a graveyard on his account. Last thing we need's a crazy-ass ghost with an obsession with shit that blows up pissed off at us..."

Rude snorted in laughter. "You _do_ have a point there..." he chuckled.

* * *

Tseng stifled a yawn as he settled himself behind his desk... and tried very hard to ignore the constant scrutiny he was under as he finished up his notes on Sykes' most recent exercise. After a few minutes, however, it proved impossible.

"Don't you have an assignment you're meant to be handling?" he sighed. Kai grinned back at him from the opposite side of the desk.

"Nope. Finished it an hour ago," she replied. " _Soooo_... When's –"

"Kai, I swear to Leviathan... if you don't stop asking me when the next evaluation is, I'm going to _cancel_ the rest of Hell Week just to spite you," the Turk lieutenant groaned, roughly pinching the bridge of his nose. He'd never fully understood his friend's obsession with the tradition... but in recent years, it had become almost fanatical.

The diminutive Turk laughed quietly. "Oh, come on. I can't be annoying you _that_ much. Besides... Hell Week is a big deal! For everyone... not _just_ the Turk going through it. I love seeing the rookies grow up."

Tseng couldn't help but snicker in response. "That's rather rich, coming from the woman who continues to refer to a twenty-year old Turk who stopped being a rookie two years ago as 'Baby Turkling'."

Kai laughed and leaned back in her seat, still grinning from ear to ear.

"My Baby Turkling's a special case. He really _was_ just a baby when he got here... It's hard to think of him as all grown up. _And_ it drives him nuts when I call him that, so... bonus," She giggled quietly to herself. "I guess it's a habit I really _should_ try and break, though. Especially if he's going to outrank me someday."

Tseng raised a questioning eyebrow, and Kai rolled her eyes.

"Oh, give me a break. Like you're _not_ already training him as the future Second. Come on, Tseng... we all know your little protege's going to take over for you when Veld decides he's had enough of Shinra and wants to live out his golden years on a farm or something..."

The Wutaiian Turk, laughed and shook his head. "A farm? _Veld_? Really, Kai... Between _that_ comment and your increasingly unhealthy obsession with Hell Week, I'm legitimately beginning to question your sanity."

The senior Turk cackled in response. "What? You can't picture him wrangling chocobos and milking cows?"

"I could probably _picture_ it... with enough hallucinogens in my system. But even then, I don't think I'd ever be able to accept it as reality," he chuckled.

"See, now that's your problem," she teasingly chastised him, "No imagination whatsoever. But seriously... you can't sit there and tell me Reno's not your pick for Second. _Everyone_ knows it. Hell, _I've_ known it since like... his first week on the job."

Tseng cocked an eyebrow in challenge. "You mean the first week on the job that consisted of a near drowning at the hands of a certain future executive, an arrest for underage drinking, and _considerably_ more bruising than I would have liked courtesy of his unnecessarily early introduction to the gauntlet? _That_ first week?" He snorted softly in amusement. "I'm still rather amazed he didn't run screaming back to the slums after _that_ week."

"Aw, he had a good thing going for him and he knew it," Kai said, and leaned forward, resting her elbows on top of Tseng's desk and settling her chin on her palms. "He was born for this. As much as I _hate_ stroking that massive ego of yours, you couldn't have made a better choice."

"My massive ego thanks you," Tseng joked. "And yes... I _am_ planning for his eventual promotion. Though I'd prefer you not discuss that with _him_. Knowing can be... something of a burden. It's one that I don't want him to have to bear just yet... particularly given how far off Veld's retirement likely still _is_. It could easily be a decade or more before either of us have to worry about that."

Kai snorted a laugh and smirked. "I think Esme might have something to say about _that_ ," she snickered, and the Turk lieutenant's smile widened.

"You know... Veld actually said much the same thing when we had this discussion not long ago," he laughed.

* * *

Reno leaned back against the outer wall of the building and took a long drag off his cigarette. He exhaled a plume of smoke into the warm night air and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the little island town. He had to admit... Mideel was nice. A little on the humid side, and their coffee was terrible... but nice.

Rude was still chatting with the last of his interviewees. A man named Douglass Farn... proud member of the Mideelian Historical Society, and one of the wealthier individuals in town, apparently. Reno was... doing a little investigating of his own. Something hadn't sat right with him when they'd met the guy. He'd seemed like he was... maybe not outright _lying_ to them, exactly, but most definitely not telling them quite everything. He was pretty sure Rude had picked up on it, too, because his friend hadn't so much as batted an eye when the redhead had eventually excused himself and stepped outside, ostensibly for a smoke break.

He just wanted to take a quick look around.

Reno stubbed out his half-finished cigarette and tucked it into a pocket for later. The sun had quite thoroughly set by then, and his stomach kindly informed him that he hadn't had dinner yet. He pointedly ignored the reminder and wandered away from the property's main building. Farn's place was up on a hill just outside of town. Apparently the guy owned the local quarry and made a decently good living from it... because in addition to a pretty nice sized house, his estate consisted of a chocobo stable, a small orchard, and a handful of outbuildings.

He made his way past the stables, and over to one of the larger buildings, peering in through one of the windows. He couldn't see much in the dark, but it looked to be some sort of workshop. Another building nearby was stocked with bags of vegetables and leafy greens... obviously destined for those pain in the ass chocobos.

The last structure on the property, though, was what he was _really_ interested in. It was tucked back in a stand of trees, all on its own... so hidden away that he'd almost missed it entirely when he and Rude had arrived. Devoid of windows, the only openings in the metal shack were a large overhead door, like you'd find on a garage, and a smaller, person-sized door with a heavy lock on it.

Reno smirked and pulled his lock picks from his pocket.

Hardly twenty seconds later, he was inside. He could feel the sweat as it began dripping down his back almost as soon as he stepped through the door. The place was like an oven in the Mideelian heat, and even though the sun had set, it was still baking inside. He switched on a flashlight, and took stock of his surroundings.

The building looked like it was used, primarily, for storing shit the owner didn't need anymore. There were stacks of bricks, and other building supplies, various tools, tangled fishing gear, what looked to be old car parts, a truly _ancient-_ looking bicycle... just a random hodgepodge of junk, most of which probably should have been thrown out years ago and all of which seemed to be covered in several years' worth of dust. He stumbled over a length of copper pipe that had been left lying on the floor, and cringed at the loud clatter it made.

This was a bust. It was just a storage shed. Reno shook his head and moved to head back towards the door. If he hurried back, he might have time to take a look around Farn's house, as well, before he was missed. As he turned, his shin slammed painfully into a surprisingly sturdy old chair he hadn't seen in the dark on his way in.

"Son of _bitch_!" he hissed, staggering to one side as he awkwardly tried to steady himself. He bent down with a groan, rubbing what he was certain was a newly acquired bruise through the fabric of his pantleg. As the pain faded, he glared at the offending piece of furniture and gave it a spiteful kick towards a nearby table, which it struck with a loud, hollow-sounding thunk, before storming off towards the doorway.

A moment later, he froze and turned back.

"Wait a second..." he muttered, retracing his steps. It shouldn't have made a sound like _that_. There was something under there. He tugged aside the old sheet that was covering the table... and found a large crate hidden underneath. A suspiciously _new_ -looking, not-dusty-at-all crate. A part of the lid was damaged, and it sat somewhat loosely on top, already having been pried open. Curious, he lifted it up... not quite able to open it all the way thanks to its hiding place, but enough to see inside.

The box itself was filled with what looked like straw. He cautiously stuck a hand inside, feeling around for anything buried underneath... and soon came across the familiar sensation of cool, smooth metal. Reno brushed aside the straw as best he could, wedging himself _and_ his flashlight far enough inside to see what he'd uncovered... and grinned.

" _Knew_ there was somethin' that guy wasn't tellin' us..." he chuckled, as he snapped a quick photo with his phone and hurried to restore things to the way he'd found them.

~end chapter 38~


	39. Home Again, Gone Again

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 39: Home Again, Gone Again**

 **by Desha**

Reno stealthily made his way back up to the house. He'd been gone a little longer than he'd intended to be... Hopefully no one had noticed. As he slipped back inside, Rude and Farn were emerging from the living room.

"If you _do_ happen to hear from him again," Rude said, handing him a card with his contact information on it, "Please let us know."

"Aye, I'll be sure ta do that," the gentleman said with a nod. He ushered them out the door, closing it behind them, leaving the two Turks on their own in the night.

"Find anything interesting?" Rude asked as they strolled down the front walk. Reno smirked and pulled up the photo on his phone.

"How's this for interesting?" he asked. Rude took the device from him, and studied the image for a moment, before pausing in his tracks and grinning faintly.

"I _really_ need to put in a request for a PHS upgrade..."

"I wasn't talkin' about the fuckin' camera, asshole," the redhead laughed, rolling his eyes. "He's got it hidden in a little storage shed back in the trees. What'dya think? Confront him 'n see what he _really_ knows?"

"Doubt we're going to get to the bottom of this any _other_ way," Rude replied, handing him back his phone. The pair of them did an about face, and walked back up to the door. Rude knocked.

A few moment later, their new suspect poked peered out at them a look of confusion on his face.

"Eh... Somethin' else I can help yeh with?"

Reno held up the image of a very old sword nestled in a shipping crate.

"Yeah... ya can explain why you just spent the last hour lyin' to us," he said. Farn paled in response and vehemently shook his head.

"I-it's not what yeh think!" he hurriedly stammered.

"Might wanna start explainin', then..." the redhead stated. "We don't much like bein' jerked around."

Rude cracked his knuckles, and for a moment Reno half thought their new friend was going to pass out.

"How long have you had the Kingsword," the older Turk queried, and Farn groaned, shaking his head.

"It _isnae_ the Kingsword! I swear ta yeh... It's _not_ what yeh think. Er... not _exactly_ , that is..." he said, hesitantly.

"Start talking'..." Reno demanded, folding his arms over his chest.

"It's... It's a replica, alright?" Farn sighed. "Maybe I wasnae quite honest with yeh... I _did_ take that bloody thief up on his offer. But I didnae want ta risk that son o' a sea worm, Dio, comin' after us fer it back... so I paid ta have a duplicate made." He scowled angrily and shook his head. "Plan was ta have 'em switched out, with no one bein' the wiser... but when it came time ta do it, he wanted _double_ what he was askin' fer originally! I couldnae afford that. That damned replica wasnae cheap. Even _with_ the donations we had from the town ta try 'n buy it back from Dio, I couldnae pay. So the deal was off. Havenae heard from him since. Not e'en after the real one went missin'!"

"Tch... Why the hell didn't you just tell us that in the first place?" the redhead asked. Farn somewhat sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"... Er... Well... I just put in an order fer new machinery fer the quarry, so I'm a might short on cash 'til I get it paid off. I had ta... _borrow_... a wee bit from the donation fund ta pay fer the fake. I... er... I didnae exactly have _permission_ , yeh see, 'n if Melinda were ta find out, she'd be servin' my balls up fer her cafe's lunch special. Eh... yer... not goin' ta _tell_ her... are yeh?"

"Did the man you made this deal with mention any _other_ buyers for the sword after you had to back out?" Rude inquired, ignoring the plea.

"No... He didnae say a thing. Just turned 'round 'n left."

Reno glanced over at Rude... who shook his head. "Let's go," he sighed, turning back to the path leading out to the main road. Reno quickly fell into step beside him.

"Yer... yer _not_ goin' ta tell Melinda... Right? Right?!" Farn called after them.

* * *

"You buy it?" Rude asked as they made their way back into town. Reno pulled the half smoked cigarette out of his pocket, relighting it.

"I _definitely_ buy that he doesn't want his pal Melinda findin' out he was dippin' into the donation funds..." he replied, with a quiet snicker. "The rest of it?" He shrugged. "I can see it goin' either way... but I'm kinda leaning towards believin' him. Ya ask me, our middle man _probably_ found another buyer who was willin' to up the price, 'n came back to see if he could squeeze a little more outta Farn first. When he couldn't, he just scrapped the whole replacin' it with a fake idea, 'n had the Zenshou nab it for the other buyer. Sounds to me like he's gettin' greedy."

He took a drag off the cigarette, and sighed, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"But even if the guy's still lying through his teeth 'n that thing's real... the guy who sold it to him's long gone, and I doubt he was dumb enough to leave a forwarding address for us to beat outta his client. Sorry, pal... but I think we hit a dead end here."

"... Was afraid of that," Rude muttered.

"Hey... don't take it so personally, man. Face it... we're not gonna get these guys 'til we catch 'em in the act again, like we did in Junon. Tch... 'n _next_ time, we don't let 'em outta our sight 'til they tell us who keeps hirin' 'em to steal our shit."

Rude snorted in laughter and elbowed the redhead.

"Hmph... _now_ who's taking it personally?" he teased. It was no secret that his friend had been more than a little pissed about their prisoners escaping after they'd gone to all the trouble of catching them in Junon. He'd bitched about it the entire flight back to Midgar, and through most of the following day.

"Tch... we _worked_ for that fuckin' capture. After all the hassle we went through kickin' their asses, the least they coulda done is be polite about it 'n stayed in their damn holding cells. 'Specially after the damage they did to Vir. Fuckin' Zenshou assholes..."

"... 'Cause that's what _you_ would've done, if you'd been the one captured?" he snickered in response.

"Oh, shut up," Reno laughed, "... 'sides... When has anyone ever accused me of havin' any kinda decent manners, anyway?"

Rude shook his head, smiling. He knew the younger Turk wasn't even close to being serious, but the absurdity the conversation had devolved into _did_ at least make him feel a little less irritated at having wasted both his _and_ Reno's time coming to Mideel.

"You hungry?" he asked. Reno stopped dead in his tracks and shot him a look that plainly said he thought his fellow Turk had just said the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. Rude chuckled. "Nevermind. Let's just get some dinner."

"Best idea I've heard since lunch..." the redhead replied, grinning. Rude rolled his eyes and they resumed their course back to town. "So... How d'ya think Hell Week's goin'?"

* * *

"Holy Hades, Rookie... What happened to _you_?" Kai asked as Sykes stumbled into headquarters the following morning. Day three. It was only day three. How in Ifrit's name could it only be day _three_?!

He... hadn't slept well. Every time he'd finally started to drift off, he'd end up jerking himself awake again, convinced that there was someone in the room with him... and that that someone was almost certainly Tseng. Four times, he'd actually gotten up to check. It hadn't made for the most restful night.

And _then_ , he'd convinced himself that he was being tailed during his entire commute to work. He'd spent the entirety of the train ride, looking over his shoulder, scanning the other passengers in search of anyone who looked even remotely suspicious. By the time he'd made it through the Sector 0 station, he couldn't decide if he _was_ being followed, or if he was just completely losing it. As soon as he was able, he'd made a mad dash for the elevators and delivered himself directly to the fifty-eighth floor.

Kai poked him gently in the arm.

"Um... Sykes? Anyone home?" she prodded. The rookie Turk blinked tiredly and sighed.

"... Is it too late to consider other career options?" he finally asked, with a barely repressed groan. Kai flashed him a somewhat off-putting grin, and nudged him towards the lounge.

"Oh, come on... you're almost halfway done. Take a deep breath, get yourself some coffee... and prepare yourself for the next round of torture, 'cause Tseng's _probably_ already here this morning."

This time, Sykes really _did_ groan. Loudly and at great length.

"For fuck's sake, Kai... cut the kid a break, will ya?" a familiar voice responded from the doorway, and both Turks turned to see Reno and Rude walking in behind them.

"You're already _back_?" Kai queried in surprise, "What time'd you guys leave Mideel to get here _this_ early."

"Ugh... I don't even wanna think about it," the redhead moaned, and glared at Rude, " _This_ asshole got me up practically right after I fell asleep so we'd make the Shiva-be-damned mornin' briefing. Is there coffee? 'Cause I need more coffee."

Rude rolled his eyes but said nothing in his defense. Reno didn't bother waiting for an answer... He headed straight for the coffeemaker and poured himself a large mugful of the beverage. The bald Turk snickered quietly and joined him a moment later, procuring some for himself before making a quick exit.

"Where's he off to in such a hurry?" Kai asked.

"Tch... where d'ya think? He's gotta check his mornin' intelligence reports, or he'll go into withdrawal," the redhead joked, "Boss in yet?"

"Haven't seen him, but... it's Tseng. When's the last time he was anything less than half an hour early?" Kai replied with a snicker, and then glanced at her watch with a sigh, "Uh oh... Guess _I_ better get to work, too, actually. I have to keep the other rookies busy today." She looked pointedly at Reno. "Tell him that I'd _better_ not miss anything good!"

"Yeah, yeah... whatever, ya undersized little sadist," Reno said with a smirk. The diminutive Turk grinned somewhat ferally.

"Watch it, Baby Turkling, or I'll teach you the _real_ meaning of that word," she laughed, heading for the door.

"Always _knew_ you had a thing for me, Kai!" Reno teasingly called after her. The senior Turk stuck her arm back inside the room, middle finger raised, and the redhead's grin widened. "... That an offer?"

"Tell your mentor that you're a huge pervert, too!" Kai's voice responded as the limb vanished from sight. Reno chuckled and took a long sip of his coffee before turning back to Sykes. He looked him over for a moment.

"Geez, kid... You get hit by the train this mornin' or what?"

Sykes groaned and let himself drop onto the couch. "I'm not gonna make it, sir..." he replied, shaking his head. "I can't sleep. I can't concentrate. I can't stop looking over my shoulder everywhere I go..."

The redhead frowned slightly and joined him on the couch.

"Whoa... _relax_ , kid. You're lettin' this get to ya _way_ more than it oughta be. I know it's not exactly the most _enjoyable_ thing on the planet, but... end of the day it's _just_ an eval, not life or death. What is it that's gotcha so freaked out?"

Sykes sighed and rubbed his tired eyes with the palms of his hands.

"I'm just so worried I'm going to fail..."

Before this had all started, he'd thought he was ready for it. He'd even been looking _forward_ to it, a little, thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to really show his superiors how much he'd learned. And then the stupid elevator. And the next-to-impossible-to-pick locks in the shooting gallery. And his conversation with Remy...

"Tch... You're not gonna fail," Reno said, shaking his head. "Ya literally _can't_. There's no real passin' or failin' in Hell Week. All Tseng's doin' is lookin' for places ya need to improve. It's how we figure out the best way to direct your training from here on out."

Sykes swallowed sharply and looked over at the senior Turk. "But... Remy said _you_ almost got _fired_ during Hell Week..."

The redhead's eyeroll was so pronounced, Sykes half wondered if he'd hurt himself doing it.

"For _fuck's_ sake. The hell's Remy thinkin', tellin' you _that_?" he muttered. "Look... That didn't have _shit_ to do with Hell Week. I accidentally pissed off _Heidegger_ after an exercise. Like... scorched-earth-level pissed off. _That's_ what almost got me fired." He paused and snickered quietly, "Tch... well, actually it almost got me _strangled_ first. But yeah, had nothin' at all to do with any of my evals."

"I-it didn't?" Sykes stammered, a wave of relief washing over him.

"No! 'Course not... Like I said, all we're tryin' to do is figure out the best way to keep trainin' ya."

The rookie Turk released a long breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding and sank bonelessly down onto the couch cushions. Quiet laughter brought his attention back to the present.

"Tch... and everyone thinks _I_ worry about too much pointless shit..."

"Sir?" Sykes queried, a bit mystified by the comment. Reno grinned.

"Oh, _yeah_... I get stuck thinkin' about somethin' too long and I can come up with all _kinds_ of worst case scenarios 'n freak myself out," he snickered. "Hell, Rude used to chuck me in the company pool as a rookie just to snap me outta it when it got _really_ bad." He took another swig of his coffee and got to his feet. "Seriously, don't put so much pressure on yourself. I know I'm probably a total hypocrite _sayin'_ that, seein' as I hardly ever take my own advice, but... do yourself a favor 'n don't be like me on this one," he snickered, "... 'cause I don't think I could _lift_ ya, much less toss ya in the pool."

The rookie snorted softly in laughter at the mental image that conjured up... and a second time when he pictured Rude sending the redhead flying into the water, as well. Reno grinned.

"Anyway... speakin' of Rude, I _probably_ oughta give him a hand with the report on our Mideel assignment before the mornin' briefing. Come find me if you're still drivin' yourself nuts later, though... 'kay?"

"Yes, sir..." Sykes replied, gratefully. The senior Turk slipped out the door, leaving the rookie to his own thoughts.

* * *

Reno blinked and stopped short as the elevator doors opened further down the hallway and Tseng emerged into Turk headquarters. He shook his head and silently quickened his pace in an effort to catch up to his mentor before he was spotted.

"How the hell'd I manage to beat ya here?" he asked as he came up beside him, and the Turk lieutenant jumped slightly in surprise. Reno smirked. It wasn't often he managed to give Tseng a taste of his own medicine.

"I'd very much like to know that myself," the somewhat bewildered Turk answered, "I wasn't expecting you and Rude to be back for hours..."

Reno shrugged. "Lead was a bust. We decided to high-tail it home rather than keep wastin' our time on a dead end." He snorted softly, "By which I mean Rude woke me up while it was still dark out 'n told me we were leavin'. Tch... had to snag breakfast from the crapateria when we got in 'cause nothin' was open yet in Mideel when we left."

"Good," Tseng said with a smile, "Then you're available to help me with Syke's next exercise."

"Heh... Sure," the redhead replied, "But... uh... ya think we can maybe give the kid a little while to recover before we start in on him again? Apparently Remy mentioned to him that I almost got shit-canned during _my_ Hell Week but didn't actually tell 'im _why_. He was _really_ freakin' out..."

The Wutaiian Turk frowned. "I trust you've already explained the particulars of that matter to him?"

"Yeah... I took care of it. I'll check in on him again later, but I think he'll be fine."

Tseng nodded. "Thank you for informing me. I'll have a little chat with Remy later about such comments. She's usually far more discerning in what she tells the rookies. Hell Week is stressful enough on its own. The last thing any of them need is misconstrued anecdotes putting them even further on edge." He paused a moment in thought and then nodded to himself, apparently having come to a decision. "I'll postpone Sykes' next exercise until after lunch, as well. If you think he needs a short reprieve, I'm inclined to trust your judgment. You'll be available then?"

"Long as Veld doesn't have anything _else_ for me this afternoon," Reno shrugged. His mentor chuckled.

"I've actually asked him to ensure that your assignments have some flexibility this week, for just that reason. Unless Rude has plans to commandeer you again for his priority investigation, of course."

"Heh... Guess I'm all yours, then, Boss... 'cause I'm pretty sure Rude's gonna be holed up in our office all day lookin' for his next lead in that mountain of reports he gets every week," the redhead replied, with a slight grin. He swore... if he were stuck with Rude's job, he'd have lost his mind a long time ago. It was information overload. He really didn't know how his friend kept it all straight. But then... that's why _he_ wasn't an intelligence specialist. _He'd_ rather be out in the field or in the training hall with the rookies.

Tseng smiled. "Join me after the morning briefing, then. I'll fill you in on today's to-do list."

"Yes, sir," Reno replied, and taking that as a dismissal, hurried off towards his own office to help Rude out with the mission report, as he'd initially intended. He only got a few steps however, before he stopped and turned back.

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot," he said, with a teasing grin, "Kai says to tell ya that she'd _better_ not miss anything good while she's rookie sittin' today. And that I'm a huge pervert."

Tseng laughed and shook his head. "As if I _wasn't_ already aware of _that_ ," he chuckled, turning towards his own office.

* * *

"Oh, _man_..." Reno groaned, stretching his arms above his head as he walked through the door of his office, "Ya know... I love flyin', but that flight back from Mideel sucked. Feel like I've been packed into a box for the last four hours."

He settled himself at his desk, and reached for a blank report form. Rude glanced up from his email.

"... What are you doing?" he asked.

"Tch... What's it look like I'm doin'. I'm starting my report."

The bald Turk got up from his chair and crossed the room, before rounding his friend's desk. He stood there a moment, eyeing him, before extending a hand and pressing it against the younger Turk's forehead.

"What the hell are _you_ doin'?" he asked, echoing the question.

"Checking for a fever. If you're doing paperwork first thing in the morning, without being asked, you _must_ be sick."

Reno glowered and batted his had away. Rude responded by grinning back at him teasingly, and ruffling his hair before returning to his desk.

"Asshole," the redhead muttered, though he was pretty sure a hint of a laugh snuck out before he could stop it, "I just figured you're busy as all fuck with this investigation... Least I can do it handle some of the shit work for ya."

"Hmph... thanks," Rude replied. "So what's on the Hell Week agenda for today? Tseng tell you yet? … I assume that's where you've been..."

"Heh... actually, I was mostly explainin' to Sykes' that he's not gonna get tossed out on his ass if he fucks up one of the evals. Remy kinda let what happened to _me_ slip, but didn't give him any context. Think the poor kid was already mentally edittin' his résumé..." he snickered, "... and _then_ I ran into Tseng. Didn't give me specifics yet, though. Just a general timeframe."

"And you're not going to share?" Rude prodded, and the redhead rolled his eyes.

"No. I'm not, ya nosy pain in the ass," he shot back, and then smirked, "Aside from the fact that I'm not _supposed_ to tell anyone... I like knowing something _you_ don't for a change. You got _any_ idea how rare that is?"

Rude merely snorted softly in laughter and turned his attention back on the screen. Reno, meanwhile, bit back a sigh as he looked down at the empty form, grabbed a pen, and began composing the write-up of their trip to Mideel in his head. He hated reports. He could very clearly see the sequence of events in his head, but it never seemed to translate well onto paper for him. His prose was always somewhat awkward and stilted... probably owing to the fact that he'd never _really_ learned to do it properly. And then there was his _handwriting_. Remy had made a valiant effort over the last few years at helping him with that, and there had been _some_ improvement... but it was still barely legible, even to him. He didn't mind typing the damned things so much – even though he wasn't a particularly efficient typist, either – but regulations required an original handwritten copy, as well as a typed version. Which was why he inevitably ended up putting it off as long as humanly possible. He knew his reports were awful, and he hated subjecting the others to them almost as much as he hated writing them. It was embarrassing.

But... they had to get done eventually, and he certainly couldn't say that he didn't need the practice.

He'd managed all of two and a quarter sentences when the door to their office was unceremoniously flung open and a very impatient-looking Rufus Shinra stormed in, his eyes purposefully seeking out the redhead.

"Whatever you're doing, it can wait. You're with me. Right now," he stated. With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off into the hall again, not bothering to wait for a reply. Reno blinked and cast a quick glance over at Rude, who could only shrug.

"Uhh... Guess, I'll... just do the report later then..." Reno said, brow furrowing as he got to his feet and hurried after the obnoxious executive. By the time he caught up, Rufus had already rounded the corner and was jabbing the button for the elevator.

"We're going to Gongaga. There's been an... incident," Rufus declared. The elevator arrived with a soft ping, the doors sliding open to allow them access.

"Uh... what kinda 'incident', sir?" the redhead queried. He didn't like the tone of Rufus' inflection one bit. It sounded entirely too much like the sort of "incident" that might mean making a few people quietly disappear.

"The kind that is liable to end up being a public relations nightmare if we don't get out in front of it, immediately," the vice president replied. And Reno could tell he was serious. Normally, Rufus was merely annoyed when he had to deal with PR problems... but at the moment, he looked notably worried.

"Should... we be makin' a detour to the nearest weapons locker, sir?" he hesitantly asked. Of course, he was armed... but an EMR and his backup weapon were pretty minimal if he was going to be handling any kind of angry crowds or the like.

"I very seriously doubt anyone there will be in any shape to cause _that_ sort of problem," Rufus replied, "There was an explosion. At the reactor."

Reno's eyes widened, and memories of the Sector 6 explosion, came to his mind, unbidden. Gongaga was nowhere near as big as any of the Midgar reactors... but having one blow up, no matter _what_ the size, was kind of a big deal. Especially as close to the town as it was.

"My job is to handle the press... whom, I'm sure, are already circling like vultures. Father wants everyone to see that Shinra Company's response is immediate and sincere. _Your_ job is to make sure I get in and out in one piece, seeing as we don't yet know who or what _caused_ the explosion."

"Yes, sir," Reno replied. "Any idea how bad things are?"

"I don't have specific numbers yet. But suffice it to say it's not _good_. Easily half the town is employed at the reactor."

Things really _must_ have been serious. There was none of their usual banter. None of the insults. None of the borderline inappropriate teasing. Rufus was focused exclusively on his job, rather than needling the redhead. And more than that, he seemed... nervous.

Oh, he was hiding it well... but Rufus was _definitely_ on-edge. Of course, Reno had to admit, if _he_ had to go stand in front of a bunch of reporters and explain that Shinra Company's reactor had just killed a bunch of people... he _probably_ wouldn't be a bastion of calm, himself. They rode in relative silence, up to the roof.

The executive helicopter was already prepped and ready to go. The pair hurried inside, and Rufus settled into one of the plush seats in preparation for takeoff. Reno moved to swing the passenger section door shut... only for it to be blocked at the last minute as, much to his abject horror, Scarlet forced herself through the opening.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Rufus demanded.

"I was running a project at the Gongaga reactor," the weapons researcher sniffed, haughtily. "I want to see if there's anything salvageable."

Rufus snorted in contempt. "You won't even be able to get _near_ the site, you useless hag," he scoffed, "The mako levels are much too high right now. We're not even _going_ to the town proper. It's been evacuated. We're visiting the emergency camp that's been set up outside of the contamination zone."

"I'm going anyway," Scarlet replied, and then smirked nastily, as she plopped herself into one of the seats opposite the vice president. "I have your daddy's blessing..."

Reno could swear he actually _heard_ the sound of the younger executive's teeth grinding in irritation. His eyes narrowed, staring Scarlet down, but she simply sat their, a smug look on her face.

"Fine," he spat, and turned to Reno, "Well? Don't just stand there! Close the door before anyone _else_ decides to barge in, and inform the pilot that we're ready to leave."

Reno pulled the door to the aircraft shut, and made his way over to the intercom to give the pilot the all-clear. As he did so, he had to walk past Scarlet. The moment his back was turned, he felt her fingers make contact, not even remotely subtle in their efforts at pinching his ass. He had to physically repress the shudder her touch sent down his spine, and suddenly found that his mouth had gone dry as he realized that... he was going to be trapped a thousand feet in the air, in undeniably close quarters, for the next few hours.

With Scarlet.

~end chapter 39~


	40. Gone to Gongaga

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 40: Gone to Gongaga**

 **by Desha**

It was about five minutes before the morning briefing, and Rude was skimming through the last of the recent intelligence reports, having already flagged several of them for a closer look later. A couple of them seemed promising... and a few more might at least fill out his file on the Zenshou a bit. They were a secretive bunch, after all. He knew plenty about how, where, and through whom they sold their merchandise, but next to nothing about their internal structure, their leadership, or where they procured their inventory... besides the obvious thefts, of course. He didn't even _really_ know for certain where they were based out of these days. Some said Wutai... others, claimed it was somewhere on the western content. One contact absolutely _insisted_ that they had an old, decommissioned Shinra airship, and simply moved from place to place at will... a theory that was almost as absurd as it was hard to dismiss, because frankly, the bastards really _were_ a bit ghost-like.

His research was interrupted, however, by a quiet knock on the doorframe. Rude looked up and saw Sykes peering through the open door.

"Er... Do you know where Reno is, sir?" he asked.

"Got tapped for an emergency assignment by the vice president about ten minutes ago," the senior Turk replied, "... Need something?"

"Um... n-no. Just... I was hoping he might... give me a heads up? About today's exercises, I mean..."

Rude snorted a quiet laugh. "Good luck with that. He wouldn't even tell _me_."

The rookie sighed, shoulders sagging.

"I really _hate_ not knowing when it's coming."

That had been the worst part of _his_ Hell Week, too. The waiting. The morbid expectation. The sheer terror as you realized that it was starting and you didn't feel ready for it. He vividly remembered wishing desperately that his fellow rookie had been around, because Reno would have told him everything was going to be fine... or at least made him laugh for a little while. It occurred to him that Sykes was in the same predicament: the first of his group of rookies to go through Hell Week, which meant that those still waiting for their turn had to be kept in the dark throughout the process. Sometimes, seniority wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"... Yeah. I know what you mean," Rude hastily replied. He smirked slightly. "Don't worry. You can't _possibly_ do anything to top Reno's Hell Week. I had to grab him, and lock us both in the archives room just to keep Heidegger from strangling him."

"... No offense, sir... but the more I hear about whatever the heck it was Reno did, the less sure I am I even want to know," Sykes said, eyes widening. Rude snorted in laughter.

"That's _probably_ for the best. He was naked at the time," he snickered, which drew an incredulous, and _very_ confused look, and then a quiet laugh, from the rookie, as well. "I'm not sure when he'll be back, but if it's before your next evaluation, I'll let him know you were looking for him."

"Thanks, sir." Sykes backed out into the hallway and started off in the direction of the conference room... only to turn back a moment later and poke his head into the office again. "Sir, did you _really_ used to throw Reno into the company pool when he got too worried about things?"

A wide grin spread over the senior Turk's face. "Fully clothed, and whether he liked it or not," he proudly confirmed. "And I'd do it _again_ , if I ever had to."

* * *

Reno had seated himself as physically far away from Scarlet as he could manage... but that wasn't saying much. The executive copter was roomy, but it wasn't _that_ roomy. He was still much closer to the woman than he would have liked. Worse, she kept leering at him, with an expression that he could only realistically describe as predatory. Rufus was either too focused on his notes to comment, or he just didn't particularly care... though to be fair, Reno suspected it was more likely the former, given that the vice president had proceeded to pointedly ignore the woman starting from the moment she'd taken her seat on the aircraft.

This was going to be a _real_ fun trip.

He silently prayed that they wouldn't be there overnight. The _last_ thing he wanted was to be stuck in some tiny, backwater inn with the bitch. He wouldn't have put it past her to "accidentally" walk into the wrong room, or some other bullshit.

As the flight wore on, the redhead found himself inexplicably wishing that Rufus would say something to him. He didn't even care what. Insults against his parentage, his manners, his intelligence... _anything_. As long as it gave him something other than Scarlet to focus on. He could practically feel her eyes roving over him, and it made his skin crawl. At the same time, though, he didn't want to interrupt, because although the young executive was mostly avoiding having to give Scarlet the time of day, he was _also_ legitimately preparing for a public appearance to address a pretty serious matter.

Reno clamped down on a sigh and turned his gaze out on of the side windows, watching the ocean slip past beneath them. He could still feel her watching him.

Tseng had promised that he wouldn't be assigned to a detail with Scarlet. Not on his own, at any rate. Which likely meant that the weapons researcher hadn't bothered to clear the trip with anyone but President Shinra, nor had she notified the Turks of her travel plans. Rufus had certainly been surprised by her presence. In retrospect, it was a situation that they _probably_ should have planned for, given that Scarlet only ever bothered with security when there was a known threat... but somehow it hadn't occurred to either him _or_ his mentor.

He glanced at his watch and belatedly wondered if Tseng was even aware he was gone. The morning briefing would likely be in full swing – had possibly even concluded, by now – but the Turk lieutenant had been notably absent from said meeting all week, since he had exercises to conduct. Unless Rufus had gone to Tseng first and been informed that he was unavailable, it was entirely possible that the redhead hadn't even been missed yet... at least not by his mentor. Rude would almost certainly have filled the others in for him at the first available opportunity.

A moment later, he drew his PHS from his jacket, and typed out a short message to Tseng, just in case he came looking for him before someone had time to let him know. He debated telling him about his current situation, as well... but ultimately decided not to bother. After all, what could he do from Midgar? No sense in giving him something like _that_ to worry about when he already had his hands full with Sykes. He'd just have to tough it out on his own and hope Scarlet didn't manage to get him alone at some point.

He could do this. He'd just... avoid her as much as possible, and stick to Rufus like glue. That's what he was here for anyway, and the little game of grab-ass earlier aside, _surely_ Scarlet wouldn't pull anything too obvious in front of someone who actually _did_ outrank her. He _could_ do this. A little extra vigilance. That's all it would take. And then they'd head home and he could get the hell away from her again. Simple.

… Right?

* * *

"Hey! Sykes!" a voice called out as the rookie was lingering in the hallway. He _had_ been about to knock on the door of Remy's office, as he was due for a sparring session with her shortly. Just because it was Hell Week didn't mean that training got put on hold. But he'd spotted Tseng heading in that direction and quickly ducked into a nearby supply closet. Now, he was waiting for the Turk lieutenant to finish whatever conversation he was having with his instructor for the morning, and hoping that he hadn't been seen.

He grinned widely as he turned back and saw Liam waving at him. A moment later, Petra rounded the corner as well.

"Am I ever glad to see you guys..." he laughed.

"How's Hell Week?" Liam asked, and Sykes shook his head.

"Pretty much just like the name implies," he groaned. "You guys heading out?"

"We're just waiting on Kai," Petra answered, finally catching up to the youngest of their number. "You look exhausted."

"I... didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night," Sykes grudgingly admitted, "I'll be glad when –"

"Ah, ah, ah... Naughty little Turklings," a voice cut him off, and a moment later, the aforementioned senior Turk joined them. "No spoilers for the little ones!"

Sykes resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the minuscule Turk's continued insistence to refer to them as though they were children. He'd be nineteen next month... and Petra was a year older than _he_ was. Even Liam was closer to his nineteenth birthday than his eighteenth. But age didn't seem to matter much to Kai. Neither, for that matter, did rank. She still called at least one of her fellow _senior_ Turks"Baby Turkling".

"We were just catching up, ma'am," Liam piped up, "Petra and I have been so busy, we've hardly even _seen_ Sykes all week..."

"That's the _point_ , kiddo," Kai snickered, flashing him a grin. "Come on, you two... _march_. You heard Veld. We're in charge of precautionary reactor sweeps today! Fun, fun, fun!" When all three of the rookies stared at her incredulously in response, she burst into laughter. "Oh, come on... they're not _that_ boring. Now, move it. The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll finish."

Liam and Petra audibly groaned, but resumed their journey towards the elevator.

"See you later, Sykes," Liam called back over his shoulder, as Petra waved.

* * *

Tseng frowned deeply as he entered Veld's office the moment he'd been granted access, and took a seat in front of his desk.

"Something on your mind?" his mentor asked, and Tseng snorted softly.

"Remy informs me that there's been an explosion of some sort at the Gongaga reactor..."

Veld nodded. "The vice president is en route now. Apparently the President wants him to be the public face of the company for this. He took Reno with him as security, before I was even aware of it. I'm sorry if that interferes with your Hell Week plans, but..."

Tseng waved dismissively. "I'm not surprised. I informed him ahead of time that I would be otherwise engaged this week. In any case, you know full well that I'd rather have Reno looking out for him than one of the others, anyway. He actually _listens_ to Reno. I can manage. Do we know what happened?"

"Not for certain, no. If the board _has_ more information, they haven't passed it along to us yet. It sounds like there may be quite a few casualties, however... not surprising, given the reactor's proximity to the town."

"Are we considering this an accident, or an act of sabotage?" Tseng asked.

"For the time being, I'm considering it an _incident_... because, frankly, I don't know either way. I've instructed everyone at the briefing to be ready for a possible trip to the western continent if it turns out to be anything other than accidental, but... until we have further word from higher up, we have nothing to act on. For now, we continue with current assignments."

The Turk lieutenant nodded in understanding. "I suppose, then, Hell Week continues as planned, as well."

"I think that goes without saying," Veld chuckled, "How's our latest victim doing?"

"In terms of the evaluations? Quite well. I've identified a few areas that need some improvement, but his hand to hand skills are coming along nicely. Today will be the modesty exercise." He paused a moment in consideration and then continued, "In terms of how he's handling things outside of the evaluations, however... I believe he's letting the stress get to him. And Remy's comments to him yesterday certainly didn't help. I've already had a quick word with her about _that_."

Veld cocked an eyebrow, curious. "What did she say to him?" he asked.

"Nothing... malicious," Tseng sighed, shaking his head, "She certainly didn't _intend_ to upset him. Quite the opposite, in fact. I had the distinct impression that it was actually an attempt at a joke to lighten his mood. It simply fell rather flat without her realizing it. She made some off-handed comments regarding _Reno's_ Hell Week and his run-in with Heidegger that were somewhat... misinterpreted."

Before he could continue, his PHS pinged with a notification of a new text message. He extracted the device from his pocket and gave it a cursory glance.

"Anything important?"

Tseng shook his head. "No, sir. Just a courtesy text from Reno informing me that he's been commandeered by Rufus for the day," he said, tucking it back into his jacket. Veld nodded.

"Well, if you happen to need someone to fill in for your protege today... it _has_ been quite some time since I've had the opportunity to enjoy Hell Week from the front row. I'm sure I can spare some time..." the Turk leader said with a small smirk.

"I may just take you up on that, sir..." Tseng chuckled.

* * *

As Rufus disembarked from the helicopter, he took the opportunity to stretch out a bit. His efforts to pretend that Scarlet was anywhere but the passenger section for the duration of the flight had been relatively successful... but it had come at the cost of his comfort. He'd spent the last two hours hunched over his notes regarding the Gongaga reactor, pointedly not even glancing in her direction. It had left him rather stiff.

And thoroughly annoyed. He'd been _hoping_ to have a calm, relaxing flight before he was forced to throw himself to the wolves. Rufus had no illusions that the reporters, who would almost certainly have beaten them there, would go easy on him. Especially if the death toll was as high as predicted. He could have _used_ a little small-talk to keep his mind off of the thought of having to deal with them. He'd never been fond of public speaking. It was a necessary evil, and he pushed through it when he absolutely _had_ to, but in general, he was not fond of speeches the way his father was.

It was half the reason he'd gone straight to the Slum Rat's office to begin with... the other half being that he was well aware that Tseng was unavailable this week. As irritating as he was, Tseng's obnoxious little pet was still preferable to most of the others. At least _he_ was willing to converse... even if said conversation was generally of either the plebeian or idiotic variety... or both at once. The redhead had about as much culture as a petri dish and the class to match. But the rest of them tended to only speak when spoken to, and seldom about anything other than their job. They were boring, and he'd wanted to be entertained.

And... perhaps for his own peace of mind, as well. The damned Turk was a idiot, but... a reliable one. He could be trusted to do whatever was required of him with discretion and professionalism. Tseng had, at least, trained him well in _that_ regard, even if there were plenty of _other_ facets of the Slum Rat's personality Rufus was of the opinion ought to have been quashed a long time ago. It was likely too late now. He'd just have to take the little pest as he was.

And then Scarlet had shown up and ruined his entire flight.

Scarlet was, without a doubt, the worst mistake his father had ever made. Oh, she was competent enough when it came to her precious weaponry... talented, even. But the woman knew _nothing_ about running a department, let alone a company. She didn't belong on the Ramuh-forsaken board, by any stretch of the imagination, and the _only_ reason she was there was because she was a whore who'd let his father get under her skirt. And even though the elder Shinra had long since grown bored of her, she'd managed to sink her claws in deep. Try as he might, Rufus had been thoroughly unable to dislodge them. _He'd_ wanted her kicked out from the moment she was given the position. His father continuously refused any time the subject came up... and the woman took a sadistic sort of pleasure in rubbing that in Rufus' face at every opportunity.

She'd pay for _that_ , eventually, though. He could be patient. The moment his father saw fit to retire and named him president of the company, she'd be out on her ass so fast her head would spin. He might even replace the executive board, wholesale. It wasn't as if Heidegger and Palmer were any more useful than she was.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the aforementioned whore followed him out into the bright Costa del Sol sun with a laugh. He turned in time to see the redhead hastily scurrying past her to join him on the landing pad.

"We have a fair amount of time before we're refueled," Rufus said, "... and I don't intend to spend it either inside of that flying tin can _or_ sweltering in the sun on the helipad. I'm going into town." He glared pointedly at Scarlet, " _You_ can do whatever you wish, so long as it is far away from _me_."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode off towards the main street of the resort community, the Slum Rat quickly falling into step beside him.

"Ugh... I'm sorely tempted to simply let that moron wander into the contamination site to check on her 'project'..." he muttered once they were a good ways out of earshot. He'd expected a biting comment. He didn't even get so much as a grunt from his security detail. "I want it on record that you are _my_ security for this trip. Not _hers_. She will inevitably try to hijack your services for some task or other. You are officially under orders not to leave my side for the duration. If she wanted a manservant, she should have brought her own."

 _That_ would annoy her, most definitely. Rufus was fairly certain that, should the chance to get a look at whatever remained of her project present itself, she would try to take advantage of it. But only if she could make someone _else_ take on the risk. He wasn't about to give her the satisfaction.

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied, in a somewhat strange tone of voice. Curious, Rufus stole a glance over at the Slum Rat... who was looking nothing short of profoundly relieved as they made the short walk into the town proper.

Odd...

"Rufus?" a voice called out before he could give it any further consideration. He turned in the direction of the sound and smiled slightly. She was clearly dressed for the beach, but the informal attire did little to disguise an upbringing that oozed of class and aristocracy.

"Ah... Miss Vasquez."

The woman laughed quietly, and shook her head. "Serena. Please. After the favor you did me, I think it only proper we be on a first name basis with one another." Her gaze slid over to the redhead. "Your new bodyguard?"

"The alternate when my preferred choice is unavailable," he said, rolling his eyes, "And _far_ more irritating to be around than his superior. This one talks. _Incessantly_."

"I hadn't expected to see you here again so soon... Was your father angry about the... _deal_... falling through?" she asked, teasingly. Rufus snorted a quiet laugh.

"Furious, as a matter of fact," he said with a wry smirk, "Though I'm not sure who he was more angry with. Me, for failing to do as instructed, or _your_ father for not disclosing your engagement during the initial negotiations. Though it seems to have put him off the idea of matchmaking for the time being, so I consider the meeting a rousing success."

"... Do I even wanna _know_ what you two are talkin' about?" the redhead piped up.

"It's no concern of _yours_ ," Rufus replied, waving a hand dismissively.

"Well, then perhaps you'd like to join my fiance and I for lunch to celebrate that... 'successful' meeting?"

"I'm afraid I can't. I assume, by now, you've at the very _least_ heard the rumors of what's happening in Gongaga. We're en route to deal with the fallout and are only here to refuel. I simply thought I'd take the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit in the interim."

Serena smiled understandingly. "A quick drink, then. It sounds like you're going to need it, and the pub on the main street serves an excellent margarita."

"Hmm... I suppose I _do_ have time for that," he agreed. After all... it _would_ take a good twenty minutes or so for the crew to finish up, and the young woman _was_ pleasant company. The Slum Rat groaned faintly next to him.

"Just don't start any bar fights this time, sir..." the redhead sighed. Rufus shot him a glare.

" _Silence_."

The irritating pain in the ass smirked in response... but obligingly shut his mouth, as Serena laughed.

* * *

Reno's reprieve from having to be sequestered in a confined space with Scarlet was over entirely too soon for his liking. He'd enjoyed it while he was able. That Serena chick was pretty okay... even if she _was_ friends with Rufus. He'd made a mental note to ask Tseng what the story was with those two. They didn't seem like _old_ friends, by any means... and there had been a bizarre mention of flying pies, upon which Rufus had refused to elaborate on the way back to the helicopter.

For the time being, however, he tried to focus on his assignment. Rufus had abandoned his earlier intense study of his notes, but was still going out of his way to ignore Scarlet... which had led to a rather... _interesting_... discussion regarding a theoretical situation in which one might drop a person off the edge of the Plate. It had taken some effort to keep a straight face when Rufus had proclaimed that clearly "some people would fall faster than others, as they're weighed down by their own ego". Scarlet had scowled at him, but otherwise hadn't attempted to contribute to the conversation.

Thankfully, the trip from Costa del Sol to Gongaga wasn't a terribly long one by air. The plume of smoke, however, was visible long before the little village itself was.

"Holy shit..." Reno breathed as they drew nearer. The pilot kept his distance, but the redhead could very clearly see the reactor. Or, more accurately, what _used_ to bethe reactor. It had been decimated. All that was left was a smoking crater surrounded by twisted debris. But the truly disturbing site was the town. The explosion had very obviously leveled a number of buildings, and done at least some damage to several of the ones that remained standing. A faint, greenish haze lingered over the place, leaving it looking like something out of a horror movie. Reno had never seen raw mako just floating in the air like that, but the glow was unmistakable. Rufus moved to get a better look a moment later, frowning deeply as he looked down at the sight.

"It's worse that the initial reports implied," he noted. In the distance, Reno spotted a small tent city set up in a clearing, where the survivors had been evacuated to after the destruction. He wondered just how many had made it out alive. And of those, how many would still be alive tomorrow. They were practically at ground zero, even in town. Even if they weren't badly injured, there _had_ to be a lot of people afflicted with mako poisoning down there.

He felt a hand brush not-so-subtly against his thigh, and stiffened in response as Scarlet joined them.

"My _project_!" she lamented.

"For Ramuh's sake, at least _pretend_ you have a little common decency, you useless witch. There _are_ going to be cameras down there, you know," Rufus sneered at her. "In fact, just stay the hell _away_ from the reporters altogether. I have enough of a mess to clean up as it is. Shinra Company doesn't need _you_ adding to it."

"Hmph... Fine. Then give me the Turk. We'll go and see if _anything_ can be salvaged while you're... _cleaning_."

Reno was almost certain he paled slightly at the suggestion. Particularly when the woman turned and leered at him once again. This time her hand did far more than _brush_ his thigh. Rufus, however, glowered at her.

"He is here as _my_ security, and given just how many people down there are likely more than a little angry with Shinra at the moment, he _certainly_ won't be sent off on some futile little scavenger hunt for the Weapons Department. You weren't even supposed to _be_ on this trip. If you're too inept to do it yourself, then wait in the Ramuh-forsaken helicopter!" he roared.

Scarlet... seemed to be shocked into silence for the moment, capable only of opening and closing her mouth like a land-bound fish. Before she could manage a response, the aircraft set down a short distance from the refugees' tents, and Rufus turned his back on her, addressing the Turk instead.

"Let's go. I'm sure those vultures have been practically climbing over one another since they spotted us in the air."

"Yes, sir," the redhead acknowledged, greatly relieved to be leaving Scarlet's company once more... even if it _did_ mean dealing with a lot of angry and distraught townsfolk.

* * *

It felt like rain. The air had that familiar muggy, sticky feel to it that often preceded a summer storm, and Sykes could already see dark clouds gathering in the distance. Midgar was in for some weather.

He was kind of glad, actually. Since moving south, he'd discovered he _liked_ it when it rained... whether it was a light drizzle or a raging thunderstorm. The Great Glacier didn'treally get rain. Just lots of snow and the occasional ice storm. The rookie liked the smell of it. The feel of it. The way it left the air feeling somehow fresher when it was over. Back home, you didn't get any of that... not that the Glacier didn't have a beauty of its own, but such drastic changes in season were a little bit of a novelty for someone who'd grown up in the snowy landscape. Up north, they had the light season – when things warmed up moderately and the winds stopped whipping the snowdrifts into a frenzy throughout the day – and the dark season, when daylight hours dwindled to next to nothing and the entire village hunkered down for weeks at a time.

It was _definitely_ going to rain.

And he was sorely tempted to just stay up here until it _did_. But he really couldn't. He had to meet Remy for sparring. The rookie stepped aboard the elevator, leaving the rooftop behind, and pressed the button for the thirty-third floor. A few moments later, the doors opened, and he stepped out into the hallway before making his way into the training hall.

"Um... Sykes?" a voice prodded in surprise.

"Don't ask..." he sighed.

"... I think I _have_ to..." Remy said, blinking as she took in his appearance. "Why in Leviathan's name are you... _orange_?"

"It was the _less_ embarrassing option."

The senior Turk raised an eyebrow, but didn't further question the explanation... for which Sykes was grateful. He _really_ didn't want to relive that evaluation just yet. He'd walked right into the trap, and was still kicking himself for it. He never should have followed Veld into that room.

Once inside, the lights had gone out. When they'd come back on, the Turk leader had vanished and he'd found himself locked in, with two options of exit. One door would only be opened if he stripped down to nothing. The other... well... the result of choosing _that_ door was fairly obvious at the moment. Both led out onto the first floor concourse... and the multitudes of people heading to and from their lunch breaks. He _damn_ sure wasn't walking out there naked...

"Ah. Right. Hell Week. Well... go and clean up, and then we'll get started," Remy said, shaking her head slightly.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, and hurried off to the locker room to shower and change into something less... fluorescent. When he emerged again, Remy was waiting for him on the practice mats. To his consternation, however, his instructor _didn't_ motion for him to prepare to defend himself.

"It... seems I owe you an apology," she began, instead.

"... Ma'am?" he queried, uncertainly.

"For the other day. I'm sorry if my... admittedly under-detailed... recounting of Reno's Hell Week caused you unnecessary concern. That _wasn't_ my intent. I was only trying to convey that... we've all been through this. Even the things that seem terrifying at the time can be... if not entirely _pleasant_ memories, then at least far less awful in hindsight," she said, somewhat stiltedly, and Sykes got the distinct impression that Remy _wasn't_ the type of person who liked to admit when she was wrong, "I... suppose I didn't do a very good job of that."

"That's okay, ma'am," Sykes said, feeling surprisingly bolstered by the knowledge that even the more experienced Turks occasionally made a mistake or two. Remy nodded in acknowledgment.

"Then, if you're ready..." she said, taking up an offensive stance, and smiling slightly as Sykes hurried to prepare himself for the incoming attack.

* * *

"No, we're not certain yet what caused the explosion. We'll have more information after the mako levels have dissipated enough to send in an investigation team," Rufus said... for what had to have been the third time by now. He wasn't sure how many different way he'd have to come up with to say "we don't know" before it finally got through to them, but by Ramuh, he was getting annoyed with this.

They wanted someone to blame, of course. And as it was Shinra's reactor, naturally, the blame was leaning heavily towards the company, no matter _how_ much Rufus tried to steer it away... or at least towards a general neutrality. But until they had some concrete answers, no one was going to be satisfied. "We don't know", unfortunately, was the best he could do right now.

"After the explosion in Midgar Number Six, didn't Shinra do _anything_ to ensure this wouldn't happen at any _more_ reactors?" one woman piped up from the crowd of gathered reporters, which set off something of a frenzy amongst her cohorts as they all began demanding an answer.

Fortunately, this was a question Rufus had been expecting.

"The Number Six Reactor was an isolated incident resulting from a defective regulatory unit in the main core. Once the cause of the explosion was determined, all active reactors were examined for similar flaws. None were found, but even so Shinra Company has spent the last three years installing redundant failsafes on the regulators on every reactor."

"When will you know what caused the Gongaga explosion?" someone else demanded, and Rufus resisted the urge to sigh. How in Ramuh's name should he know?

"It will be at least a week before teams can safely enter the reactor site, and likely several more weeks to determine a cause, given the extent of the damage," he said instead, to much angry muttering from the group of reporters, "... at which time, we _will_ release our findings." 

"What about all the people you killed?!" an angry voice shouted from somewhere to his left, and the next thing he knew, he was being pushed down, behind the small podium that had been erected for the press conference, by the Slum Rat. Something wet splattered against the minuscule shelter, sending a spray of red across the front. A second one followed a moment later, and the Turk grimaced slightly as it struck him in the back, as he shielded the executive. He brushed the remains of what looked like a tomato off of his jacket.

"Uh, sir? Think you might wanna wrap this up. Crowd's gettin' a little unruly."

Rufus' eyes flickered towards the numerous cameras pointed in his general direction, and cringed upon realizing how the image of him cowering behind a podium from the threat of over-ripe fruit was going to look on the evening news. It certainly _wasn't_ an image he wanted to be known for... and he doubted his father would be overly pleased by it, either.

With a resigned sigh, he stood up again, waving the Turk off for the moment... and was immediately pegged in the shoulder by a third over-ripe projectile.

"In the mean time, Shinra Company will be arranging for food, shelter, and medical care for those displaced by the explosion," he continued, as if nothing had happened. "We will release additional information as it becomes available."

He nodded to the redhead, who quickly guided him back towards the small clearing where they'd left the helicopter, leaving the small contingent of Shinra army personnel that had arrived ahead of them to oversee crowd control. The vice president scowled faintly to himself. _That_ certainly could have gone better. Between the moronic questions he had no answers to, and the unexpected deluge of produce, he suspected that he had looked like an utter moron up there.

"Tch... waste of good food..." the slum rat suddenly commented, and Rufus felt him swipe a finger across his tomato-coated shoulder. He turned just as the Turk was sticking said finger in his mouth.

"Ugh... _Surly_ you can't be _that_ hungry..." he said, rolling his eyes in disgust. Reno shrugged indifferently. Rufus turned and strode towards the helicopter, climbing aboard and tossing his soiled jacket onto the floor.

"Don't take it personally, sir... They're just pissed 'n lookin' for someone to be pissed _at_."

"Hmph... Yes, well, I would have preferred my father pick someone _else_ to be the target. We have a whole Ramuh-be-damned PR department for this sort of thing!" he muttered, settling himself in a seat. The redhead flashed him a grin.

"Yeah... but who wants to throw tomatoes at some random PR guy? _I'd_ pay good money to chuck one at _you_ sometimes 'n not get fired for it..."

Rufus narrowed his eyes at the Turk.

"No one asked _your_ opinion," he growled, folding his arms over his chest. Reno took a seat across from him and stretched out.

"It's a shit situation, sir. Nothin's gonna make 'em stop bein' ticked about their friends 'n families gettin' killed 'n their town gettin' half wiped off the map. You did what you could."

He was right, of course. All he was offering was assistance after the fact. That wouldn't bring back the dead. Hell, it wouldn't even restore what had been destroyed for quite some time. The mako contamination would take weeks to fully dissipate, and that was assuming there were no leaks from the mako pool beneath the ruined reactor. They couldn't even _start_ to rebuild the town until the area was clear, and the reactor would take at least a year before it was up and running again. That meant a lot of the people who hadn't been directly in the path of the destruction would be out of a job for the foreseeable future.

And there was always the possibility that Shinra _was_ at fault. Gongaga was one of their earliest reactors. The equipment was older, more worn. It's design had been improved upon numerous times by now, which meant it was largely outdated. There had been no sign of a problem... but Rufus knew all too well that sometimes the problem itself _was_ the first sign.

He honestly wasn't sure if he should hope it was merely an accident... or pray that someone had sabotaged the damned thing. Either way... he hoped that _he_ wasn't going to be the one stuck passing that information along to the press when it came. And not _just_ because of the dry cleaning bills that apparently would be involved...

At last, he shook his head and sat up, intending to inform the pilot that they were ready to leave... only to remember at the last moment that they were still a passenger short.

"Where _is_ that woman?" he muttered, more to himself than to his present companion, looking around the otherwise empty passenger section, before finally reaching for his PHS and dialing. It took several rings before she answered. Rufus didn't even allow her to speak before thundering, "I swear to Hades, if you're not on board this helicopter in the next five minutes I'm leaving without you, Scarlet!"

That done, he angrily ended to call and shoved the phone back into his pocket. When he looked up again, the Slum Rat was staring at him in shock.

" _What_?" he snapped. He hadn't been in the best of moods to begin with... and Scarlet's perpetual efforts to annoy him weren't helping. To his surprise, the redhead merely shook his head.

"Ya know, sir... there are times when I'd give just about anything to be able to do that..." he replied, earnestly.

~end chapter 40~


	41. Darkest Before the Dawn

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 41: Darkest Before the Dawn**

 **by Desha**

"Yes, sir... They're shippin' in the part on the evening ferry. We're gonna be here overnight," Reno sighed, as he gazed out the window, towards the ocean. The docks were just barely visible through the palm trees, but he couldn't quite make out the helipad from his present position.

It had started as a slightly irritating vibration shortly after leaving Gongaga... but by the time they'd crossed the Corel desert, it had become an ominous shudder that had forced them to land in Costa del Sol for the second time that day. The pilot and the mechanics on duty at the docks had determined that a bearing was going bad. The aircraft _probably_ wouldhave been fine for the trip back to Midgar, but no one... not even Scarlet, who had seemed anxious to get back to her weapons lab after she'd finally deigned to make her way back to their transport... had wanted to risk it.

Which had left them little choice but to stay the night in the resort town. The part they needed was in Junon. It wouldn't get here until later tonight, which meant it wouldn't be installed until morning. Thus, they'd adjourned to the Shinra vacation home, and settled in for their short stay.

"Alright... we'll expect you back tomorrow. Let me know if there are any further delays," Veld replied.

"Will do..." the redhead said, before hesitantly adding, "Um... One _other_ thing I should probably mention..."

"What?" the Turk leader asked, somewhat suspiciously. The redhead exhaled a long breath.

"Scarlet's here, too."

"... Did I mishear you, or did you just tell me that _Scarlet_... whom you are _specifically_ not supposed to interact with on your own, for your own _safety_... is in Costa del Sol with you?"

Well... _this_ wasn't going to be an overly pleasant conversation.

"Yeah, uh... She kinda muscled her way onto the copter before we left this mornin'. She had some kinda special project running over in Gongaga. Guess she cleared things with the president, directly. Rufus was pissed, but... we didn't have any other choice. Had to bring her along."

He had to physically move the phone away from his ear as Veld's voice thundered "WHY DIDN"T YOU SAY ANYTHING THIS MORNING?!"

The redhead cringed.

"I know... I know. I shoulda. But the VP was in a hurry 'n by the time I had the chance, we were already in the air. I just figured there's fuck all anyone can do about it... so why worry Tseng? He's got his hands full with Sykes right now, 'n... ya know... I wasn't expectin' to get stranded for the night..."

He could practically _hear_ the senior Turk pinching the bridge of his nose, the same way Tseng always did when he was particularly exasperated. Reno honestly wasn't sure who had picked up that habit from whom... but it was obvious that the shared trait was contagious, because he'd even caught _himself_ doing it once or twice now.

"Just... do your best to stay away from her," Veld said with an irritated, heavy sigh, "We're going to have a little chat about this when you get back."

"... Yes, sir. I kinda _thought_ we might be."

He'd seen that one coming. Veld didn't like to be out of the loop any more than Tseng did. Finding out that not only had another executive taken off on a joyride with the vice president, but also that Reno hadn't bothered to mention it was almost certainly going to irk him more than slightly.

"Beyond the obvious, did the trip go smoothly?" Veld queried.

"More or less. Gongaga isn't too thrilled with Shinra at the moment, but the worst we got was some food thrown at us. Uh... think we were on camera at the time, so... just a heads up on that, if it hasn't already made the news. Other than that, it was pretty textbook."

"Good. In that case, Tseng and I will see you as soon as you get in tomorrow. For that chat."

"Yes, sir. Goodnight," he replied, biting back a groan. It wasn't _quite_ a formal reprimand... but the informal ones weren't much fun, either. He ended the call and tucked his PHS away. It was his own fault... He really _should_ have said something sooner. But like he'd told Veld, he hadn't _planned_ on being stuck here overnight. He'd thought he'd be back in Midgar by now, and far, _far_ away from Scarlet and her grabby hands. Which just went to show... luck didn't give a crap about his plans.

But... there was nothing he could do to change that now. He might as well at least _try_ and enjoy himself. After all, he was in a gorgeous house in fucking Costa del Sol, it was a warm, tropical evening, and dinner was in the process of being prepared for them by the staff the family kept on retainer for last minute visits just like this. All things considered, this _could_ be a lot worse.

* * *

"Tseng... a moment if you please," Veld called out from his office just as the Turk lieutenant was leaving his own for the night. Tseng obligingly altered course and crossed the hall, stepping into his mentor's space. "Close the door."

He wondered if there was some new development with the Gongaga situation. He shut the door, and hurried to take a seat in front of Veld's desk.

"Sir?" he queried. Veld shook his head and sighed.

"Your protege is currently stuck in Costa del Sol. Mechanical issues with the executive helicopter."

Tseng's eyebrow rose, curious as to why _that_ would merit a closed-door meeting, and was about to voice that question when Veld cut him off, already having anticipated it.

"He's stuck in Costa del Sol with _Scarlet_."

"... _What_?" the Wutaiian Turk managed, feeling the color drain from his face.

"Apparently she decided to tag along at the last possible moment. Something about a project she was using the reactor to conduct. He didn't have time to notify anyone until after they'd already taken off."

"His message to _me_ said nothing about _Scarlet_ ," Tseng pointed out, supremely annoyed by the omission. "How long have you known about this?"

"About five minutes," Veld responded, sounding equally as annoyed. "I've informed him that we will be sitting down with him as soon as he returns, to discuss this. It's not the first time he's withheld information in such a fashion. I trust you recall the incident with Hojo entering our offices after hours?"

"Yes. I do..." Tseng said. And the redhead had been explicitly told not to do so again.

"To his credit, he acknowledged the mistake immediately. But I believe a reminder is in order. I'm assigning him as security for a materials transfer to Junon next week. A day or two of utter boredom guarding a few dozen loads of building supplies ought to get the message across."

"Yes, sir." He was right. That _would_ certainly make an impression on the redhead. There were few things his protege hated more than having nothing to do. Reno was the type of person who inherently needed something to occupy his mind. Even when he was off-duty, at home, ostensibly doing nothing... he was seldom _truly_ doing nothing. Usually, he filled his downtime with video games, ear-splittingly loud and unintelligible music, or those positively awful low-budget horror movies he enjoyed so much. Having nothing to entertain himself with was borderline torture for the hyperactive redhead.

"Now that _that's_ settled... _try_ not to worry too much. Reno reported that the trip has gone relatively smoothly thus far. I'm sure he'll be fine. Scarlet seems to be on her best behavior for the time being... likely because Rufus is present."

"Let's just hope she _remains_ on her best behavior," Tseng replied, some of the anger he felt towards the woman slipping into his voice. What she'd done to Reno was unforgivable. He didn't much care that he'd luckily been in time to intervene before it could go any farther than it did... Just the fact that she felt entitled to do whatever she liked to the younger man was enough to place her permanently on the list of people Tseng wouldn't mind seeing fed to a Nibelwolf. Preferably one piece at a time.

* * *

A few hours later, Reno was settling down to get some sleep. As both Rufus _and_ Scarlet had taken the two largest bedrooms upstairs, he'd opted for the one on the ground floor instead, in order to keep his distance from the Weapons head. Had they asked, he could very reasonably have said it was for security purposes, as it placed him closer to the entrances, and given how lightly he slept, any kind of intrusion would wake him up immediately. But neither had asked, and so he wasn't forced to make excuses.

He could finally just... relax a little.

The last time he'd visited the Shinra Villa in Costa del Sol had been for the family's annual vacation. It had been just him and Tseng and Kai. Well... and the President and Rufus, of course. And the President's latest mistress at the time. Even though it had been a "working vacation" for the Turks, the redhead had still had a blast. Costa del Sol was beautiful. The drinks flowed freely, the women were as hot as the weather, and dear Ifrit, the _food_. Resort life was _definitely_ something he could get used to.

Could have done without the sunburn, though.

Which, in retrospect, he ought to have seen coming a mile away, after the _first_ time it had happened. Come to think of it, the first time had been in Costa del Sol, as well. It had been just a month after the end of the Meaningless War. They'd still been reeling from the deaths of so many of their compatriots. Both Tseng and Cissnei had more or less recovered from the attack – physically, at least – and his mentor had put in for some vacation time. Veld had insisted that Reno do the same.

He'd resisted the idea initially... At the time, the full weight of what he'd had to do to Rodney had finally decided to hit him face first. There had been a few glorious weeks where he'd been able to tell himself that he was only following orders. That if he hadn't done it, someone else would have had to. That even _Rodney_ had known it was coming. And then, without warning, the reality of the fact that he'd murdered a fellow Turk had settled over him. He'd thrown himself into his work to avoid thinking about it too hard... which probably had something to do with just how insistent the Turk leader _was_ that he take some time off.

And that was how he'd found himself in the company of Tseng and Viridia in Costa del Sol... feeling like a _total_ third wheel, but none the less enjoying himself in the sun. Well... for the first day, anyway. By the time he'd returned to his room at the resort that afternoon, his skin was the same color as his hair, and he'd felt as though he'd been flayed alive.

Living in the slums nearly his entire life, the possibility of roasting himself to death under the sun had just... never occurred to him. Sunscreen? What the hell was that? Tseng and Viridia had found him, writhing in pain on his bed, a few hours later when they'd come to see if he wanted to join them for dinner. Reno _still_ felt a little guilty for fucking up the next few days for the pair. They'd spent _entirely_ too much time taking care of him, rather than enjoying their _own_ vacation.

Since then, he'd been a lot more careful to avoid the sunniest parts of the day when he visited... or at the very least douse himself in half a gallon of sunscreen before taking the risk. He'd later learned that it was pretty much universally a redhead thing, due to their naturally fair skin. People with his complexion didn't tan... they just straight up cooked.

He kinda wished someone had thought to warn him ahead of time about that...

Still... it hadn't been _all_ bad. Agonizing pain and peeling skin aside, once the burn had subsided a little he'd gone right back to enjoying all that Costa del Sol had to offer. Just not so much during the day, on that trip. The resort's nightlife, though, was great, too. He'd become something of a quasi-vampire – though he preferred a nice Bloody Mary after a long night of drinking over actual blood – by the time they were due to head home.

The redhead smiled slightly to himself as he settled back in bed, letting his eyes drift shut. It was a pleasant memory, on the whole. The sunburn had sucked for a little while, but it hadn't ruined the trip. It was kind of like his entire life as a Turk up to this point, really. Yeah, it had its shitty moments every once in awhile, but overall, things were pretty fucking good.

Scarlet was just one of those shitty moments. But tomorrow, they'd be home, and she'd go lock herself in her weapons lab like she usually did, and he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore for awhile. That thought in mind, Reno yawned and rolled over, hugging a pillow to his chest, and finally allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

When his eyes snapped open again, it was pitch black, and for a brief moment, he wasn't entirely sure what had woken him up. It became very... _very_... clear, momentarily, as a pair of arms wrapped around him followed by a loud moan much too close to his ear for his liking. He could smell the distinct odor of tequila on the warm breath that caressed the side of his face.

For a very brief moment, he welcomed the attention... still fuzzy from sleep, and not fully aware of where he was or who he was with. That moment, however, dissipated rather quickly as his brain finally kicked into gear and his eyes went wide. Reno struggled to untangle himself – both from the sheets _and_ from Scarlet – staggering out of bed, and groping for the lamp beside the bed. He grimaced as the light blinded him temporarily.

"What the _fuck_?!" he breathed, once his vision had adjusted enough that he could make out the scantily dressed form in his bed. Scarlet leered up at him as she floundered to her feet, quickly closing the distance between them.

"I've been waiting _all day_ to get you alone..." she purred, seizing him by both arms and forcibly capturing his lips before he could twist out of her grip. Cold dread seized him as he simply stood there in shock, while her hands roamed his body with abandon and her tongue probed his own. He hadn't slept nude – thank Ifrit he hadn't been stupid enough to risk _that_ tonight – but his options had been a little limited, seeing as he hadn't packed for an overnight trip. His boxers and an old Costa del Sol t-shirt that had been left, folded in a drawer in the bureau, were presently all that stood between Scarlet and his bare skin.

Her fingers slipped under the shirt, lacquered nails trailing over his belly and making him shudder... and not in the way he did when _Lira_ did that. His chest tightened in panic, and he suddenly realized that no one was here to save him this time. Not Tseng. Not Remy. And hell, if he was putting his faith in Rufus, he had a feeling that he was going to be in for a long wait. He was on his own.

When her hand dropped below the waist, he knew he didn't have a choice. A moment later, she was face down on the bed, pinned in place with her arm behind her back.

"Don't. Touch. Me." the redhead ground out, angrily. To his surprise, Scarlet only cackled.

"I _love_ it when they play rough..." she laughed, and the next thing Reno knew, their positions had been reversed and _she_ was on top of _him_ , a knee between his legs as she pressed him down into the mattress. Where the _fuck_ had Scarlet learned _that_ move?

"Get _off_!" Reno shouted, escaping from her easily enough, and darting across the room. She'd caught him by surprise... but the weapons researcher didn't have _nearly_ the amount of training he did. Scarlet grinned somewhat drunkenly at him, and dove at him from the bed... and promptly face-planted about two feet away from him. The redhead took the opportunity to slip out of the room, and slam the door, holding it shut once she recovered enough to regain her feet and try to free herself.

 _Now_ what the fuck was he supposed to do? He couldn't stand there all night holding onto the doorknob to prevent her from escaping. The door rattled loudly against its frame as she tried to free herself. Well... he supposed that technically he _could_... but he didn't especially _want_ to.

"What in _Ramuh's_ name is going _on_ down here?" a tired-sounding voice demanded from the staircase. "Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

"Ask Scarlet, sir," Reno said, with a grunt as the woman managed to finally turn the knob just enough to yank the door open for a split second. The redhead pulled back, hard, and it shut again with a loud bang.

Rufus merely stared at him in vague confusion, apparently not having expected quite that response. A moment later his eyes narrowed angrily.

"Let her out," he commanded. Reno hesitated, knowing that the moment she was loose, she was going to come after him again... either to try and grope him some more, or in a rage for locking her in the bedroom. Or both. " _Now_ ," Rufus amended.

He swallowed sharply and released his deathgrip on the doorknob. Scant seconds later, a none-too-pleased looking Scarlet stormed out, and snatched hold of his shirt.

"You are going to do whatever _I_ say..." she said, smiling coldly, as leaned in again, intent on laying claim to his lips once more.

"What in the _Nine Hells_ do you think you're doing?!" Rufus, who apparently had gone unnoticed by the lustful executive until just then, bellowed. Scarlet froze, shock etched plainly on her features, gaping at him. " _Well_?!"

"I... I... He locked me in a room!" she wailed, pointing at the Turk. The vice president snorted loudly.

"I noticed. And just what were you _doing_ in said room?" he shot back, and before the woman could answer, he continued, "On second thought, I don't _care_. Go back to your _own_ room and _leave my security detail alone_!"

Scarlet looked, for a moment, as though she were going to argue... but it seemed she wasn't so drunk that common sense had been _entirely_ overridden, because eventually she wordlessly slunk off, back upstairs to bed. Rufus watched her go, glowering furiously at her retreating form. Once she was out of sight, he crossed the room and picked up a decanter of brandy that sat on a nearby sidetable, pouring himself two glasses of the amber liquid. He snatched them up and stormed back over to the redhead, thrusting one into his hand.

"Drink that."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "I... can't, sir. I'm on duty."

"Drink it anyway!" he snapped. The redhead blinked in surprise, and silently obeyed the order, downing the glass' contents in one shot. Rufus rolled his eyes and took a seat on the overstuffed sofa against one wall, calmly nursing his own drink.

"Of _course_ it would be you..." he muttered, "I should have known."

"Uh... sir?" Reno queried, not sure where _that_ comment had come from... and vaguely concerned that he was going to be in a shitload of trouble for having the audacity to defend himself from Scarlet.

"Tseng mentioned some time ago that one of his subordinates was having an issue with Scarlet. I should have suspected it was _you_ immediately. It's _always_ you, somehow. First Heidegger, then Hojo... now Scarlet. Is there a member of the board or senior staff you _haven't_ managed some how become embroiled with to the point of me having to intervene?"

"Uhh..." the redhead stammered somewhat nervously. "I don't think I'm on Palmer's shitlist, yet, sir..."

Rufus snorted in contempt. "Palmer doesn't know whether he's coming or going half the time. I doubt he even realizes you exist." He eyed the Turk for a moment, before shaking his head. "Sit _down_ , for Ramuh's sake."

Reno hesitantly dropped into a nearby leather chair, eyes remaining firmly on the scowling vice president. Rufus was _ticked_. Oddly enough, however, the redhead was fairly certain it wasn't actually directed at him, in spite of the annoyed rant regarding his penchant for getting on executives' bad sides.

"Given my father's general attitude towards her, I doubt it will actually _go_ anywhere, but I will be entering a formal complaint against Scarlet on your behalf. It should at least get her to back off," Rufus stated after an extended silence. Reno opened his mouth to reply, but he found himself shocked into silence.

"... Why?" he finally managed. Rufus rolled his eyes.

"Because I would _prefer_ you not sue the company over a harassment claim, for one thing – which, if tonight is anything to judge the situation by, you'd be well within your rights to _do_. I've already got _one_ PR nightmare brewing," Rufus replied, "For another... as I've already made clear to Hojo, I will _not_ have a valuable company asset damaged, degraded, or destroyed for no reason. You are the single most irritating creature in existence, and you annoy me, personally, _endlessly_. But you're worth far more to Shinra Company than that useless witch even _thinks_ she is."

"... That's... _legitimately_ the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Reno said, somewhat floored by the admission, "Not even jokin' this time."

"Don't let it go to your head. You're obnoxious enough as it is," Rufus said with a faint sneer... though his heart didn't really seem to be in it. "I'm going back to bed, and I swear to Hades, if that woman wakes me up again, I _will_ give Tseng leave to hurl her off the Plate at his earliest convenience..."

He downed the remaining liquid in his glass, and stood up, heading for the stairs.

"Um... sir?" the redhead called after him, and he paused halfway up. "Thank you."

The executive gave him a curt nod and continued on his way. When he was gone, Reno breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He honestly hadn't expected _Rufus_ of all people to come to his rescue. Or to even give a shit, really. In hindsight, he realized... that was a little harsh. Rufus could be an asshole, but this was hardly the first time he'd stuck up for the Turks, _or_ , for that matter, for Reno specifically. And sure, he'd justified his actions as being due to the fact that he placed value on the Turks as a whole as a "company asset"... but the brat almost never said what he really meant when it contradicted his carefully crafted persona.

Which begged the question... when the hell had Rufus decided that Reno actually _mattered_ on some level? He knew the guy didn't _hate_ him or anything... Hell, there were occasions where he was _almost_ openly friendly towards him. But going out of his way to protect him? Without it being a request from Tseng?

The redhead yawned, and set his empty glass aside. He was _way_ too tired to start pondering _that_ question right now. With the adrenaline wearing off, the late hour was becoming entirely too apparent. He stood up and dragged himself off to bed again... but not before firmly wedging a chair underneath the doorknob. Just in case.

* * *

When Reno stepped out onto the helipad on the roof of the Shinra Building shortly before ten in the morning the next day, it was with a wide grin plastered across his face. Scarlet had all but pretended he didn't exist for the entire flight home... and he was one hundred percent _fine_ with _that_. The abrupt change in behavior likely had something to do with the withering looks Rufus kept shooting her every time she so much as glanced in the redhead's general direction before they'd left Costa del Sol.

Said grin faded slightly when he was greeted at the elevator the moment he stepped off of it and into the Turks' offices. Both Veld _and_ Tseng were waiting for him... and neither man looked to be in a particularly good mood.

"Join us, won't you?" Veld said.

It may have been phrased like one, but it was definitely _not_ a request. Reno somewhat sheepishly followed the pair back to Veld's office, where the door was summarily shut behind him. He took the seat offered to him and sighed as the two senior Turks loomed over him.

"... 'kay, before ya both take turns layin' into me... I _know_. I shoulda let someone know soon as I could about Scarlet, even if there wasn't anything you coulda done about it. I fucked up. That's on me. I didn't want Tseng to worry... 'cause... ya know... he's busy with other shit this week."

"It is my _job_ to worry," Tseng replied, pointedly looking at the younger Turk.

"Yeah... I know that, too. Old habits die hard," he said, ducking his head.

"Recognizing the mistake is one thing..." Veld interjected, leaning back against his desk, "Learning from it is another. You're going to be escorting cargo next week. It should be a fairly mind-numbingly _dull_ assignment. Use that time to consider the fact that those in command need to be kept up to date to do _their_ jobs effectively."

Reno cringed slightly in response. Cargo escort? Ugh... That essentially involved sitting on a truck for hours on end, doing nothing. That... was gonna suck.

"Yes, sir," was all he said. He'd screwed up. He had to accept the consequences. It was as simple as that. Veld nodded in approval and rounded his desk, taking a seat, while Tseng remained standing beside his protege.

"In that case... let's have a report. Any further issues since we last spoke?"

Reno blinked in surprise. "W-wait... That's it? Guard duty and a don't do it again?"

"You think you're getting off too easily?" Veld queried, raising an eyebrow in challenge, and the younger Turk vehemently shook his head.

"Nope... I'm totally good with that."

He distinctly heard Tseng snort faintly in laughter before he could stop himself.

"As I said... you already _know_ you made a mistake. Now you can take some time to think about what consequences that sort of mistake means to the rest of the team. _Someone_ was going to be handling next week's assignment, regardless. Under the circumstances, it may as well be you. Now... that report?" the Turk leader replied, almost dismissively.

"... Well... aside from wakin' up in bed with Scarlet, things went okay," Reno replied... and almost laughed at the twin expressions of horror that appeared on both men's faces the moment the words left his mouth. Horror quickly morphed into fury on Tseng's part... and Veld didn't look any happier. His mentor's eyes narrowed.

"... I am going to –" he began, the words slowly ground out through clenched teeth, only to be cut off by the Turk leader.

"Tseng!" Veld snapped. Tseng grudgingly silenced himself, but the angry expression remained. Veld turned his attention back on Reno. "What happened?"

"Pretty much what I just said. Woke up sometime around one with Scarlet in my bed. She'd been drinkin' at dinner. I figured she'd be out like a light by the time everyone went to bed. Apparently not. I got away from her 'n trapped her in my room. All the noise from her tryin' to get out woke up Rufus 'n he came downstairs 'n put her in her place. Things were quiet the rest of the night."

Tseng shook his head, and glared at Veld. "This is utterly absurd, sir. It _cannot_ continue! I don't care if she _is_ a member of the board. This is entirely unacceptable and it's _directly_ interfering with Reno's ability to do his job. If you're not willing to make a formal complaint, then I will."

Veld sighed, and pressed his fingertips together, looking down at his desktop.

"It's not that simple, and you know it. Scarlet is a vindictive shrew. A complaint will very likely just make things worse. Especially if she involves Heidegger... which you know she will."

"Umm..." Reno began, only to be talked over by his mentor.

"So we do nothing and hope that she simply finds _another_ employee to target?"

"Hey... Boss?" he tried again.

"We need to be diplomatic about this. I _know_ you're frustrated, but –"

"She attempted to _rape_ my protege! Twice! We are _long_ past diplomacy!" Tseng hissed.

The redhead rolled his eyes. He pressed his fingers to his lips and blew. The result was a piercing shriek of a whistle that silenced both senior Turks.

"Can _I_ say somethin' here?" he asked, when he finally had their attention again.

"Of course," Veld replied, somewhat chastened.

"You can quit arguin' about what to do. Rufus was pretty pissed off when he caught her in the act. He's gonna be makin' a complaint to the board. Said she probably wouldn't be punished, but she'd have to back off."

Neither man said anything for a long moment. Finally, though, Tseng's hand came to rest on the younger Turk's shoulder.

"Are _you_ alright with that?" he asked.

"Tch... Long as she leaves me the hell alone? Yeah. Yeah, I can live with that."

"... I... suppose that's that, then," Veld said, "It's out of ours hands, and firmly in the vice president's."

Tseng didn't look entirely happy about the comment, but he said nothing.

"You may go," the Turk leader added, with a nod to the door. "If you're up to it... there is a rather nervous rookie who's been eagerly awaiting your return."

Reno cocked his head to one side, curious.

"Sykes?" he asked, and receiving a nod from both men, frowned. "He still freakin' out over Hell Week?"

"I... think he simply needs a sympathetic ear," Tseng replied, his expression softening. He smiled faintly, "I would gladly offer one, but I can't, for obvious reasons... Not the least of which being the fact that, at the moment, he flees in terror any time he sees me."

The redhead snickered, and glanced up at his mentor.

"Geez... I leave town for day or two and you got the poor kid traumatized..." he grinned, getting up from his seat. Tseng followed him out into the hallway, and not so subtly escorted him across to his _own_ office, ushering the redhead inside, and closing the door behind them. The next thing Reno knew, he'd been pulled into a tight embrace.

"Heh... soooo... worried 'bout me, huh?" the younger Turk snickered. Tseng released him a moment later.

"As I said... it's my job to worry. Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Reno said with a soft sigh, "I'm fine. Not _thrilled_ that Scarlet's gonna get off with a slap on the wrist, but... 'long as she keeps her claws to herself from now on..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"I'm sorry. Were it up to me –"

The redhead laughed. "If it were up to _you_ we'd probably never find the body..." he snickered.

" _That_ is because there would be no body left to find..." Tseng stated, and the younger man grinned.

"I feel like I _really_ oughta be a lot more disturbed by that statement than I am..." he chuckled. "Seriously, though... I'm okay. I... didn't just stand there takin' it this time. Heh... 'n then _Rufus_ , of all people, showed up 'n had my back. Guess it kinda made me realize... I'm not alone 'n the only way she's gonna fuck me over is if I let her. So I'm not gonna let her." He smirked slightly and added, "I'd tell her to kiss my ass, but I'm kinda afraid she might try 'n take me up on it."

* * *

"Send him in," Rufus said, holding down the button on the intercom. A moment later, the door to his office opened admitting his visitor. He didn't bother glancing up as he calmly poured two cups of tea from the pot that had been sitting on the corner of his desk in anticipation of the arrival. "You're late. I expected you to turn up nearly two hours ago. I've had to re-brew this pot three times now."

"My apologies, sir... it's been a busy day, and you _did_ kidnap my assistant for over 24 hours," Tseng replied, settling himself in front of Rufus' desk. He gladly accepted one of the cups, inhaling the subtle aroma and smiling. It was his favorite, imported from Wutai.

"I assume you've been updated on my trip by now?"

"Yes, sir... and... thank you."

Rufus waved a hand, dismissively. "The Slum Rat has already expressed his gratitude for my intervention. There's no need for you to do so, as well. Besides... that _woman_ has been a thorn in my side since day one."

"I wish to thank you, anyway. The Turks are... my family. They mean a great deal to me. Reno, in particular."

"That uncouth little street vermin of yours is a perpetual irritation," Rufus replied, haughtily. " _But_... he's a trustworthy irritation that has been a reliable addition to your team and to whom I, personally, likely owe my life several times over at this point. I... would not be pleased if the Company lost him."

"Yes, sir," Tseng replied, trying very hard to keep his expression neutral, and succeeded in holding back the laugh that made a valiant attempt at making itself known. A flicker of a smile still managed to escape, however. Rufus noticed it immediately.

"Don't expect me to start inviting _him_ to join me for tea, as well, or any other such ridiculous notion. Just because I extend _you_ the courtesy of my company now and then doesn't mean I have any desire to spend more time than needed with _that_ idiot."

This time, Tseng _did_ laugh. "Reno... doesn't much care for tea anyway, sir," he said, taking a sip from his cup before pointedly peering at him over the rim. "Though, come to think of it... neither do you. And yet you _still_ invite me at least once a week..."

"Ah... so the Slum Rat doesn't enjoy this swill either?" Rufus asked, casting his own cup a disapproving glance, and nudging it off to one side. "Perhaps he does have _some_ minuscule amount of taste after all..."

Tseng chuckled softly and drank his tea.

~end chapter 41~


	42. A Night Out

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 42: A Night Out**

 **by Desha**

"It's _over_..." Sykes groaned as he stepped into the lounge on Friday afternoon. Liam and Petra both immediately broke into giggles as their friend dropped bonelessly onto the couch. _They'd_ spent most of the day at Fort Condor with Remy. He, meanwhile, had spent most of the day looking over his shoulder every few seconds.

His last evaluation had been right after lunch... and compared to some of the others, it really wasn't so bad. Actually, it had played to some of his biggest strengths, so he was pretty confident that his performance had been more than acceptable. It was a combination of strategy and stealth. He'd had to break into a room on the SOLDIER floor. Without being detected. Under a strict time limit.

Which would have been _difficult_ even on a normal day. Today, though, SOLDIER knew ahead of time that he was coming, and their sole purpose in life for the half hour or so it had taken him was to make sure he didn't succeed. Sykes, however, though fairly average in the strategy department, _excelled_ when it came to stealth, and he knew it. He'd taken his time, and slipped past every last patrol without being spotted.

He'd heard Tseng mention a record of some sort as he and Reno were returning to their offices... but hadn't had time to ask about it... and he vaguely wondered what said record was, and whether or not he'd managed to break it.

"Come on, Sykes... Was it really _that_ bad?" Liam snickered, glancing up from the book he was holding in one hand.

"Hmph... Just you wait. You'll find out first hand just how terrible Hell Week is sooner or later..." he replied, winging one of the couch's throw pillows at his fellow rookie with a wide grin. It smacked him squarely in the face. "You've _both_ got it to look forward to. Me? _I_ never have to worry about it ever again."

Petra laughed at the somewhat stunned expression the sudden impact had left on the youngest rookie's face, and picked up the pillow from the floor, chucking it back at Sykes.

"Rub it in why don't you?" she grinned. "Anyway... now that it's over, I think _you_ need to decompress and release all of that negative energy you've been storing up all week. Over dinner. How does Wutaiian sound? I found the _best_ little hot pot place in Sector Four last week and I've been dying to go there with you two!"

"Tch... Don't you three have... ya know... actual _work_ to do?" a teasing voice queried from the doorway. Sykes turned his gaze on the entrance and found Reno leaning languidly against the doorframe, grinning.

"Not anymore, sir," Liam piped up, nodding to the clock on the wall. "It's five."

"It is?" the senior Turk gasped, feigning shock. "Heh... yeah, alright. Get the hell outta here then," he snickered, and glanced at Sykes. "'Specially, _you_. Hell Week's over. Go enjoy yourself."

"Would... you like to join us, sir? We're going out for dinner to celebrate..." Sykes offered.

"Tempting... but I already got plans tonight," Reno replied, with a smirk, "The kind that _don't_ involve me keepin' my clothes on after dinner. And if I'm _really_ lucky, _during_ dinner."

" _Way_ too much information, sir," Liam snickered as he gathered up his book and his jacket and made his way over towards the door. Reno merely shrugged and stepped aside so that the rookie could pass.

"Goodnight, sir. See you Monday!" Petra said, cheerfully, as she followed his lead.

"'Night," Reno replied. He turned his attention back on Sykes. "So... glad to be done with it?"

"You have _no_ idea, sir..." the rookie breathed as he got to his feet. The redhead cocked an eyebrow.

" _I_ got no idea?" he parroted, grinning. "Uh... lemme just remind ya that I damn near got shit-canned during _my_ Hell Week. You think _you_ had it rough? I still had three more days of exercises to go after that little incident... 'n Tseng did _not_ go easy on me on account."

Sykes laughed softly, as he moved to follow his friends. "Yes, sir. Have a good weekend."

"Oh, I _plan_ to," the redhead replied, with a slightly lecherous grin. Sykes shook his head and hurried to catch up to the others, brushing past Remy with a quick wave on his way out.

* * *

The moment Sykes was gone, Reno turned around and found himself face to face with a very annoyed-looking Remy, eyeing him from the doorway with her arms folded over her chest.

"You _will_ be keeping your clothes on during dinner, if you know what's good for you. I happen to like this restaurant, and I _don't_ want to end up banned for life," she said, pointedly. The redhead's grin only widened at the comment, and Remy rolled her eyes and quietly laughed. "Just come on. We have reservations for five thirty."

"Ooooh... reservations, huh? Takin' me someplace fancy tonight?"

"Not fancy... just popular. It can be a little bit of a gamble if you just show up and ask for a table, especially on a Friday night. I wanted to make sure we'd actually _get_ something to eat."

"Lead the way," Reno replied. He was glad Remy had wanted to get together tonight. After the week he'd had – and especially after his trip to Gongaga – he was in desperate need of company that wasn't either losing their mind from stress or actively trying to force themselves on him. As much as he loved looking out for the rookies, Sykes had been kind of a handful the last couple days. Reno had spent so much time as an unofficial counselor, he'd hardly gotten any other work done since his return. In fact, he wasn't sure who was happier to see Hell Week end... him, or Sykes.

Still... it had been worth it. Sykes had made it through, and now they could _both_ relax a little. He grinned silently to himself as he wondered if Tseng had ever been as overwhelmed by how needy _Reno'd_ been as a rookie. And he knew he _had_ been needy. There had been more than a few times that the only thing that made Reno feel like he wasn't a complete failure was Tseng. Sykes was stressed, sure, but the redheadbeen borderline neurotic at times back then. And sometimes more than just borderline. He'd calmed down quite a bit since he was sixteen.

The office was empty by now, save for a light in Veld's office. Even Tseng had already left for the evening. Actually... he'd left almost a whole five minutes early today, as he'd arranged to fly out to Junon on a SOLDIER personnel carrier that was leaving at the end of the day. The redhead didn't really have to wonder what he was planning on doing while he was _there_.

"What are _you g_ rinning about?" Remy asked, as they stepped aboard the elevator. Reno hit the button for the parking deck, and smirked as the doors closed.

"Just picturin' you naked... same as I've been doin' all afternoon..."

"I _will_ smack you..." Remy deadpanned.

"Promise?" he teased, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. She couldn't keep a straight face after that.

"Dear Leviathan, you are _such_ a pervert..." she declared between laughs.

"Thank you," he replied, proudly. The elevator dropped them off at the parking level, and they headed for their respective cars. A few short minutes later, Reno was following her down a street in Sector 4, and not long after that, he was standing with her near the hostess stand of a little Wutaiian restaurant he'd never been in before. They were quickly shown to their table.

"So... what's good here?" the redhead asked, picking up the menu, and blinking momentarily in confusion. It wasn't quite what he was expecting. Instead of actual dishes, it just listed... ingredients. He caught on a moment later when he finally realized what the large hotplate in the center of the table was for.

" _Everything_ is good here. The difficulty is choosing between them all and deciding what you want in the pot."

"Oh... I'm gonna _like_ this..." he grinned.

* * *

Rude was running late, and he hated to be late for an appointment. True, this wasn't one of his _usual_ informants... but it was important none the less. Actually, it wasn't an informant at all, but getting the woman to agree to meet with him had been almost as difficult. As he made his way through rush hour traffic towards the furthest reaches of the residential section of Sector 5, he found himself hoping that she didn't back out.

He couldn't say for certain why she was so hesitant, though given the rather lengthy tangent she'd gone off on during their phone call earlier in the week regarding space alien experiments and clones walking among us... he could venture a guess. The woman was _definitely_ not quite all there.

He pulled up in front of the building and approached the door. The curtains in the window shifted slightly. At least she was home. But then... she'd been home _last_ time, too, and hadn't let him in. He reached the door and knocked. At first, he was certain he was going to be turned away a second time, but after a few long moments, he heard the sound of the deadbolt clicking open. Followed by another. And another. And then what he was pretty sure was a security chain sliding out of its slot. And one final deadbolt. The door finally opened, just a crack, and a woman peered out at him.

"You the Turk?"

"Yes," Rude nodded.

"Let's see some ID."

He reached into his jacket and slowly extracted his Shinra ID card. The woman's eyes narrowed as she studied it, long and hard. Finally, she shut the door and removed the last of the security chains, before opening it just enough to let him inside.

"Can't be too careful. Never know when a clone might turn up. They could be anyone, you know," she explained, re-locking every last one of the locks before shuffling off towards the living room. "So... You want to know about Aria, eh?"

Penny. Penny Trask. Stage name, Penny DeVille. She was a singer and dancer who'd made a bit of a name for herself almost twenty-five years ago, before getting married and disappearing from the spotlight almost entirely. When her husband had died, she'd tried to reclaim her career, but it hadn't really gone anywhere. Since then, as far as Rude had been able to determine, she'd been living off of the money she'd received in recompense for her husband's accident at work... in one of Shinra's biologics labs. The details were sealed and highly classified.

He wasn't interested in any of that, at the moment... though he _had_ made a note of the file's location to possibly look into later. It was unlikely to be relevant to anything _now_ , but Tres had taught him to never dismiss anything out of hand. He was more interested in what she'd been doing just _after_ her husband's death.

She'd taken up working at the same little nightclub as Reno's mother.

"What do you remember about her?" he asked, following her into the next room and taking a seat in one of the bedraggled armchairs. Penny sat down across from him on the couch. The little condo was... interesting. Cluttered, but not hoarder-level cluttered. Curtains drawn tightly across each and every window. He could see through to the kitchen and the back door... which seemed to be nailed shut. The woman was definitely paranoid... and likely delusional as well. As far as he could tell, she virtually never left her home. Anything she needed, she had delivered. Any appointments were conducted right there, in person. She refused to speak at length on the phone for fear of someone listening in.

"Oh, plenty. Aria's hard to _forget_. She was a sweet girl. Naive in some ways, but sweet," Penny said, the ghost of a smile flitting over her aged features. " _Beautiful_ voice. At least as good as mine used to be. Desperate for a life on stage. She thought she'd make it big. Get out, see the world. Find love. Learned the hard way that it's not all glitz and glamour. That slimy bastard that owned the club liked to charge a premium for... what ya might call a meet 'n greet with the more popular girls." She reached into a side table and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "You smoke?" she asked, offering him the pack.

"... No. Thank you."

Penny shrugged and pulled one out, placing it between her lips and lighting it. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a moment, before exhaling the smoke with a raspy cough. She shook her head and flicked some ash into a nearby ashtray.

"Good. Terrible, _terrible_ habit. Well... you know how it goes. Started out as just drinking with the customers, chatting them up, pretending you were interested in their life story... whatever it took to get 'em to spend a few more gil at the bar. Didn't take long for one of 'em to make an offer for something a little more intimate, and once _that_ happened... we might as well have been working a corner down in Wall Market. _I_ got myself outta there pretty quick after _that_ started. At my age? It just wasn't worth it. Gave up on restarting my career and decided to retire once and for all. But Aria... she was still dreaming of being a star. She was gonna make it big one day or die trying. Everything she had to do to get there was just... paying her dues."

She took another drag off the cigarette and sighed.

"And to be fair, she _could've_ made it if things had gone her way. Definitely had what it took as far as talent went. Anyway... I lost track of her for awhile after I left. Then one day, I heard the place burned to the ground, and that the asshole that owned it shot himself. Don't know what he was into by then... but I'm sure eating a bullet looked a lot more pleasant than whatever else he was facing. Son of a bitch didn't care who he had to hurt to get what he wanted. Not surprised it finally caught up to him."

"What about Aria?" Rude prodded, before she got off track.

"Like I said... lost track of her. 'Til about a week after the fire. She turned up at my door. I hadn't seen her in almost a year by then... but, of course, I wasn't hard to find. It's not like I went anywhere. This little place of mine is home and always will be. And there she was... just hustling herself up the front walk one night, looking terrified. Wouldn't tell me what was wrong... just that she needed somewhere to stay for a bit because she couldn't go home. In hindsight, figure she mighta had _something_ to do with that fire... but she didn't want to talk about it, and seeing how scared she was, I thought maybe it was best I didn't know. I knew _enough_ things that could've landed me in trouble, as it was."

"You let her stay here?"

"For the night. Would've been glad to have let her stay longer. It's been just me in this old empty house for ages now... I had plenty of room. But next day, she was gone before I was even awake. Took about a hundred gil outta my emergency cookie jar stash and disappeared. Didn't even say goodbye. The last I ever heard from her was when I opened my mail about a month later and found a note and that hundred gil she took tucked inside a little white envelope. All it said was 'Thank you for being my friend'. Wasn't signed or anything, but... I knew the handwriting well enough."

"And you never spoke to her again?" Rude asked. Penny shrugged.

"I didn't know where she went. She never contacted me after that, and I wouldn't have known where to even _begin_ to look for her."

Rude sighed. He'd learned quite a bit, but not nearly as much as he'd hoped.

"... You... don't happen to have a picture of her anywhere, do you?"

Penny raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Now why would you want something like that? Just what _is_ your interest in Aria, anyway? Because if you're looking for her, I'm not going to help you find her. Seemed plain enough to me that she didn't _want_ to be found."

"..." Rude paused for a moment and then shook his head. "I already know where she is. Aria... died about fifteen years ago. She's buried in the Sector 2 slums."

Penny looked shocked for a moment by the new information, but quickly finished off her cigarette, and stubbed out the butt in the ashtray, before hastily pulling another out of the pack. "Then why not just let the dead rest in peace?"

"Her son is... my friend. I'm doing this for him. He was only five when she died. He just... wants something to remember her by. I've been trying to help, but I can't find anyone who even _knew_ her besides you."

"Aria has a little boy?" Penny questioned, looking up from her attempt at lighting her cigarette, a smile spreading over her face. Rude chuckled.

"He's twenty now... so not so little," he replied, and reached into his pocket, pulling out the photo he'd brought along just in case she was curious. She reached out for it, studying it for a moment.

"Shiva's nipples, he looks just _like_ her..." she breathed, and looked up at Rude. "What's his name?"

"Reno."

"He looks so happy..." she said, gently running a finger along the edge of the photo. "Aria'd be glad to know that." She handed the picture back to Rude and sighed. "I'm afraid I don't have a photo... or anything else of hers. But, I suppose if he wanted to come visit a washed up old lounge singer... I could tell him a story or two."

"I... think he'd like that," Rude replied, smiling widely.

* * *

Reno had, many times, heard the phrase 'melt in your mouth'. He'd even experienced it more than a few times. He had never, however, thought that it could apply to meat. He grinned as he fished another strip of beef out of the hot pot and popped it into his mouth. It was so tender that it practically disintegrated.

"I gotta start comin' here for lunch..." the redhead sighed contentedly. Remy snorted softly in amusement and helped herself to some of the vegetables that were floating in the simmering liquid that sat between them.

"I was thinking... maybe after dinner we could go for a quick walk though the Sector 4 Botanical Gardens before we head back to my place. It's lovely at night..."

"Sure... I'm up for just about anything," Reno replied, musing over which meaty morsel he wanted to try next. It was really just a big pot of soup that cooked right at your table... but all the stuff _in_ it... It was fucking delicious. He grinned teasingly. "But, uh... I thought when we started all this you said you just wanted to fuck me, not date me. This is startin' to sound an awful _lot_ like a date..."

Remy went red and immediately protested. "We are _not_ dating. We're two friends out having a nice evening together."

"Heh... Two friends that are gonna go back to you place and spend the _rest_ of the night bangin' the ever-livin' crap outta each other..." he pointed out, smirking.

" _Reno_!" she hissed, and the redhead laughed.

" _Relax_ , Remy... I'm just fuckin' with ya," he snickered. "Well... I mean, I guess I'm not fuckin' with ya _yet_..."

"Will you _please_ be serious?" she groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Do I have to?" he snickered. At the sight of her glare, he held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright..." he laughed, "I'll quit with the jokes. For now." His attention suddenly snapped to a familiar face that had appeared over her shoulder, near the door. It was quickly joined by two additional, and equally familiar, faces. "Uh oh..." he breathed.

"Reno?" Remy asked, brow furrowing.

"Um... How set are you on keepin' this whole thing on the down low still?" he asked.

"What? Why?"

"Heh... 'cause, uh... we got company. And they know _exactly_ what I was plannin' on doin' tonight, minus names 'n locations," he said, nodding to the trio of rookies that had just walked in. Remy's eyes widened, and she twisted around in her seat just as the three younger Turks were stepping up to the hostess' stand.

"Oh, no..." she groaned.

"I'm gonna assume that means you'd kinda rather they not find out you're doin' me..." the redhead snickered. The hostess was already gesturing for them to follow her. They'd walk right past the pair of senior Turks in mere moments. Reno grabbed one last bite and slid out of his chair, dropping to the floor and disappearing beneath the tablecloth.

"Remy?" Petra's voice called out seconds later.

"O-oh... Petra! Liam... Sykes... Good evening," she stammered, and Reno smothered a laughed before it could escape. _That_ hadn't sounded suspicious at all...

"We're celebrating Sykes' Hell Week," the rookie proclaimed.

"Specifically the _end_ of Syke's Hell Week..." Liam snickered.

"Well, you've certainly picked the perfect place to do so," Remy replied.

"Would you like to join us, ma'am?" Sykes asked, and Reno had to bite down on his lip this time, to avoid giving himself away. He could just picture the look on Remy's face right now.

"I... oh, that's... very kind, but I'm afraid I'm meeting someone at the botanical gardens soon. I was just finishing up here, actually."

By then, the redhead was dying. They'd only just started eating, really. And while they'd certainly made a _dent_ in the meal, the thought that – in the first place – Remy was almost done eating, and – in the second – the entire thing had been solely for her, was beyond laughable. He must have made some sort of sound because a moment after he'd thought it, she kicked him hard under the table. In retaliation, he gently trailed his fingers along her thigh, teasingly stopping just short of where it might cause her to give him away.

She grabbed his hand under the tablecloth and held it firmly in place before he could try that again.

"Oh... well, we won't keep you, then," Petra replied, "Have a nice night!"

"You, as well," Remy called after them, and once they were out of earshot, she hissed, " _What in Leviathan's name did you think you were doing?_ "

Reno sniggered and poked his head out from beneath the table, between her legs, and grinned up at her.

"Nothin'..." he said, innocently. "Get the rest of that to go, will ya? I'll sneak out the back 'n meet ya in the parking lot."

She shot him a warning look, but didn't comment... simply glanced over at the three rookies, and back down at the redhead, before waving him off towards the restaurant's staff exit. Reno ducked back beneath the table, and then crept through the crowded space, keeping low as he went, and quickly darted around the corner. Once out of sight, he made a dash for the kitchen, and was out the door before anyone could figure out he wasn't supposed to be there. Down an alley and around another corner, placed him directly in front of his car. He leaned back against the side and waited.

It was several more minutes before Remy appeared, to-go container in hand. She held it out to him, and he grinned.

"That was _not_ funny," Remy said with a glare, "We almost got caught."

Reno set the container on top of the car, before turning back to his lover. "Yeah... but we _didn't_ ," he replied, leaning forward and capturing her lips. He half-expected her to slap him for that... Instead, she pressed him back against the side of his car, her body flush against his, deepening the kiss. When she finally pulled away, he smirked.

"Still wanna go for a walk?" he asked.

"No... I want you to get in your car, drive to my apartment, and _don't_ bother stopping for red lights. I'll be right behind you," she whispered, with a low groan.

"That mean I _do_ get to have dinner with my clothes off?" he teased.

* * *

"You know... if I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd be _very_ insulted that you're sitting there, ignoring me _and_ my delicious dinner..."

Tseng pulled his gaze away from the night sky outside of the window, turning to the woman beside him and chuckled softly.

"I'm sorry. It's been quite a week. I think I'm still half in work mode."

"Well, get _out_ of work mode and _eat_ something," Viridia chastised him, and smirked, "I don't _like_ to cook, so when I go to all the trouble of doing it for you, you're damn well going to eat it while it's hot."

Tseng laughed and reached for his fork, digging in to the fresh lasagna in front of him.

"I don't know why you're so opposed to it. You're good at it. Far better than _I_ am, at any rate."

"Tseng... I hate to be the one to break it to you, but there aren't many things on the planet that _aren't_ better at cooking than you are. A _rock_ is better at cooking than you are," Viridia teased, giggling. "How you've survived this long without starving is a mystery."

"During my rookie days, at least, it was entirely the result of take-out and the pity of others..." the Turk lieutenant replied, smiling, as Viridia laughed and choked on the sip of wine she'd just taken.

"You're horrible," she snickered, "So... speaking of rookie days, how was Hell Week?"

"Enlightening. I think I have a very good handle on what direction to take Sykes' training in." Viridia eyed him knowingly and he smirked. "And... quite entertaining at times."

"I always _knew_ you had a sadistic streak."

"You wouldn't be the first to accuse me of that..." he chuckled, helping himself to his own glass of wine.

"And what about _Reno_? How did _he_ do?"

" _Exceptionally_ well," Tseng replied, smiling. "Even though I didlose him for a couple of days to higher priority assignments. But... I'm quite pleased with _his_ performance, as well."

"Does he even know he was being evaluated, too?" the security officer queried. Tseng shook his head.

"No. He doesn't even know I intend for him to succeed me, yet. And besides which... Reno is at his best when he _doesn't_ realize he's being evaluated. His true nature comes through far better when he's not actively trying to impress me. Incidentally, he'll be in and out of Junon for a day or two next week... as punishment."

Viridia raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" she snickered, "What'd he do to warrant that?"

"Neglected to keep Veld and I in the loop about a matter of... not _catastrophic_ importance, but certainly one that we would have liked to have known about. He'll be escorting your building supplies."

"Can I tease him about it?" she asked, grinning slightly.

"I... would actually prefer you didn't. It's a rather long story, and one that he's quite embarrassed by. It was only recently resolved. Or at least as resolved as I suspect it ever _will_ be... I doubt he'll want to go into the details."

"Reno is _capable_ of being embarrassed?" Viridia joked, and frowned slightly when her lover didn't laugh.

" _Yes_ , he is."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was that serious. Keep in mind, we're talking about someone who was _completely_ unperturbed when I walked in on him having sex with a young, blond private in the bathroom of the female barracks... That kid doesn't embarrass easily."

"Not _easily_ , no... which is why I would ask that you respect his privacy in this. There are some things that even Reno can't simply laugh off."

"Message received," Viridia said, smiling slightly, and taking another sip of wine. "And the other Turklings? How are they?"

Tseng rolled his eyes, and laughed softly. "That really _is_ such an _infantile_ term for individuals being trained as assassins, kidnappers, and spies... I honestly don't understand why everyone is so fond of it. The rookies, I'm sure, wouldn't mind not hearing it used constantly by Kai... and I _know_ Reno would much rather not be called that."

Viridia choked on her drink for a second time, sputtering for a moment before finally composing herself.

"Is she _still_ calling him a Turkling?" she snickered. Tseng sighed and shook his head.

"Worse. She still refers to him as _Baby_ Turkling. He hates it. She claims it's because he looks so young, even compared to our rookies. I... suspect it has more to do with the soft spot for him she's developed." He snorted a faint laugh, "Well... soft by _Kai's_ definition of the word, at any rate," he amended, "She's not quite ready to see him grow up. I believe she sees a lot of herself in him. They both lost their parents as children. They both had to grow up largely alone and _extremely_ self-reliant. And they both would do anything for their adoptive family."

Viridia smiled and took another bite of her dinner. "As if _you_ wouldn't..." she teased. "Well... She'd better knock it off. Pretty soon, _he's_ going to be the one giving the orders."

"I wouldn't say _soon_ ," Tseng chuckled, "Veld isn't in any hurry to step down just yet, and exceptional as he is, my protege is far from ready to fully take on _my_ role on the team."

"Well... maybe _he's_ not ready, but are you sure about Veld?" she giggled, "I thought maybe he'd be smart enough to bow out before that Titan-be-damned reactor opening in Wutai..."

The Turk lieutenant audibly groaned. "Don't remind me... I truly am _dreading_ that. It's going to be a logistical nightmare... especially since the President is still _insisting_ on a Leviathan-forsaken parade through the capitol."

"I'm just glad _I_ won't be helping to coordinate this one. Better you than me..." Viridia said, grinning. Tseng eyed her for a moment and then picked up the salt shaker, passing it over to her. She cocked her head to one side, slightly confused. "What's this for?"

"Just in case you'd care to rub a little _more_ salt into the wound," Tseng replied with a smirk.

"Oh, so _that's_ how it's going to be..." she snickered in reply. "Just for that... you're on dish duty after dinner."

The Turk lieutenant merely smiled and went back to his meal.

~end chapter 42~


	43. Ghosts of the Past

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 43: Ghosts of the Past**

 **by Desha**

Reno was far, _far_ too comfortable. Snuggled down in the warmth of the sheets, with the even _more_ pleasant warmth of a body pressed against his, he really had no desire whatsoever to open his eyes just yet.

The day, however, seemed to have had other ideas.

A shrill squeal cut through the peaceful morning, wrenching him – along with his bedmate – from his doze. Remy sat up blearily, looking around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, before finally swearing under her breath.

"The fuck's goin' on?" Reno asked, yawning as he rubbed his eyes. Remy was already out of bed and pulling on the nearest items of clothing she could find.

"It's the building's fire alarm," she said, sounding thoroughly annoyed. "This is the fourth time this _week_!"

Reno groaned and rolled towards the edge of the bed, dragging himself upright.

"Tch... Who the fuck keeps settin' your building on fire?"

Remy paused just long enough to roll her eyes. "They've all been _false_ alarms, thus far. But it's hardly something you want to take a chance with..."

"... Might be worth it if it means sleepin' in..." he muttered, but got up anyway, stretching his arms over his head. He grabbed for his pants and pulled them on, foregoing everything else. Summer was already making itself known in Midgar. It's not as if he'd freeze to death. He sleepily trailed Remy out into the hallway where they joined a procession of other grumbling building residents already making their way towards the stairways. One woman... an older lady in a red bathrobe and house slippers... eyed the pair of Turks as they emerged from the apartment and merged into the current, a disapproving sneer etched firmly on her face. "The fuck's _her_ problem?" Reno asked.

Remy glanced back over her shoulder, and sighed, shaking her head.

"That's Mrs. Rozinski. Just ignore her. She's a nosy old woman, with far too much time on her hands," Remy replied, a little louder than necessary. Reno plainly heard the woman behind him _hrumph_ in contempt. He ignored it with a shrug and followed Remy down the stairs and out into the parking lot.

As they stood there, waiting for the all-clear, he snickered softly.

"What?" Remy asked, glancing up at him.

"That's _my_ shirt you're wearin', ya know..."

Remy blinked and looked down at her attire... apparently only then realizing that it was about two sizes too big on her. "I suppose it's just as well," she replied, shaking her head, "I... couldn't find anything to put on underneath."

"Oh, _really_ ," the redhead teased, suggestively, before wrapping an arm around his lover. Remy rolled her eyes.

"Don't go getting any bright ideas."

Reno smirked, and leaned down slightly. "Ya know... my car's right over there," he said, nodding in the direction of where he'd parked last night. "The back seat's –"

"What did I _just_ say?" his fellow Turk cut him off, but laughed quietly, shaking her head. She sighed, laughing again. "I don't even know why I bother... Every other thought that passes through your mind is about sex."

" _Hmph_!"

The disapproving snort came from somewhere behind them, and Reno turned... only to find the same old lady from upstairs openly glowering at them.

"Seriously... what the hell's her problem?" he asked dropping his voice.

"She needs to mind her own Leviathan-be-damned business... _That's_ her problem," she muttered in reply. "Who I choose to invite into my apartment to spend the night is _no_ concern of _hers_."

The redhead's face split into a wide grin.

"Ooooh... she's one of _those_ types..." he snickered. He'd had a neighbor like that once, too. Or, rather, Lira had, but as much time has he'd spent in her apartment back then, she might as well have been his neighbor, too... which was actually pretty hilarious, considering half the girls in the building were in the same line of work as Lira was, but for some reason the woman had singled out his friend specifically for her disapproving glares every time they passed one another. "So... someone's finally callin' you out on your well-deserved reputation as a loose woman, huh?" he teased. Remy elbowed him, which only made him laugh harder.

"Oh, be quiet."

Word soon spread through the crowd that it was yet another false alarm, and the building residents, now even _more_ irritated at having been woken up early on a Saturday morning for no reason, began to trickle back inside. Reno and Remy grabbed the first available elevator and rode it upstairs. A few short minutes later, they had collapsed back into bed. Reno nuzzled his check against his lover's collarbone.

"Heh... ya know what gotta do, now, don'tcha?" he snickered, grinning impishly.

"Go back to sleep for an hour or two?" Remy replied, sighing contentedly at the attention.

"Tch... no. We gotta go out in the living room 'n have _really_ loud sex. Ya know. Give that nosy neighbor of yours somethin' to keep her entertained..."

Remy was silent for a moment, before shaking her head. "Don't antagonize the neighbors."

"Aww... why not?" Reno lamented, teasingly.

"Because I _live_ here. I don't need to start a feud of some sort with Mrs. Rozinski," she replied, before giggling faintly, "Besides... the couple next door has kids. As enjoyable as it might be for _us_ , somehow, I don't think _they'd_ appreciate that."

* * *

He was just walking through the door of his apartment when his PHS rang. Reno grunted softly as he shifted both of the bags of groceries he'd picked up on the way home to one arm, and dug the device out of his pocket.

"Reno here," he answered, not taking the time to check the caller ID first. The damn bags were heavy, and juggling them like that was a pain in the ass as it was. He staggered his way towards the kitchenette, hardly able to see over the top of his burden and a moment later gratefully set the load down on the counter.

"Hey... doing anything this afternoon?" Rude's voice asked.

"Eh... not really." He pulled a carton of milk out of one of the bags and tucked it into the fridge, and then started unloading the rest of the food. "Why? What'd you have in mind?"

"Wanna meet someone who knew your mom?"

A can of soup slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a thump. He blinked, trying to process the question.

"W-what?" he stammered.

"I know you didn't think I'd ever find anything... but..."

"You're _serious_?" Reno breathed, feeling his chest tighten slightly at the thought. As far as _he'd_ known, Rude had stopped looking after his birthday. He'd had no idea his friend was still digging for information.

"Yeah. Wanna go?"

"W-wait... what? Like... Right _now_?" Not that he normally cared... but, frankly, he still looked like he'd just woken up from a long night of general debauchery. He hadn't even changed out of his uniform from the day before yet. Or showered, for that matter, and he was pretty sure he smelled like sweat, sex, and Remy's perfume. That... wasn't _quite_ the first impression he wanted to make on one of his mom's friends.

Rude snorted softly in laughter.

"You're just now getting home from a date, aren't you...?" he snickered.

"... No," he replied, rolling his eyes. Sometimes his friend knew him a little too well. "... Maybe."

"You've got time. She offered to have us over for lunch. Pick you up in an hour?"

"Uh... y-yeah. Okay," Reno stammered, still not quite able to believe this was real. Not that he'd scoured the city or anything like that, but he _had_ looked. He hadn't come across anything relating to his mom Plateside _or_ down in the Slums. Leave it to Rude to pull off a miracle like _that_.

"See you then," Rude replied, and the call ended. Reno, somewhat shakily, set the phone down on the countertop.

Someone who'd known his mom? It seemed almost too good to be true... and he wasn't sure if he ought to have been elated... or terrified. He had an image of his mother in his head from over a decade and a half ago, all from the point of view of a _kid_. What if it didn't line up with was this woman told him about her? What if she wasn't who he remembered? Hell, there were _already_ times when he questioned his memories of her, so many of them were faded and dreamlike by now.

His stomach twisted nervously. What if... he somehow learned that she would have been disappointed in him working for Shinra? For becoming a Turk? For... finding a _new_ family and leaving her behind in Sector 2?

Or, worse, what if she'd told this woman that she regretted having him at _all_? It wasn't like his mom had been _planning_ on getting saddled with a kid. He was fairly certain he'd been a complete accident. The result of a profession whose primary risks specifically included unwanted pregnancy. There was no way in hell his mom had been _trying_ to get knocked up when he'd come along. What if this meeting cemented his long-held fear that he really _had_ ruined her life?

Reno swallowed sharply and forced himself to take a breath. He really _had_ to stop doing that. Obsessing over negative possibilities put him into a state of mind where he felt like he was drowning... sometimes literally. It made it feel like he was struggling to breathe normally, and he _hated_ it when he let himself get that worked up. Aside from being slightly terrifying, it reminded him a little too much of the two thoroughly humiliating episodes he'd had when he been given that Ifrit-forsaken pain medicine in the hospital.

He shook his head as he slowly calmed down. No matter what he might learn... he didn't have a choice. He couldn't just _not_ go. He might never get another opportunity like this and he'd be kicking himself forever if he missed out. Plus, Rude had to have gone to a hell of a lot of trouble to find her for him. He didn't want those efforts to be wasted.

Reno made quick work of the remaining groceries, and then hurried into his bedroom to get ready.

* * *

His normally talkative friend was rather shockingly quiet as Rude pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. Reno's gaze was affixed firmly out the passenger side window and he was absently rubbing the back of one hand with his thumb. He reached over and tapped him on the shoulder, and the redhead jumped nearly high enough to smack his head on the ceiling of the truck's cab. Rude snickered and turned onto the freeway.

"Nervous?"

"Tch... What do I gotta be nervous about? I'm just meetin' someone who probably knew my mom longer than _I_ did..."

Rude grinned. Yeah... Reno was _definitely_ nervous.

"So... um... who _is_ this lady, anyway?" his friend hesitantly queried.

"Her name is Penny. Penny Trask. Used to be a singer at a nightclub over in Sector 1. Your mom worked there for awhile, too. 'Til it burned down."

The redhead turned towards him, brow furrowed. "W-wait... Mom used to work up here on the Plate?" he queried, sounding more than a little shocked. Rude shrugged.

"Worked... and used to live up here, too, apparently. Still not sure how she ended up down below in Two. Penny didn't know, either. Thinks she might have gotten herself into some kind of trouble and disappeared... but... um... fair warning on that. She's... a little out there."

"What'dya mean?"

Rude chuckled softly. "She believes there are evil clones roaming the city and I don't think she's physically left her apartment in years for fear of running into one. Her husband worked for Shinra biologics and died in a lab accident a long time ago... which is probably at least _partly_ to blame for her paranoia and the conspiracy theory. She got a pretty big payout from the Company afterwards. Some from the life insurance they have on every employee, and some as part of an agreement that she wouldn't try to sue them over the accident. Haven't had time to dig too deep into it, but it sounds like someone was negligent. Three guesses who."

"Tch... Biologics department? I only need one. Hojo, right?" Reno muttered with a scowl. Rude nodded. "Why the _fuck_ do we keep that asshole around, anyway?"

"His research makes us money. And it's not all zenenes and poisonous jelly monsters, you know," Rude replied, with a shrug, "You hear they're developing a way to heal injuries twice as fast as normal using mako? Could come in handy."

"Yeah, yeah..." Reno replied, waving a dismissive hand. "He's still an asshole."

Rude snorted softly in laughter... but didn't disagree. He had no great love for the bespectacled scientist, either. Not after the aforementioned incident with the zenenes... or nearly losing his best friend to a sentient lump of goo. But irresponsible in his research or not, the man was undeniably a genius, and many of his inventions and projects had ultimately done a lot of good for both the company and Midgar in general, over the years. Reno was right, though... on a personal level, at least, the man really was an asshole.

"So... anyway... She tell ya anything else 'bout my mom?"

"Hmph... ask her yourself. This is it," Rude said, nodding towards the condo they were pulling up in front of.

* * *

"You know... I hear _some_ people do this strange thing on the weekend," Viridia said, as she stepped behind her lover and rested her hands on his shoulders.

"Mmm? What's that?" Tseng queried, not looking up.

"They _stop working_ ," she snickered, snatching his phone out of his hand in one fluid motion and hiding it behind her back. The Turk lieutenant stood and spun around to face her, a faint look of surprise on his face.

"You're hardly one to talk, _Lieutenant Commander_..." he chuckled, "Remind me... which of us was awake and out of bed at five this morning to check on last night's incident reports?"

Viridia grinned. "And which of us was out of bed less than thirty seconds later to check his phone for incoming security alerts?"

"Well... you'd _already_ woken me by then. I simply thought I'd make the best of it," Tseng teased, smiling as he reached for her hand... and his phone. "But... you're right. It's the weekend, and we're _both_ off duty at the same time for once. Which begs the question... what _are_ we going to do today?"

Viridia's grin widened as she pulled him closer and pressed her lips to his. Tseng only too eagerly returned the affection, letting his hand rise to the back of her head, toying with the precision-cropped hair at the base of her skull. His Viridia truly was a marvel. There weren't many women out there who would not only _tolerate_ the demands of his job, but also never once take offense when he was forced to put the job before her. It was a rare level of understanding that she likely only possessed because she treated her own chosen career in exactly the same way. They sometimes went weeks at a time without seeing one another... occasionally – though he tried his best to avoid it – without even speaking.

Which made the time they _did_ have to spend together off-duty all the more valuable.

She finally broke the kiss and pulled away, smiling.

" _I_ think we need to get off-base for awhile... before one of my subordinates decides they can't function without me for a full forty-eight straight," she replied. "What do you think about a little trip over to Kalm on chocobo-back? And if it gets too late before we're ready to come back, we'll just... find a nice hotel room."

"I think that sounds perfect."

"Good... Because I already rented the chocobos and the deposit is non-refundable," Viridia laughed, "If we leave right now, we'll be in that pretty little spot up in the mountains just in time for a nice picnic lunch.

* * *

Reno glanced around the dimly lit dining room, and swallowed nervously. He wasn't even sure where he ought to start. He'd spent the last few minutes, while their hostess had been in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on their lunch, wracking his brain for ideas on what to ask her.

Penny had greeted them in an... _interesting_... fashion. Once all of the locks had been undone and the pair ushered inside – and then each and every lock _re_ locked behind them – the woman's whole demeanor had changed. She'd gone from suspicious and hesitant to warm and inviting so quickly that Reno half-wondered if she had multiple personalities. Rude was right... she was _definitely_ a little strange.

His graze drifted to the framed posters and photos on the walls that surrounded the heavy wooden table. Mostly of Penny herself, in her younger days. There were pictures of her performing on stage... advertisements billing upcoming concerts that had happened decades ago... photos of her and a man Reno assumed was her late husband... A veritable timeline of the woman's life. It looked like she'd had quite a career back in the day. For awhile, at least.

"Relax, will ya?" Rude snickered quietly.

"Tch... Easy for _you_ to say..." the redhead snorted in reply.

"Here we are!" Penny called out cheerfully, and a moment later emerged from the kitchen bearing a tray of sandwiches and side dishes, which she dutifully placed on the table in front of her guests. "Help yourself, and don't be shy about taking seconds!"

She smiled at the redhead as she settled into a chair across from him and shook her head.

"I just can't believe how much you look like Aria..."

When Reno didn't say anything, Rude subtly elbowed him.

"... I-I do?" he finally managed. It was probably the hair. His mother's had been the same unusually vibrant shade as his, and it was _definitely_ his most memorable feature.

"Oh, absolutely. You've got her hair, of course, but that'd be hard _not_ to notice. It's so much more than that, though. I can really _see_ her in your entire face. Same eyes, same nose, same mischievous little smile... same Shiva-be-damned _perfect_ cheekbones," she chuckled, "I'm not ashamed to admit, I was always a little jealous of those cheekbones..."

The redhead found himself grinning slightly in response. He'd... never realized that. Well, to be more accurate, it had just never really occurred to him that the family resemblance might go deeper than just hair color... and he suddenly found himself longing for a mirror.

"She was a pretty little thing, alright," Penny continued, "And that voice of hers..." She chuckled softly. "I was damn good singer, I don't mind telling you. Could've gone a lot farther than I did if I hadn't talked myself out of it early on and quit just as I was making a name for myself. Your mom, though... she was better. Plain and simple, she was better. It's too bad she wound up in that sad little excuse for a club, like I did, waiting to be discovered. If the right person had come along... well... she was stuck waiting for the big break that never came, and I was stuck there wishing I hadn't turned _mine_ down years ago."

"She... wanted to be a singer?" Reno asked, cocking his head to one side in curiosity.

"More than _anything_ ," Penny replied. "That girl loved to sing. And people loved to listen. She had a talent, that's for sure. Just... never met the right person to help her get her career off the ground. Doesn't happen for everyone, after all."

"... What was she like?" the younger Turk found himself asking. It wasn't the question he'd intended to ask... but he quickly realized that it was the one he most wanted answered. Penny smiled.

"She was... a real spitfire. She could be the sweetest little thing you've ever met... until you ticked her off. Aria was the kind of person who'd trip all over herself to help someone out, and didn't tolerate anyone mistreating her friends. Nothin' would set her temper off faster than _that_. She'd follow the orders our boss barked at us... put up with the customers... did whatever she had to to get by. But if someone went too far with me or one of the other girls at the club? You did _not_ want to be in her line of fire..."

Reno laughed softly. That, at least, he knew _had_ to have been true. He didn't remember _a lot_ about his mother, but one thing that had never left him was how safe she had always made him feel. _No one_ messed with him when she was around. Not even men twice her size. He very distinctly remembered her putting some asshole slum rat in his place when he'd dared raise a hand to him when he was around four or so. Reno didn't recall what he'd done to bring the man's wrath down upon himself, but his mom was having none of it.

"Did... Mom have any family?" he hesitantly queried. He didn't remember her ever talking about brothers or sisters or even her own parents... so he'd just thought that she didn't have any family by the time he'd come along. But if he was wrong about her being from the Slums, then maybe... maybe he had _other_ family out there. Somewhere.

"Not as far as she told _me_ ," Penny replied. "Way I understand it, her parents weren't around, growing up. Dead or just absent... I don't know. Never went into detail on that. She was raised by her grandfather in Kalm, and when he died, Aria moved herself to Midgar."

The redhead blinked in surprise. "Mom... was from Kalm?" he repeated, somewhat in shock. All his life, he'd always assumed she must've been born in the Slums, like _most_ people that lived down below. When Rude had told him that she used to live topside, he'd been more than a little surprised, but... well, it _did_ sometimes happen. People hit a streak of seriously bad luck and couldn't afford the cost of living topside anymore. They either left the city... or relocated to the Slums.

But now he was being told that she hadn't even been born in _Midgar_.

He wondered where she'd lived when she was little. Had it been one of the houses he himself had walked past any number of times when he'd visited the quiet eastern village? Or maybe one of the cottages on the outskirts? What had happened to _her_ parents? How had she ended up with her grandfather... his _great-_ grandfather? Why did she choose the Slums over going home to Kalm?

Penny smiled understandingly.

"Kind of a lot to take in?" she asked, chuckling softly. Reno nodded mutely, and he felt Rude's hand squeezing his shoulder. "Why don't I tell you about some of the things us gals got up to after hours at the club? Your mother was an _expert_ at getting us into all sorts of mischief... and _not_ getting caught in the act."

* * *

It was nearing eight P.M. by the time Reno and Rude had finally headed for home. Lunch had eventually turned into dinner. Penny'd had quite a few stories for the redhead... most of which had been fun to hear, and a few that had caught the younger Turk completely off-guard. They'd parted with an invitation for him to drop by again sometime.

Rude prodded him as they were pulling into the parking lot of his apartment complex.

"You look kinda drained," he commented. Reno sat up slightly and managed a smile.

"That was... weird. _Awesome_. But weird. Ya know... findin' out that Mom had this whole life before me that I never knew anything about. I think I'm still processing..."

Rude pulled into a parking space, and Reno glanced out at the darkening skying. The sun had almost set.

"You... uh... wanna come up for a beer? Hang out for awhile?" the redhead asked. His friend smirked slightly.

"That your way of saying you're not ready to be alone yet?" he replied, nudging him gently in the ribs with an elbow.

"Tch... quit that," Reno muttered shoving the offending appendage away. "... And... yeah. If you're not totally sick of me yet, I mean."

Rude gave a faint snort of amusement and shut off the engine before climbing out of the cab of his truck. Reno grinned and hopped out as well, leading the way into the building. The pair stepped aboard the elevator, riding it upstairs, and the redhead quickly let himself into his apartment, ushering his friend in as well. He turned and shut the door with a quiet sigh.

"Hey... Rude?" he began, turning back to him.

"I know it wasn't _everything_ you were hoping for..." Rude interjected, shaking his head. "Hmph... think Penny probably _raised_ more questions for you than she answered..."

Reno quickly shook his head. "What? No way... Are you fuckin' _kidding_ me? I didn't think you'd find _anything_. Wasn't sure there was anything left _to_ find. I mean... yeah, now I'm totally wonderin' how the _fuck_ Mom ended up in Sector 2... but... I never woulda found out _any_ of that on my own."

Rude laughed quietly and dragged him in close, hugging him tightly.

"Seriously, man," Reno added, his voice slightly muffed against the broader Turk's chest, "You're the best... I'm never gonna be able to repay ya for this."

He suddenly found himself being held at arm's length, with Rude looking directly at him.

"You don't owe me anything," he stated, firmly, and then grinned. "Except that beer you already promised me. I _am_ gonna hold you to _that_."

~end chapter 43~


	44. In Wutai

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 44: In Wutai**

 **by Desha**

"Come on, Boss... gimme a little direction here. I've never _been_ to Wutai," Reno grumbled as he sorted through his options. Uniforms were a given, of course. But they'd be there for a _week_. There was going to be plenty of off-duty time as well, and he wanted to make good use of it... _without_ looking like an idiot.

His mentor chuckled quietly and joined him in front of the closet.

"Reno... your off-duty wardrobe is comprised almost entirely of t-shirts and jeans. Exactly what sort of 'direction' are you looking for?"

"Tch... _I_ dunno. I mean... is it gonna be like... Costa del Sol hot? Or just Midgar hot?"

"It will be _hot_... but likely not overly so in the capitol. It's towards the northern end of the island, which tends to be a bit more temperate than the southern regions. The mountains will likely still be fairly cool, and the lowlands... will depend largely on how much rain they've gotten this season. If it's been a particularly wet year, you can count on both heat _and_ humidity."

"So... Mideel hot?" the redhead ventured, drawing a laugh from Tseng.

"Not quite _that_ bad. You should be fine with whatever you would wear here at home this time of year... and perhaps a light jacket for the more mountainous locales," he replied, before smiling teasingly, "Now... are we having lunch or not?"

It was Saturday... and his mentor had invited him to join him for the afternoon, both to spend a little time together _and_ to go over the candidates for promotion. Over the last month and a half, and much to his surprise, Reno had been called in twice more to give Tseng his opinion on potential new rookies. In that time, Tseng and Veld had narrowed the pool down from fourteen to six. Now he was being asked, again, for his input.

In addition to that, though, the team was preparing for the trip to Wutai, which would be taking place next week, for the new reactor opening. The last few weeks at the office had been something of a frenzy as last minute details were seen to and itineraries were finalized. Veld and Remy would be on the President's security detail, while Tseng and Reno looked after the Vice President. The others would see to general security.

Reno was... excited. Somehow, none of his assignments in the last three years had ever taken him to his mentor's homeland, and he was looking forward to seeing it for himself. And by this time Monday, that's exactly what he'd be doing.

"Yeah, yeah... Let's go," he snickered in response to the senior Turk's inquiry, "Heh... ya know, it's usually _me_ askin' that question..."

"The irony is _not_ lost on me," Tseng teased, smiling slightly as he ushered the younger man towards the door. They headed downstairs and out into the parking lot, where the senior Turk's car sat, shiny and black, in the afternoon sunshine.

"Soooo..." the redhead began, eyeing the vehicle.

"No," Tseng replied, pointedly.

"You're _really_ never gonna let me drive it again?"

The Wutaiian Turk snorted softly. "I didn't _let_ you drive it the _first_ time, as I recall."

Reno grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he made his way over to the passenger side door.

"Yeah... I kinda hopped you'd forgotten that little detail by now."

"Not likely," Tseng snickered, "Get in. I think, for once, I may actually be hungrier than _you_ are."

"Not likely," Reno parroted, grinning widely as he obliged and settled himself into the seat. He pulled the seatbelt across his body and Tseng started the engine. Soon, they were flying down the road towards Sector 4. "So... Who's your top pick at this point?"

"I'm still rather impressed with Miss Latchley... though Veld isn't quite as convinced. He seems to think she may be a bit too immature." He shook his head and took a sharp right. "And I'll admit... that little stunt she pulled a few days ago doesn't _exactly_ help her case."

At only seventeen, Zephyr Latchley was easily the youngest recruit under consideration. Apparently, the young woman had accidentally flooded most of the Turks' recruitment center's first floor in a badly executed prank last week. The damage wasn't _extensive_... but it was going to take quite some time to dry things out, and a number of training programs had to be put on hold or relocated to other facilities as a result.

The redhead laughed quietly. "Yeah... well... if we promote her, it's not like she'd be the _first_ rookie to ever do somethin' stupid," he replied in a somewhat self-deprecating tone.

"No... she most certainly _wouldn't_ ," Tseng smirked in response, shooting him a knowing look.

"Hey! Ya weren't s'posed to _agree_ with me..."

"Given your history, how could I not? Shall we start with your _first_ arrest? Or the zoo incident? Or, perhaps, your eviction?" his mentor jokingly deadpanned. Reno snorted softly in laughter.

"Yeah, okay... I don't need an itemized list of all the dumb shit I've done over the years, Boss."

Tseng smiled as they pulled into a parking lot outside one of the redhead's favorite pizza chains.

"Thankfully, you grew _out_ of that phase," his mentor added, "And so will Latchley. I think, if given the opportunity, she will very quickly prove herself, just as you did. She's certainly eager to please."

"Yeah... She's in my top three," Reno acknowledged, "And we're gettin' pineapple on this, right?"

Tseng sighed. "You may get pineapple on _your_ half, if you absolutely must... Frankly, your preferred topping combination turns _my_ stomach a bit."

Reno laughed and climbed out of the car. Okay... so _maybe_ pineapple, jalapeños, and onions was a little... odd... on a pizza. But he liked it. It had been a drunken accident that he'd even _learned_ that he liked it, but the combination had very quickly become his favorite. Even sober. He seemed to be the only one who enjoyed, it, however. Rude found it as disgusting as Tseng did, and Lira wouldn't even let him order it when she visited. He hadn't yet tried introducing it to the rookies.

Soon enough, the pair were seated at one of the tables outside, enjoying the sun and a soft breeze beneath a large patio umbrella. Tseng sorted through the remaining candidates' files while they waited for their order to arrive.

"You said Latchley is in your top three?" he queried, glancing up. Reno nodded.

"Yep. Her, Taiko, and Reese."

Victor Reese, in particular, stood out from the group... at least in Reno's opinion. At twenty-four, he was a bit older and more experienced than the other candidates. He'd served in Shinra's army during the Meaningless War – as the war with Wutai had widely come to be known – before being honorably discharged and applying to the Turks' recruitment program last spring. He was a demolitions expert – something the team was notably lacking with Sato gone – and also had experience with heavy ordnance, including the large cannons on board Shinra's airships.

Ryuunosuke Taiko, on the other hand, hailed from Wutai, originally... but his family had come to Midgar when he was still a very small child, and his father had had a hand in the design of the more modern mako reactors, including the one that was being prepped to come online in his homeland. At nineteen, he was a serious, quietly observant young man who didn't really stand out much... which was, oddly enough, what had caught Reno's interest. Sykes was good when it came to stealth... but Ryuunosuke was practically _invisible_ when he wanted to be. In fact... the redhead was all but certain the kid used materia to aid him in that, as materia was also his primary weapon... another major benefit. The Turks hadn't had a member who used materia to that extent in the entire time Reno had been on the team. Apparently the last time they _had_ , Tseng hadn't even been promoted to Second yet.

The Turk leader pulled the three files from the stack, and made a small note on each of them. Reno frowned slightly and cocked his head to one side.

"Hey... Boss?"

"Mmm?" Tseng acknowledged without looking up from the folders in front of him.

"I mean... I know ya already told me that you 'n Veld just want an extra set of eyes on the newbies, but... sure seems like you're puttin' a lot of weight on what I got to say about 'em..."

The Wutaiian Turk finally returned his gaze to his lunch companion and chuckled.

"Is it really so shocking that I value your opinion?"

"... No. I mean, I know ya _trust_ me 'n shit. Just... why me 'n not any of the others? I don't ever see ya askin' Remy or Kai or Rude to weigh in on this."

"Having _everyone_ present their arguments for and against each candidate would very swiftly devolve into a free-for-all," Tseng stated, "We'd never get anywhere... which is why it has always been just myself and Veld evaluating candidates previously. This time around, we decided that an additional voice would be beneficial and I chose yours. It's as simple as that."

Reno eyed him somewhat skeptically, to which Tseng responded with a quiet laugh.

"You're not forever beholden to your past mistakes, Reno. Youthful foolishness aside, you've proven yourself a capable and responsible member of the team. You've grown up. I can see that, and so can Veld." A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Actually... I think at least _some_ of those mistakes might just give you a rather unique perspective when it comes to evaluating new Turks, in addition to your innate ability to judge a person's character. And after all, what's the sense in having such a tool in our arsenal if we don't put it to good use whenever we can?"

Before Reno could respond, their waiter arrived bearing the pizza they'd ordered... Half with Reno's toppings, and half with plain old ordinary sausage. Tseng sighed and shook his head.

"Your judgment on Turk matters I know I can trust implicitly... You judgment on _lunch_ , however..." He grimaced as the redhead selected a slice from his half, grinning as the cheese oozed and stretched as it was pulled away from the main body of the pizza.

"Aw, come on, Tseng... Ya might actually _like_ it if ya _tried_ it."

"It might also make me violently ill..." Tseng replied, with a teasing smirk.

"Tch... oh, please," the redhead said, rolling his eyes, "I mean... sure my cooking is shit, but I don't think even _I'm_ bad enough to poison someone just by orderin'."

Tseng laughed and reached for one of the smaller slices on Reno's side of the pie. "Fine... I'll try it. But if I end up in the hospital having my stomach pumped at some point this weekend, _you're_ going be the one explaining to Veld why I missed our flight on Monday."

* * *

"Whoa..."

Liam gazed upwards that the massive airship that was tethered with steal cables as thick as his arm to the tarmac at one end of the Junon base. It was like... a floating city! He'd seen the hulking behemoths many times before, but it had always been from a distance. Standing right underneath one now, he could hardly believe something so huge could remain airborne.

"Seconded..." Sykes breathed, coming to a halt beside him. A moment later, both rookies jumped slightly as something poked them squarely between the shoulder blades.

"Come on, guys... Ya can't spend all day starin' at that thing. We gotta get _on_ it," Reno said, prodding them forward with a finger in each of their backs. He glanced back over his shoulder. "Tch... You, too, Petra. Move it!"

Liam grinned and quickened his pace towards the airship's gangway. Sykes and Petra weren't far behind. The redhead snickered and hurried after them. He couldn't blame them for being excited. It wasn't every day you got to take a trip on one of those bastards. Hell, _he'd_ only been on one twice before... and never for journey as long as the one they were making today.

Veld and Tseng had left early that morning, accompanying the President and Vice President to Junon. The senior Shinra had wanted to get settled in on the airship ahead of time... and Rufus wanted a tour. The Highwind was the newest, most advanced ship the Company had, having just been completed six months ago. It was the new flagship of Shinra's fleet, and, even Reno had to admit, it was pretty goddamned impressive.

With the Turks' two highest ranking members otherwise occupied, Remy had been put in charge of getting the rest of the team to Junon in a timely fashion, as well as ensuring that all supplies were on board and any last minute preparations were taken care of. In turn, she had placed Reno exclusively in charge of ensuring that the _rookies_ made it on board, appointing him to wrangle all three of them and keep them out of trouble while the others saw to any unexpected issues – of which there had been more than a few. He didn't really mind rookie-sitting. They weren't particularly hard to keep in line, and besides... he kind of _liked_ being in charge of them. It was like having his own little mini-team.

They made their way up the steep ramp that led to the open deck of the Highwind, and Reno looked around in curiosity. This one was _definitely_ bigger than the last airship he'd been on. Shinra had four of the damn things... though the oldest was due to be retired and scrapped in the near future . Highwind was taking its place. Apparently it had been designed by one of Palmer's guys over in Rocket Town and was absolutely state of the art.

Liam, by then, had dashed across to the railing on the far side and was peering over it, looking down at the ocean below the military base.

"Watch it, rookie. You fall overboard, I'm not jumping off after ya," the redhead teased as he made his way over.

"Yes, sir," Liam replied, grinning.

"Sir? What's Wutai like?" Petra queried, joining the pair near the railing, "I've never been."

"Me neither," Reno replied with a shrug. He elbowed Liam. "You have, though... right, kid?"

"Yes, sir... I lived there for about a year when I was twelve. Actually, my dad got reassigned there when construction on the reactor started, so my whole family's there right now."

"Oooh... a family reunion!" Petra squealed, "Why didn't you tell us?!"

Liam sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Well... I don't really _know_ if I'll get to see them while we're there. I mean... even if we're in the same general area, _I'll_ be working, and Mom and Dad'll both be working, and Cassie'll be busy with school..."

"In the summer?" Sykes cut in. Liam snickered.

"She's... kind of an over-achiever. She's taking summer classes so she can graduate early and then she's planning to enlist and go into engineering like my dad."

"Tch... I'm sure you can find _some_ time to visit. We're not gonna be on duty twenty-four seven, ya know..." Reno pointed out.

"Well, I know what _I'm_ looking forward to seeing..." said Sykes. "The Turtle's Paradise."

"What's that?" the redhead asked, and Liam grinned.

"It's a bar in the Wutaiian capitol city. They're pretty famous, actually. You've never heard of it?"

Reno shook his head. "Nope..." he replied with a shrug, and laughed, " _Buuuuut_ to be fair, there's probably still a _lot_ I've never heard of. Hazard of growin' up in the Slums 'n droppin' outta what passes for school down there at twelve or so... What's so special about it?"

"For one thing... they brew some of the best sake on the planet," a voice interrupted, and Reno smirked as he turned and found Remy standing directly behind him.

"You plannin' on payin' a visit there, too?" he teased. To his surprise, the senior Turk smiled slightly.

"At the very _least_ I plan on bringing a bottle or two home with me," she replied... before pointedly looking at the rookies, "And I would _strongly_ recommend partaking in _moderation_ if you three are going. This _isn't_ a vacation."

"Yes, ma'am," the trio quickly chorused, drawing a faint laugh from the redhead.

"Man, Remy... you really got these kids trained," he snickered. Remy smirked.

"Tseng asked me to inform you that we'll be leaving in ten. You should get settled in your cabins. The deck is going to get busy _very_ quickly, and the crew doesn't need passengers underfoot."

Reno grinned and turned to the rookies. "Well? You heard the lady... Get out from underfoot!" he commanded, laughingly. The trio hurried to comply, scurrying off towards the lower decks where the passenger cabins were located. Remy chuckled softly, shaking her head as they disappeared.

"Headin' out to a bar soon as we get there, huh?" Reno teased. "You takin' me with ya?"

"Hmph... considering what's happened every _other_ time I've been in a bar with you? No," the senior Turk deadpanned. The redhead's grin widened, and Remy rolled her eyes. "And don't you give me that look... Like I told the rookies, this _isn't_ a vacation. We're there in a _professional_ capacity, and we will behave as such."

"So... no drunken orgies, then?"

"Reno..." she warningly intoned. He laughed and headed off in the same direction the rookies had just vanished in.

"I know... Not when we're on duty," he chuckled. "But, uh... if ya happen to get a little lonely when we're _not_ workin', ya know where to find me."

Remy rolled her eyes again and followed him towards the staircase leading down into the ship. "Drunken orgies, indeed," she scoffed, "Just who _else_ were you planning to invite?"

* * *

Reno gazed out of the narrow window in his cabin, eyes roving the landscape far below them. For several hours, the scenery had consisted primarily of open water and clouds... with the occasional shoreline or island coming into view, and, every once in awhile, a flock of birds could be spotted in the distance. But now... _now_ they were over land again.

And he didn't have to ask where they were. The huge faces carved into the mountains overlooking the Wutaiian capitol city made their location pretty obvious. The Da-Chou statue, along with its fellow stone deities, was famous the world over. Even growing up isolated from much of the world, Reno at least _knew_ of the monument.

A knock at his cabin door pulled his gaze away from the sights below.

"Come in," he called out, and a moment later, Tseng stepped inside. Reno grinned and glanced back out the window. "I never knew they were _that_ fuckin' _big_. How the hell'd they carve 'em?"

His mentor joined him at the window, smiling faintly as he, too, took in the sight.

"Many decades and many artisans. I agree... it's hardly fathomable. They truly _are_ breathtaking, aren't they?"

"So... stupid question," Reno said looking over at his mentor. "Um... Who exactly _was_ this Da-Chou guy, anyway?"

Tseng chuckled quietly. "It largely depends on which legend you subscribe to. In some versions – particularly those favored in the regions around the mountain itself – he was nothing short of a god of the sea. In others, more of a demi-god... mortal, but with strength and powers far beyond those of normal men. Whichever you choose to believe, however, Da-Chou is regarded as the one true master of Leviathan and an ancient protector of Wutai."

Reno cocked his head to one side, studying the monument.

"How come he's bigger than the others?"

"Wutai is an island nation," Tseng said, simply, "The sea is the lifeblood of Wutai... It's only natural that the sea god is the most revered. But I'm afraid the history lesson will have to wait for another time. We'll be landing shortly, and are needed at Rufus' side for the welcoming ceremony."

He reached out and straightened Reno's tie... an accessory that the younger Turk had begrudgingly agreed to wear for the many public appearances he'd be making as part of the vice president's entourage. The redhead heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Can't believe you're makin' me wear this thing again..."

"I haven't _made_ you wear one since you were a rookie," his mentor chuckled, "In fact... as I recall, you _stopped_ wearing one after, what... two months on the job? If that..." He gently tugged it to the center and tightened it slightly against his protege's throat, before smirking slightly. "Which would explain why you _still_ haven't mastered tying it..."

Reno sorted softly. "I learn how to tie the damn thing, all I'm _really_ doin' is givin' you an excuse to make me wear it."

Tseng laughed and, finally satisfied with the redhead's appearance, gestured towards the door.

"Come on. We can't keep the vice president waiting."

* * *

"Festive..." Rude commented as he trailed the executive party down the gangway. The Highwind had set down just outside of the city, where a delegation from Wutai – as well as a rather significant crowd – had gathered to welcome them. Even from a distance, he could see that the city streets had been decorated with streamers and paper lanterns – both for the occasion and for the mid-summer festival that was currently taking place – and he could hear the faint strains of music wafting in on the breeze.

"I wonder how many of them are _really_ that happy to see us..." Kai commented. Rude made a faint sound of agreement in response. After all... this was a country that, not all that long ago, Shinra had trounced in a war. And as the losing side, Wutai had been forced to make several concessions before the treaty was signed, probably the biggest being the surrender of about ninety percent of the country's materia and the agreement to allow the construction of the reactor. The former was precautionary. Wutai's main defenses came in the form of ground troops and materia wielders. Taking away their materia significantly crippled their fighting force and ensured that hostilities would be unlikely to reignite. The latter was merely Shinra's prize for winning.

Shinra had largely let Wutai be once the hostilities had ended. They'd taken their materia and built their reactor... but otherwise had allowed the island nation to go back to the way things had been before. Well... as much as possible in the aftermath of a war, that is. Casualties in Wutai had been heavy. Shinra had lost men as well, of course, but proportionally, Wutai was far worse off in the end.

Somewhat ironically, the only thing that had prevented their loses from being truly catastrophic had been Sephiroth's victory over the summoned Leviathan. That single blow had crushed enemy morale and forced Lord Godo to see reason before things could get worse than they already were. Even so, the ceasefire had come too late for many. Being that Wutai had no _standing_ army, and their forces were largely made up of volunteers and conscripted citizens, huge swathes of Wutai's workforce had been wiped out leading up to that final confrontation. Farmers... merchants... engineers... artists... So many dead. It would be a long time before the island recovered.

Still... there was a tangible excitement in the crowd. Not the restless sort of excitement one might associate with impeding danger... but more of curiosity. Or perhaps it was just that they knew that Shinra Company, if it _really_ wanted to, could ruin them. One wrong move... one unfortunate incident... and what was left of the Wutaiian economy could end up blacklisted worldwide on Shinra's say-so. They were welcoming and friendly because the alternative would almost certainly have dire consequences.

Kai suddenly elbowed him and nodded to the road leading into the capitol. The crowd was quickly parting, allowing Lord Godo himself and his retinue past. The Wutaiian leader was perched atop a covered sedan carried by four rather intimidatingly large men. At his side was a young girl, maybe ten or eleven years old, who looked thoroughly annoyed with the pomp and circumstance surrounding her. Godo's daughter, Rude surmised, Yuffie Kisuragi. The sedan was accompanied by a full contingent of servants and guards.

Rude glanced further down the gangway at the vice president's detail... and at the redhead who seemed rather enthralled by the fancy procession... and snickered quietly. Reno was _definitely_ going to get to see the more traditional side of Wutai on this trip. Rude had only been to Wutai a few times before today. The first time, though, was perhaps the trip he remembered best. He'd been ten at the time, and had been allowed to join his father on a rare freight delivery to the island that just happened to coincide with the spring cherry blossom festival. They'd spent the day seeing the sights, sampling the local cuisine, watching performers... just... acting like a father and son. It was one of his favorite memories, in fact. A time before the pain of his mother's death had driven them apart.

It still stung. Being rejected by your only living parent... all because you reminded them too much of the person they'd lost. Oh, his father had never come right out and said it, of course. But Rude knew. He'd felt his father pushing him away for years, and had struggled for so long to understand why... but eventually it had clicked. By then, though... it was far too late to do anything about it.

He didn't bother going home anymore.

It made his return to Wutai today somewhat bittersweet, having that happy memory juxtaposed with the current state of his relationship with the man.

At last they reached the ground and he and Kai hung back, watching the crowd while the President dealt with the formalities. Rude largely ignored the short speeches from the pair of leaders in favor of keeping an eye out for trouble... but no one seemed interested in interrupting the meeting. In short order, the President and Vice President had boarded a second sedan chair and were being carried towards the imperial residence, flanked by their security details.

Thankfully, today was going to be a _short_ day. The real celebration wouldn't be starting until tomorrow, when the parade took them through the city and back to the sacred mountain... where the President would make a speech regarding the future and Wutai's role in it. That would be followed by a tour of some of Wutai's most important cultural sites, conducted by Lord Godo himself. And then a formal dinner with the imperial family and their guests of honor.

Followed by the _rest_ of the week, each day of which had events planned. They had a very _full_ schedule. It would culminate with a trip into the southern mountains to officially open the reactor at the end of the week, yet another formal dinner, and finally their departure the following morning.

"Hmph... If everything this week is as over the top as _this_ , I'm going to need a vacation when we get home," Kai snickered. Rude snorted softly and glanced over at her as they followed the procession back into the city.

"Think anyone would notice if we _accidentally_ missed the flight back to Midgar on Sunday?" he joked. Kai smirked.

"I won't say anything if you don't..." she replied, with a teasing grin.

* * *

Wutai was... beautiful. Everywhere he looked, Reno could see lush greenery, and amazing architecture. It was old-fashioned, but not in the provincial way Kalm was old-fashioned. The city had a feeling of culture and pride to it. Kalm was a quaint little mining town. Wutai's capitol was... something else entirely. He wasn't quite sure how to describe it. It was as if he could literally _feel_ the history of the place oozing from the very ground.

As they entered the city proper, however, he could see the vestiges of the all-too-recent war. Buildings near the shore still bore the scars of the battle waged there between Sephiroth and Leviathan, and some had yet to even be rebuilt. Most of the city, though, was still intact, and the procession was pointedly steered _away_ from the damaged sections. As they walked, Reno could see dozens... maybe even hundreds of people... peering at them from houses and storefronts. More still lined the streets, vying to get a good look.

He glanced up at Rufus, seated in the strange little man-powered... vehicle? He supposed it could be classified as a vehicle of some sort. He had no idea what the hell it was called, but it _was_ kind of cool. Very ornate, and painted a vibrant red and gold, carried by four of the Wutaiian emperor's men. He was actually just the tiniest bit jealous he didn't get to ride in it. It looked like fun.

They wound their way through the streets, and it quickly became apparent that they weren't taking the most direct route to wherever they were going. Instead, they seemed to be giving everyone in town ample opportunity to get a good look at their guests.

The crowd waved and called out to them as they passed by, though the redhead couldn't understand a word of it... which, frankly was more than a little disconcerting. For all he knew, they could have been threatening to kill him with a smile on their faces... Tseng didn't look particularly concerned, however, so he could only assume that the ongoing chatter was benign.

Ahead of them, Reno could see some sort of tower rising above the other buildings. They seemed to be heading straight for it now.

"Hey, Boss," he said, nudging Tseng, "What's that?"

"The Pagoda of the Five Gods," his mentor replied, "Challenging it is something of a right of passage for young warriors. On each floor, they must face and defeat a master. Very few have ever made it to the top..."

"You ever do it?" Reno asked, and Tseng chuckled.

"Once... _many_ years ago, and entirely on a dare from my bother, Jian, on my first visit ever to the capitol. I was very quickly put in my place by the first master. Jian dared my eldest brother to try his luck as well, but Hisao was a bit more... realistic... than I was back then."

The redhead grinned. "You mean smarter?" he teased.

"In my defense, I _was_ only nine at the time."

Reno snorted a quiet laugh, and glanced over at the senior Turk. "Ya know... It's surprisingly comforting knowin' that you apparently fucked up as much as _I_ did as a kid..."

Tseng merely rolled his eyes in response... but the redhead caught a brief glimpse of a smile on his face before both men turned their attention back to their current assignment.

He wasn't kidding about that, either. When Tseng had first brought him Plateside, he'd been somewhat in awe of the man. Tseng was poised... polished... _deadly_. And yes, for a time, the redhead had truly believed that his new mentor was virtually infallible, and must have _always_ been that way, despite the man's occasional claims to the contrary. As time passed, however, Reno had come to understand that Tseng was just as human as anyone else... complete with flaws and failures, just like himself.

A part of him felt like he _should_ have been disappointed to learn that his hero was far from perfect... but he wasn't. Knowing that even Tseng made mistakes, made his own – of which he'd made plenty – seem so much less damning. He still idolized him, of course... perhaps now even moreso than when they'd first met, in fact. Tseng was everything Reno _wanted_ to be one day – minus the tie and tea addiction. The fact that he _wasn't_ perfect made that dream seem more... attainable.

At last, the procession stopped in front of an ornate building not far from the Pagoda.

"The imperial residence..." Tseng explained without being prompted. "Lord Godo and his family's home."

Reno nodded his understanding. They weren't doing much today. In fact... the Turks weren't really going to be doing much of anything at all, beyond general security. The President and Lord Godo, as well as Rufus, would be meeting behind closed doors for much of the day, going over the week's plans, and then a private dinner with Godo and his daughter before turning in for the night.

The Turks weren't invited.

The President and Rufus exited their transport, following their host into the building, their security details trailing at a distance. The doors closed behind them, and Reno looked around at the interior of the place. Like the outside of the structure, the inside was ornately decorated with rich woods, intricate pottery, and... very much to his surprise, a huge water garden in the indoor courtyard.

"I hope you're looking forward to tomorrow as much as _we_ are, Godo," the President boomed as they pair of leaders made their way towards a large sitting room. Reno didn't hear the Wutaiian emperor's reply, as Tseng and Veld hauled the doors shut as soon as their charges were safely inside.

"Well," Veld said, breathing a quiet sigh, " _That_ certainly went smoothly."

"I, for one, am not going to complain about that, sir," Tseng chuckled in reply, drawing a laugh from his mentor. He subtly nodded towards Reno and Remy. "Sir?"

"Ah... yes," Veld replied, turning his gaze on his subordinates, "I don't think we'll need the _entire_ executive detail for the afternoon meeting. The two of you can join the others for awhile. No sense in _all_ of us standing around, bored out of our minds. Come back and relieve us in a few hours."

"Yes, sir!" Reno replied, with a wide grin. Remy snorted quietly, shaking her head.

"Thank you, sir," she replied, grateful for the reprieve, "We'll see you later."

"Reno, check in on the rookies once in awhile, if you would," the Turk lieutenant added, "Barring a significant security breach, there's really very little that could go wrong on backup security duty, _but_..."

"On it, Boss," the redhead snickered, "I'll make sure they're stayin' outta trouble."

* * *

"Hey, Liam... How do you say "where's the Turtle's Paradise" in Wutaiian?" Sykes asked. The trio were technically only acting as backup security. They had no specific position they'd been assigned to watch, and were, instead, systematically patrolling the area around the emperor's residence and the Pagoda.

"Turtle's Paradise wa doko desu ka?" Liam responded, laughing softly. "Is that _all_ you can think about?"

"I just want to be ready for when we're off duty. I've _always_ wanted to visit the Turtle's Paradise. You know the posters they put up? The ones you're supposed to collect? There used to be one up at the ski lodge in Icicle Inn. I'd see it every time I went into town."

"So, you're saying that your greatest childhood ambition was... to visit a bar?" Petra giggled. Sykes rolled his eyes.

"No. I wanted to visit some place... different. Not like home. Wutai is about as different from the Great Glacier as it _gets_. The bar was just the X on the treasure map. It won't feel like I've really done it until I get _there_ , you know?"

"Never took you for the fantasy type, Sykes..." said Liam.

"Hey, _everyone's_ got dreams," the other rookie replied, grinning.

"What happened to the poster?" Petra suddenly queried.

"Huh?"

"The poster at the ski lodge... You said it _used_ to be there. What happened to it?"

Sykes' cheeks reddened and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"... It... went missing," he said, shiftily avoiding eye contact.

"Oh... so ya _stole_ it..." a voice cut in, startling all three rookies. They turned in unison, coming face to face with a very amused looking Reno. Liam was the first to recover from the fright, and he glanced over at Sykes... who was looking decidedly guilty. The youngest rookie sniggered, shaking his head.

"Is something going on, sir?" Petra asked, snapping back into a more professional demeanor.

"Nah... The President 'n Rufus are in their meeting with Godo, so Veld cut me 'n Remy loose for awhile. Just makin' sure you three are behavin'..." Reno replied, "I miss anything interesting? Ya know... besides learnin' 'bout Sykes' criminal history..."

"They were just going to throw it out anyway..." Sykes grumbled, still blushing.

The senior Turk laughed, and slung an arm around the rookie. "Relax, rookie... I'm just bein' an asshole. Don't take it personally. Seriously, though... anything goin' on out here?"

"Not really, sir," Liam answered, "It's been quiet. The crowds started dispersing as soon as the VIPs went inside, and it's just been us and the city guards. Rude and Kai said to stick close to the Pagoda courtyard. They're heading to the hotel to make sure everything is secure there."

Reno nodded. "... 'Kay. I'm headin' out into the city to take a look around. Remy's gonna be hangin' out at that restaurant down the main road, keepin' an eye on the street. Ya need anything, she'll probably be closest."

"Yes, sir," the trio replied in unison. The senior Turk snickered and shook his head.

" _Seriously_... You guys gotta stop doin' that. It's freakin' me out."

"Sorry, sir," came the reply, again, as a chorus... which resulted in all three of them breaking down into poorly hidden laughter.

"... Yeah, okay... that's _much_ better," the redhead groaned, with a heavy hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Just stay outta trouble, okay?"

"Yes, sir," the three rookies replied a third time, grinning widely as they did so.

Reno sighed, and threw his hand in the air, defeated.

"Fine. I give up. Have it your way, ya weirdos," he laughed. He turned, and headed off towards the main part of town with a wave, leaving the trio to their own devices.

"... We should _definitely_ start doing that more often..." Liam said, still grinning.

~end chapter 44~


	45. Off Duty

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 45: Off Duty**

 **by Desha**

Reno closed his eyes and took a long sip from the ice cold glass of... some sort of juice. He would have preferred a beer, but he was still on assignment. _Technically_ speaking, he was off duty for the moment, but, well...

He didn't drink when he was on assignment anymore. Thus the fruit juice, instead of a cold beer.

To be fair, it wasn't half bad, actually. Tart, but sweet, and certainly refreshing after a long day of glorified guard duty in the summer heat. It was some sort of mixed fruit drink. He was certain he tasted mango and pomegranate... but there was something else in there he couldn't quite identify, and it was bugging the hell out of him.

"Should've known we'd find you in a bar..." a voice teasingly addressed him, and the redhead grinned, turning to face the new arrivals.

"Hey, Rude..." he replied, lifting his feet off of the chair they were resting on and patting it, "Saved ya a seat."

The older Turk grinned slightly and sat down.

"... You guys are gonna have ta steal your own. They weren't _real_ happy about me taking up two of 'em. Didn't think they'd let me get away with hoggin' five," Reno added, eyeing the rookies that had trailed Rude into the restaurant. A few short seconds later, however, they'd managed to scrounge up another three chairs.

They'd initially planned on eating dinner at the Turtle's Paradise, but the place had been _packed_ when Reno'd gotten there... a fact that he'd quickly relayed to his dining companions via text message. Given that they were _all_ pretty hungry, they'd agreed to visit the famous bar when it was a little less crowded, and hit up another place tonight.

"You order yet?" Rude asked.

"Tch... _no_. I was bein' polite 'n waitin' on _your_ sorry ass," he joked. "'Sides... I can't even read the damn menu." He gestured to the laminated sheet in front of him, printed in Wutaiian characters. Rude smirked and reached for it, calmly flipping it over... to the english side. "... You gotta be shittin' me!" Reno moaned, "I've been sittin' here for twenty fuckin' minutes waitin' for you assholes to show up with our translator rookie, 'n you're tellin' me they had a menu I could read right in front of me the whole goddamn time?"

Rude snickered and wrapped an arm over his friend's shoulders.

"Reno... for someone _so_ ridiculously smart, you can really be an idiot sometimes," he laughed, and the rookies were quick to join in.

"Oh, fuck off," Reno muttered, playfully shoving him away and picking up the menu. "Fine... I'm an idiot. Now let's order. I'm a _starving_ idiot."

Rude chuckled and plucked the menu from his fingers.

"Hey!"

"Think I'm gonna get the odori-don..." the bald Turk mused, before turning to the rookies. "How about you guys?"

"Asshole..." Reno snickered, snatching it back and scanning through the options. He quickly spotted a dish called "katsu ika odori-don" on the menu. It was highlighted as one of the house specials. "So... what's so great about this odori-don stuff?"

"Order it and find out..." Rude replied, with a slightly mischievous grin, "It's a local delicacy. Don't see it much outside of Wutai."

"Well, _I'm_ starving, too..." said Sykes, "So... ordori-don sounds great!"

"Um... Sykes?" Liam interjected, "You... _might_ want to get something else. You're not really the biggest seafood fan."

"Oh, it's fish?" Petra queried, "I _love_ fish..."

"... Well, actually..." the youngest rookie began, only to be silenced by a look from Rude. Reno raised an eyebrow in suspicion and snorted softly as he stared his friend down.

"Okay, so you _obviously_ want me to get this 'cause ya think it's somethin' that'll freak me out... What is it? Raw shark brains? Fried fish testicles? Octopus stuffed in a salmon stuffed in a tuna? Something like those hundred year old egg things you bet me I wouldn't have the balls to try?" he asked, smirking, "Partner, you _know_ I'll eat damn near anything..."

Rude looked pointedly over at Liam. " _Don't_ tell him. That's an order."

"Oh... so _that's_ how ya wanna play this," the redhead laughed, "You're on, pal. Bring it."

His friend flashed him a smug grin and then turned to the rookies. "Anyone else feeling adventurous?"

"Not _that_ adventurous..." Liam snickered. "In fact, I'm just going to order some nice, safe yakitori., sit back, and watch the show."

"... Same," Sykes said, quickly reconsidering his order.

"Well, I'lltry it. I _can't_ just turn down a local delicacy," Petra piped up, smiling. Liam leaned over and whispered something in his fellow rookie's ear. Petra's eyes widened slightly. "Um... on second thought... I think I'll get the tempura shrimp."

"Tch... wimps," the redhead snickered, rolling his eyes. "Come on... it _can't_ be _that_ bad."

The rookies collectively glanced at one another, sharing a look between them that plainly said they thought otherwise. Reno mentally shrugged. There really _wasn't_ much that he wasn't willing to at least _try_. After all... he'd grown up digging through garbage cans and hunting down cripshays to keep himself fed. A lot of things that would utterly turn a normal person's stomach were just slightly unappetizing from _his_ point of view.

Hell, cripshay was actually pretty tasty, when you got right down to it... even if the creatures themselves _did_ look like some sort of bizarre human-beetle hybrid and their entrails stank like the Nine Hells. Not that he'd intentionally choose a cripshay steak over a pizza these days, but... he'd still eat it.

Their waitress arrived, and the group placed their orders... along with drink requests. Reno shot the trio of rookies a warning look after they opted to share a bottle of sake between them.

"Go _easy_ on the booze, guys. We're workin' tomorrow. Early."

Rude snorted a loud laugh. "Says the Turks' resident boozehound and bartender..."

"Says the guy who _made_ that mistake once and fuckin' learned his lesson," the redhead corrected him, raising his glass in salute and taking a sip, "I'm _not_ gonna be beggin' Veld to show mercy to ya if you three end up hungover in the mornin'. You overdo it after I warned ya, you're on your own."

Petra giggled softly. "Would you like to share the bottle, too, sir? To make sure we don't get carried away?"

"Reno doesn't drink on assignment anymore," Rude snickered. "Like he said... he learned his lesson."

"Damn right..." Reno replied, with a faint shudder. "And don't bother askin'. That's _one_ story I don't wanna relive."

It had happened a little over a year ago. The war had ended, and the Shinra Army was restoring its ranks... and Reno had been tapped to accompany Veld to Rocket Town on a recruitment mission. It wasn't something that generally fell to the Turks, but, seeing as how their _own_ ranks had been nearly halved after the debacle in Junon, the Turk leader had taken it upon himself to scout out the little village personally and see if anyone was up to snuff. He'd taken Reno along because... Well, actually Reno still wasn't quite sure how _he'd_ wound up accompanying his superior and not one of the more experienced Turks. Tseng, by then, had been cleared for duty, and Remy wasn't _that_ busy. Whatever the logic, though, it had been Reno who found himself boarding the helicopter to the western continent that morning.

And things had gone fine. They'd even found two potential recruits.

Fine, that is, until that afternoon. A storm had rolled in and was poised to stick around for awhile, and Veld had decided they would hunker down at the town inn rather than brave the weather in the hopes of getting home that day. Which, of course, meant that, while still on active assignment, Reno was _technically_ off duty once Veld cut him loose for the evening.

In all honesty, the redhead didn't actually remember much after that. All he knew for sure was that he'd been challenged to a drinking contest by one of the locals, and even _his_ tolerance hadn't been able to save him. He'd woken up – late – the next morning in someone's back garden, drenched from the rain and nursing the mother of all hangovers. Oh... and with a mustache drawn on his face in permanent marker. He had no idea if he'd done that himself or it if had been done _to_ him after he passed out. Frankly, it was probably fifty-fifty odds either way. He'd certainly done dumber things while drunk.

Veld had been less than pleased with his condition when the redhead had finally managed to stagger back to the inn, and hadn't been the least bit shy about informing him as such... for pretty much the entire flight back home. Spending nearly three hours, trapped in a noisy, constantly moving, flying tin can, while being constantly berated for tarnishing the Turks' public image had _not_ been pleasant... particularly when he _already_ felt like hell warmed over and was on the verge of having his stomach violently reject everything he'd consumed in the last twenty-four hours. He was pretty sure Veld was fully aware of just how awful he felt, too, and had used it to further punish him. In fact, when he thought back on it, he was fairly certain the "turbulence" they'd hit – several times – probably wasn't actual turbulence at all.

Tseng hadn't been any happier about it than Veld was when he'd found out... though his mentor had been far more accommodating of the nausea – which, thankfully, had eventually subsided – and the relentless headache the younger Turk had to spend the rest of the day with. Reno had vowed then and there that he'd never make that mistake _ever_ again and had instituted a strict no-drinking-on-missions policy for himself... whether he was on duty or off the clock. If he was somewhere on Turks' business, he was going to stay one hundred percent sober until he was back in Midgar, unless there was a damned good reason not to be. Like... the "drink, or the group you're trying to infiltrate might decide to kill you" kind of reason.

The three rookies just laughed his proclamation off, however, as that was right about when their waiter returned with their drink order.

"So... you're _really_ not gonna tell me what the hell it is you talked me into eatin'?" the redhead prodded his friend. The older Turk just smiled and said nothing. "Tch... Fine. Be that way."

"How'd the afternoon go?" Rude asked, ignoring the redhead's goading. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Nothin' to write home about. Rufus bowed outta the meeting early 'n decided he wanted to tour some kinda sacred garden over by that Pagoda thing... so Remy got to hang out in the air-conditioning with the President while I spent like an hour outside sweatin' 'n followin' the V.P. around, 'til his dad 'n Godo were done... 'n then Tseng 'n Veld showed up to take over again," he replied, "Oh... yeah. And Godo's kid's thinks she's some kinda ninja. Caught her stalkin' me 'n Rufus _twice_ when she thought I wasn't payin' attention. Anything interestin' on _your_ end?"

"Not really. Hotel's nice," Rude replied, with a shrug. The redhead turned his questioning gaze on the rookies.

"It was pretty quiet for us, too, sir," Liam said, as he was pouring a glass of sake for himself. "To be honest... I kind of thought this assignment was going to be a lot more exciting."

"Tch... Kid, trust me. One of these days, you'll be _glad_ when an assignment doesn't get _too_ exciting. Means nothin' went horribly wrong," Reno snickered teasingly, "And anyway... today was just more prep work. Real shit starts tomorrow."

Before the rookies could comment any further, their waitress returned, bearing a tray of food, and Reno grinned widely as she began setting their dinners down in front of them. By the time she made it around to Rude, however, the redhead's expression had shifted to one of... vague confusion.

Rude, meanwhile, was unabashedly smirking as his friend eyed the large bowl the woman placed in front of him.

" _This_ is what you were makin' such a big deal about?" he asked, skeptically. Okay... so it was raw. So was a lot of Wutaiian cuisine. It's not like he'd never eaten raw seafood before. Granted, he'd never had _squid_ before... but it didn't look any more intimidating than the sashimi Remy was so fond of ordering. Well... aside from the fact that it was looking at him.

The bowl in front of him contained a mound of rice, topped with strips of, he assumed, anyway, raw squid, bright orange fish roe, a few miscellaneous veggies, and... plopped right on top, with its tentacles spread out possessively over the food beneath it, the _rest_ of the squid.

"... Seriously?" the redhead smirked, eyeing his friend. "Gimme a break. I've eaten _way_ worse."

Rude merely smiled and reached a little container of soy sauce. He calmly poured it over the squid, and Reno's eyes widened in something vaguely approaching uncertainty over his choice of dinner as the decapitated sea creature started to move. It's limbs flailed wildly as it tried to clamber right out of the bowl, and Rude had to prod it back onto it's perch with a pair of chopsticks.

Eventually, it settled down, apparently accepting it's fate, and the older Turk lifted it to his mouth, biting off several of the still twitching legs as the three rookies looked on in horror.

"Rude, man... _That's_ fucked up," Reno laughed, shaking his head.

"Your turn," was all the bald Turk said. Reno snorted softly and dumped a healthy portion of soy sauce over his own bowl. Maybe a little _too_ much, in retrospect, as the squid quite literally climbed out of the bowl and flopped onto the table, where it lay for a moment, wriggling and writhing in a disturbing dance. It took him several attempts to recapture it using the chopsticks, but he finally managed it.

Reno lifted it up to eye level, staring at the creature.

"It's not _actually_ alive, right?" he asked. He didn't really see how it _could_ be, given that the majority of its body had been detached and cut into strips... but seriously... _that_ was pretty freaky. Rude snickered next to him.

"No... it's not alive. But now you know why it's call the dancing squid," he replied, grinning, "It's the salt in the soy sauce that makes the legs move."

Reno shrugged and bit off several of the still weakly-twitching tentacles... and grimaced slightly when they didn't immediately _stop_ moving as he bit down. Once he got past that, though... it was pretty good. Chewy, but not rubbery, with an odd little almost-popping sensation as it broke apart... and just ever so slightly sweet underneath all the soy sauce.

He swallowed the first bite and took another before grinning at his friend.

"Yeah... you're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna gross _me_ out, pal."

Rude snorted softly and returned to his own meal, defeated but most definitely amused. The rookies, meanwhile, looked slightly nauseated.

"... I... think I need some more of that sake..." Liam finally stated, reaching for the bottle.

"Me, too," Sykes and Petra agreed in unison, as the two senior Turks laughed.

* * *

"You've been quiet today," Rufus noted, as he gazed out at the sacred mountain. The view from his hotel room was lovely... and he was sure it was no accident that they'd been given such luxurious accommodations for their stay. Godo was understandably wary of Shinra after his defeat in the war. He knew what angering the Company again could cost him.

"My job is to watch your back... not join in on conversations with heads of state," Tseng answered. Rufus glanced back at him.

"I realize you think me self-absorbed even at the best of times," the young executive replied, with a faint smirk, "But I'm not so unobservant that I haven't realized this is the first time you've returned to your homeland."

The Turk lieutenant sighed almost inaudibly and stood up, joining his charge at the window.

"I've had very little _reason_ to return since... my sister's death." He shook his head and looked away from the mountains. "There's nothing for me in Wutai anymore but memories."

"They still refuse to speak to you, then?" Rufus queried. He was, of course, well aware of the falling out between Tseng and the rest of his family. But it had been closing in on two _years_. Surely, by now, tempers would have cooled a bit.

"My father has not forgiven me," Tseng replied, "Unless by some miracle that were to happen, I'm dead to them." He sighed again and shook his head. "And he will _not_ forgive what I did. What I cost him. It's something I've just had to accept. I am forever cast out."

Rufus pivoted to look at him, and found his friend had returned to the seat he'd only just vacated.

"But... _surely_ at _some_ point he'll see how foolish this is..."

Tseng offered up a sad smile. "Your pardon, sir... but you don't _know_ my father."

He could hear the heartbreak in the older man's voice, even though he was certain he wasn't meant to, and it unnerved him slightly. It brought back too many memories of the many sleepless nights he'd had to endure before the war had begun and Tseng had all but vanished off the face of the planet for nearly a month.

Rufus may _well_ have been self-absorbed... but he wasn't oblivious. He knew what losing a close family member was like. And then to hear that Tseng had lost not only his beloved sister, but essentially the _rest_ of his family, as well... There had been times, when the man was still recovering from that loss, that Rufus truly worried that he'd never be the same. And to be fair, Tseng _had_ changed, but not in the ways Rufus had feared he might.

Finally, he shook his head and turned back to the senior Turk.

"You're dismissed for the evening," he stated, and Tseng looked up at him curiously.

"Sir? What about dinner? I was under the impression you wished me to join you at..."

"I've changed my mind. I'd prefer to dine in tonight, and then simply relax in my room in preparation for tomorrow. Go and... I don't know... keep that idiot protege of yours from causing an international incident or something. I'm sure he's up to _something_ utterly stupid by now."

Tseng gave a soft laugh and stood up once more.

"You _could_ have simply said 'go and spend some time with your family', sir," he chuckled. The Shinra heir scoffed, and waved a dismissive hand.

"Semantics. Keeping that moron out of trouble goes hand in hand with spending time with him."

Tseng opted not to argue the point, and instead merely made his way to the door. He paused beside it and glanced back.

"For the record, sir, you're just as much family to me as Reno is."

Rufus rolled his eyes. "I'm quite certain I dismissed you... Why are you still here?"

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly. "Yes, sir. Good night, Rufus."

* * *

"Uh... you _really_ oughta slow down on that shit, kiddo..." Reno cautioned. Liam was definitely getting a little tipsy by now, and the redhead was starting to think that _maybe_ he should have been watching him a little closer. The kid was only eighteen, after all... and not, as far as the redhead knew, a particularly heavy drinker. In fact, judging by his current condition, Reno would have put good money on the kid never actually having been legitimately _drunk_ in his life. He didn't seem to have any concept of his limits.

"I'm _fine_ ," Liam replied with a noticeable slur in his voice, grinning in response, and Reno groaned. Tipsy was well and truly visible in the rearview mirror at this point. The kid was just plain hammered.

Great.

Reno heaved a sigh and got up from his chair, walking around to the other side of the table and placing his hands on the rookie's shoulders.

"You're _not_ fine, and I'm officially cuttin' you off. You'll thank me in the mornin'. Come on... We're gonna getcha some water 'n some more food 'n hope ta Shiva you can sleep this off before you're back on duty tomorrow." He glanced over at the other two rookies. "In fact... you two are cut off, too, just in case. I don't need _three_ hungover rookies..." He nodded to the mostly empty bottle of sake. Their second of the night. "Rude, finish that off for 'em, 'n don't let 'em order any more."

Thankfully, Liam didn't seem to be one of those belligerent drunks Reno'd always _hated_ dealing with during his bartending days. He didn't relish the idea of fighting the rookie all the way back to his hotel room. To his immense relief, however, he came along quietly, allowing the redhead to guide him towards the door and out onto the street.

Unfortunately, that's where his luck ended.

"Reno? What's going on?" an entirely too familiar voice demanded. Reno froze, mid-step, and internally cringed as he turned and found himself being stared down by Tseng... who very obviously already knew the answer to his own question. He sighed and grabbed hold of the rookie... who had belatedly spun around to face the Turk lieutenant, as well, and tripped over his own two feet.

"It's my fault, Boss..." Reno said, shaking his head. "I shoulda been keepin' a better eye on him..."

Tseng frowned, but didn't pursue that matter, much to his protege's relief. Instead, and simply latched onto Liam's other arm, and pulled him around until he was facing the direction they'd been heading in before the senior Turk's arrival.

"Let's get him to bed..." he said, resigned. Reno wordlessly joined him in escorting the young rookie back to the hotel, and fifteen minutes later, they had done all they could to mitigate the inevitable before tucking him in for the night. They made their way out into the hall, softly closing the door behind them.

"Man... I don't envy the kid when Veld gets holda him tomorrow..." Reno said, repressing a shudder. "Or when he gets holda _me_."

Tseng raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seem overly inebriated to _me_..." he replied.

"Tch... _I'm_ stone cold sober," the redhead replied, "But I'm s'posed ta be keeping the rookies outta trouble when I'm not busy keepin' Rufus outta trouble. I'm _pretty_ sure lettin' one of 'em accidentally get drunk off his ass doesn't qualify."

His mentor chuckled softly. "Welcome to my world, Reno..." he teased. " _But_... it's hardly your responsibility to police them off-duty. They're rookie Turks, not children. Did you warn him of the consequences?"

"Yeah... 'n I specifically told 'em _all_ to go easy on the booze. Don't think Liam spends a whole lotta time in bars, though. He's definitely a lightweight. He was plastered before anyone even realized it."

"Then... you did what you could. You're many things to them. Their superior, their trainer, their counselor, their friend... but you are _not_ their parent."

Reno snorted a quiet laugh. "Uh... Boss? Far be it from me ta call you a hypocrite, but..."

" _You_ were a special case," Tseng snickered, escorting him down the hall and back out onto the street. The night was pleasantly warm, with a light breeze blowing in from the shore. "Liam, though young, is an adult. You, quite literally, were still a child when I recruited you. It's not the same."

"He's only like a year 'n change older than I was when you brought me in, ya know..." the redhead pointed out.

"Mmm... and consider just how much _you_ matured between your first day on the job and your eighteenth birthday. It wasn't that long... but the change was quite pronounced."

"I was still kind of a fuck-up even _after_ I was a legal adult," he countered, drawing a genuine laugh from his mentor.

"I never said you were _perfect_..." Tseng chuckled, "Just that you had improved considerably over the course of your first year as a Turk. They are rookies. They _will_ make mistakes, and we cannot prevent them _all_. I suspect that Liam will very quickly learn that he should have heeded your warning." He smiled slightly and paused, turning his gaze on the younger man. "And just for your own edification, you were never a 'fuck-up'. You were merely young... which is an _entirely_ forgivable offense."

Reno rolled his eyes, grinning slightly. It was only then that he realized that their short conversation had carried them quite some distance from the hotel. He blinked in confusion.

"Hey... Boss? Aren't you s'posed to be Rufus-sitting?"

Tseng smiled. "The vice president has decided to turn in early. As he has no further need of an escort, he's dismissed me for the night. I thought I might show you a little of my homeland while we had a free moment or two. It is, after all, your first visit to Wutai, and the capitol city has quite an active night life..."

"Heh... far be it from me to turn down a guided private tour," the redhead grinned. "Where to?"

The Wutaiian Turk chuckled and guided his protege down a small side street. Considering how late it was getting, there really _were_ a surprising number of people still out and about. Whether that was typical of the city, or due solely to the special occasion, Reno didn't know... but it was certainly quite the experience. There were food stands and other vendors, performers, and any number of interesting sights. Reno glanced over at his mentor curiously.

"Man... when you said this place had a night life, you weren't kidding..."

"It's not alwaysquite _this_ active. The mid-summer festival draws people in from all over the country... which I don't mind admitting was something of a concern for me, security-wise. But when the President was told of it, he all but _insisted_."

"Figures," Reno snickered, "Ifrit forbid he ever do anything to make our jobs easier..." His attention was quickly pulled away, however, by the smell of grilled meat wafting through the air. "Okay... _somethin'_ smells good..."

"I was under the impression that you'd already eaten..."

"Boss... come on. This is _me_ we're talkin about..." Reno laughed, casting him a meaningful look, to which Tseng merely shook his head. "... 'Sides... dinner was kinda... weird. Kept tryin' to crawl outta the bowl."

"Oh?" the senior Turk queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Rude talked me into gettin' some kinda dancin' squid thing," he shrugged.

Tseng snorted faintly in laughter. "Ah... I see. I'm not overly fond of squid myself, in _any_ form, but I'm certainly familiar with the dish. Did you enjoy it?"

"I enjoyed seein' the look of defeat on Rude's face when he realized the whole eatin' somethin' that's still moving thing didn't bother me..." he replied, grinning, "Far as the food _itself_ went... it was okay. Raw shit's not really my thing, but I've had worse."

"Then... I suppose we can begin with some of my favorite festival foods," Tseng chuckled, before escorting him into the thick of the crowd. What followed was a sampling of almost a dozen different treats... many of which came hot and served on a stick. There was chicken on stick. Corn on a stick. Fish on a stick. Various fruits on a stick. Weird little sweet ball things on a stick... He'd missed the name on those, but they were good. Reno even spotted whole squids on a stick – grilled this time, rather than raw – though Tseng passed those up. Then there were the noodles... and the cakes... and the rice balls filled with something called anko that his mentor had said was made from beans. The redhead wasn't sure if he totally bought that claim, however, given how sweet it was.

He'd enthusiastically tried everything.

In between snacks, Tseng had pointed out things unique to Wutai, and explained the significance of the street performers costumes and instruments, and happily led him through the crowds. Reno couldn't help but snicker quietly to himself as the man who, for over three years, had been his calm, collected mentor, became more and more enthusiastic about introducing the younger Turk to his birthplace.

And... it occurred to him just how much Tseng must miss his homeland at times. He hadn't, after all, been _back_ to Wutai since before the war had begun. Not since Mayu had been killed in the weeks leading up to the conflict, and not since the _rest_ of his family had essentially disowned him for his role in her death.

He talked about them occasionally... but only in the past tense, almost as though they, too, were no longer living, and he was merely remembering them fondly, having grieved their loss. And, in a sense, they may as well have been dead. The way Reno understood it, Tseng's father regarded him as... non-existent. He didn't have a son named Tseng, and he never had.

And he knew that _that_ had to have hurt so much more than if they had actually died. Knowing they were still out there, but had given him up. Had actively chosen not to acknowledge him as one of their own, as if he had never existed at all. That level of shunning seemed unspeakably cruel to him.

There weren't many people Reno could honestly say he hated. Hell, he could probably count them on one hand... that asshole, Jericho, being at the top of the very short list for what he'd done to Lira years ago. Reno had never met the guy, but he was pretty sure he hated the Tseng's father. He wasn't real thrilled with the rest of his mentor's family, either, but they at least had the excuse of being beholden unto the family patriarch. It wasn't _much_ of an excuse, in Reno's opinion, but... he couldn't entirely blame them for not wanting to share the same fate.

Eventually, the pair ducked out of the crowded side streets. They settled themselves on a little bridge that straddled the river winding its way through the center of town to enjoy the bright green tea-flavored ice cream that had been their final purchase before making their escape.

"Heh... Okay. Ya _finally_ found a kind of tea I _like_ , Boss," the younger Turk snickered, catching a drip with his tongue before it could make it's way down the side of the cone and onto his hand. He couldn't quite describe the taste. It was sweet... and also slightly bitter, but not in a bad way. It tasted almost... earthy.

"And all I had to do was have it infused with sugar and cream, and frozen into a dessert..." Tseng teased, smirking faintly and enjoying his own treat. He paused and then laughed softly. "I have to confess, I _am_ especially fond of it in this form, myself. It's been a favorite of mine since I was little."

"Oh, yeah?" Reno acknowledged, "Ya never seem too into sweet stuff back home..."

"It only seems that way because _you_ would eat raw sugar by the bag if permitted to," Tseng laughed, "But yes... I would plead with my parents to buy it for me at every available opportunity. They didn't _always_ give in to my demands, of course, but festivals were... special. Father never denied me at festival times."

When he went silent, Reno glanced over at Tseng, and found him staring into the growing darkness that was settling around the Wutaiian capitol. He frowned.

"Boss... I didn't mean ta –" the redhead began, but Tseng shook himself from his brief reverie, and smiled somewhat sadly, having little trouble guessing what he'd been about to say.

"It doesn't matter."

"Tch... Bullshit."

Tseng reached out for him, gently placing an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him closer.

"You're _entirely_ too perceptive, at times," he sighed, "You're right, of course. It matters a great deal."

His hand rose to the back of the redhead's neck, tenderly massaging the pressure point, and Reno let his eyes reflexively close in content for a brief moment.

"I consider myself rather fortunate, however, regardless..." the older Turk continued, "I still have _you_ , after all... Given the choice between you and having them all back in my life, I could never trade you."

The younger man lifted his head slightly. "You'd pick me over your real family?"

"You _are_ my real family, Reno. I could no more cast you aside than I could my own child. That may be something _my_ father is capable of, but I'm _not_ my father... no matter how much he may have wanted me to be."

"... Sounds like _I'm_ the lucky one..." the redhead replied, turning his own gaze back towards the encroaching darkness. For some time after that, the pair just stood there, enjoying the remains of their ice cream... and one another's company.

~end chapter 45~


	46. Parade Day

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 46: Parade Day**

 **by Desha**

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Bonus chapter this week! Yay!_

* * *

"Owwwww..."

He immediately wished he hadn't done that. Just the sound of his own _voice_ hurt. Now that he was awake, he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be an option at the moment. Sunlight was peeking through the windows, growing brighter and brighter by the second, and his roommate was already up and about, getting ready for the day. At last, he sat up, moaning as the pounding in his head increased a hundred-fold.

"Oh, sweet mother of Hades... Is _this_ what being drunk is like?" he lamented, rubbing his temples in a futile effort to subdue the pain.

"Nope... this is what being _hungover_ is like," Sykes snickered... far too loudly for Liam's taste. The teenager staggered to his feet, grimacing as he received a direct beam of sunlight to the face. He clapped a hand to his mouth as his stomach protested the movement, and spent several moments breathing slowly and deeply through his nose.

"Ugh... _Why_ would anyone want to _do_ this to themselves?" he finally lamented.

"It's your own fault. Reno _warned_ you to take it easy..."

"I'm never drinking again..." the youngest Turk decreed. Sykes paused in his attempts at getting dressed, and rested a hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

"That's just the hangover talking," he replied, with a sympathetic smile. "Anyway... Reno left strict instructions when he and Tseng got back last night. He said your breakfast is aspirin, eggs, dry toast, coffee, and aspirin. Nothing else. If that stays down, then as much water as you can drink without making yourself feel worse."

"... You said aspirin twice."

"I know. He said you're probably going to need a booster after the first dose... but to get some food in you first because, and I quote, 'too much of that shit all at once'll murder your stomach'," Sykes noted, with a soft laugh, handing him a bottle of pills.

* * *

"Geez... _you're_ up early..." a voice addressed him as Reno made his way out onto their floor's shared balcony. He caught sight of Kai perched on the railing, and leaning back against the corner support column. Reno yawned and stretched his arms over his head, working out the stiffness in his muscles.

It was true. The _sun_ was barely up, it was so early. Normally, the redhead would still be happily asleep this time of the morning... but today he had things to do.

"Yeah, well... parade day 'n shit. Boss is bound to come lookin' for me early anyway... Figured I'd get a head start 'n do it on my own terms. 'Sides... I wanna check in on the rookies before shit really gets started. Liam... uh... went a little overboard on the sake last night when I wasn't lookin'..."

The diminutive Turk snorted softly.

"Some Turkling-sitter _you_ are..." she snickered.

"Tch... yeah, fuck you, too, Kai," the redhead shot back, good-naturedly.

"Oh, Baby Turkling... When are you going to accept that you're just not my type?"

Reno rolled his eyes in response. "When are _you_ gonna accept that that joke got old about three years ago 'n at this point you're just beatin' it to death?"

"Right about the time I stop calling you Baby Turkling," she replied, with a wide grin.

"Oh... so never, then. Yeah... okay. Just so we're clear on that."

Kai laughed and hopped down from her improvised seat, strolling over to the younger Turk and taking him by the arm.

"Come on. I'll let you take me to breakfast at that nice little place across the street so you can bask in my glorious presence. You know... to make up for your disappointment over not winning me over," she giggled, "... You're buying."

"... Hey, Kai? When the hell'd you go completely nuts?" Reno teased back.

"Honey, I was born this way," she laughed, escorting him to the stairway that lead down to the hotel's main lobby. They made their way over to a small cafe just across the street. Reno was a little surprised to see the place open already... but then, the whole town seemed to be slowly waking up, so maybe it wasn't so unusual after all.

In short order, they'd been seated and served, and the redhead found himself enjoying quite a spread. There were things he'd consider normal breakfast fare, including fruit and rice porridge and eggs... and more than a few things that he _wouldn't_ have expected, like the generous cut of fish and the hot, flavorful broth with tofu and green onions floating in it.

"Ya know... the hotel _does_ have a free breakfast buffet for guests," Reno pointed out.

"Yeah... and it's all the same generic, blah food we can get anytime back home, because all hotels cater to tourists. The restaurants in the capitol are _fantastic_... No way am I missing out while I'm here," Kai said, digging into her own meal. "Have fun at the festival last night?"

Reno arched an eyebrow. "How'd you know I went?"

"Oh, please. Like Tseng was going to pass up an opportunity to show off to his precious Baby Turkling," she said, with an exaggerated eyeroll. "... Besides... I went to check it out, too. I saw you two at one of the food stalls."

He blinked in surprise. "How come ya didn't come join us?"

"Because if Tseng had wanted to make it a group thing, he would have invited me himself. He was looking to spend some quality time with _you_ , and I didn't want to take that away from him," she replied, shrugging, "... Um... _and_ I might've kinda met someone I wanted to spend some quality time of my _own_ with last night, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, so ya were just too busy tryin' to get laid to come say hi..." the redhead grinned, shoving a piece of some sort of omelet into his mouth.

"You _really_ don't do subtle, do you, Baby Turkling?" Kai said with soft laugh, before smirking, "And I did more than _try_. You know... I'm not usually one for anonymous hookups. I'm really not. But dear _Shiva_ she was gorgeous. And... she kinda reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago."

Reno paused in his assault on his breakfast and glanced up at her.

"... Alyssa?" he ventured, somewhat hesitantly. Kai smiled faintly and turned her attention back on her food.

"It's... been awhile since someone made me feel the way she did. Even for just a little while."

"Hey, Kai? Can I ask you somethin'?"

"About Alyssa?" she replied. "Sure. Shoot."

"No. Well... yeah. I mean... Kinda," he began, somewhat awkwardly. This _definitely_ wasn't a conversation he'd been planning on having right this second, but it was so hard for him to work up the courage to broach the subject with her normally, and since it _had_ somehow come up...

He took a breath and exhaled slowly, trying to decide how to word his question without making him sound like kind of a judgmental asshole, before finally opting to just fucking ask.

"How come it's so fuckin' _easy_ for you?" he blurted out, a hint of frustration in his voice. "I've been tryin' 'n tryin' 'n tryin', 'n I _still_ can't hardly think about my mom without... without feelin' like I'm gonna make a total idiot of myself if I do it for too long. How come _you_ can just... talk about people you've lost like it's no big deal?"

Kai reached for his hand and gently covered it with her own, lightly stroking his skin with her thumb.

"It's easy for me _now_..." she corrected him, "It broke me when it happened, and I hurt for a long time. But I don't think I _can_ break anymore than I already have. Alyssa was... very special to me. We were happy together. I don't want to forget that and I don't want to forget _her_. Sometimes the only way to move on from pain like that is to just let yourself feel it _all_ , even if it feels like you won't survive it."

Reno sighed, and stared down at their hands. Not quite sure how to respond to that... so he didn't. Instead he moved on to the next car on his somewhat disjointed train of thought.

"... So... Rude found someone that knew my mom," Reno stated, in an offhanded manner he didn't really feel. If Kai noticed the abrupt shift in subject, she didn't comment on it.

"Oh, yeah? You gonna go meet 'em?"

"Already did. It was... a _lot_ to take in. I found some shit out that I never knew," he replied, "Nothin' bad or anything, just..."

"Just... normal things that she probably would've told you about herself if she was still around?"

"... Yeah," he breathed, "I still don't even _know_ how I feel about it all. I mean... on one hand, it was cool hearin' shit I didn't know. But... on the other... _now_ I'm thinkin' about her when I least expect to be. Like... I'll be eatin' lunch, and remember that her friend told me she had this weird love of cheese 'n peanut butter sandwiches."

"Okay... first of all? Gross," said Kai, with a trace of teasing in her tone. "I think we've figured out why you'll eat anything. It's obviously genetic. Second... Is that really such a bad thing to think about?" She smiled and coaxed his gaze back up to her face. "I mean... I know that it hurts. _Believe_ me, I know. But... does it hurt more than not knowing that about her at all?"

Reno paused a moment, considering the point. What _was_ worse? Missing someone to the point that it could be physically painful? Or missing them _and_ knowing that there was so much about them you've forgotten or never even were aware of in the first place.

"No," he finally said.

"Well... then I'd consider that progress. Wounds like that don't heal overnight, Baby Turkling. It takes time and effort... and really amazing friends who refuse to abandon you. Even when you're pissed at one of them and treat him like crap for... literally _years_... before you finally get the hell over yourself and make up."

"Tch... well, _this_ is gettin' to be way more serious a conversation than I wanted to have this mornin'..." the redhead said after a moment, forcing a laugh. He never should have brought the whole thing up. Not now, anyway. Not on assignment, when he had to be focused on the job. It was just... too much to handle. He couldn't.

Kai smiled understandingly.

"Let's... save it for when we're back in Midgar, okay? Whenever you're ready to talk."

The redhead breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "Yeah. That... sounds good."

The senior Turk smirked in amusement a moment later.

"Seriously, though. Cheese and _peanut butter_? Ick..."

Reno laughed again... genuinely this time.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til ya try it. Mom was definitely onto somethin' there. It's actually pretty good."

* * *

Liam swallowed harshly against the last bite of egg on his plate – which briefly tried to make its return after the first attempt, and had to be swallowed again – and groaned. Sykes had run off to get seconds on his own breakfast from the hotel's buffet... and Petra hadn't come downstairs yet. He was on his own for the moment. The rookie laid his head down on the table in utter misery, wishing that someone would just come along and shoot him already.

"I hate ta say I told ya so, but..."

"No offense, sir, but, could you just... not?" the young Turk managed, minutely lifting his head to seek out the source of the voice. The redhead snickered and slide into the chair next to his, rubbing a hand along the rookie's back for a moment, prompting a soft whimper from the suffering young man.

"That bad, huh?"

"Uggggghhh..."

Reno laughed softly. "Yeah, I know _that_ feeling," he teased.

"I think I'm dying, sir..."

"Heh... and _I'm_ the one who always gets accused of bein' over-dramatic..." the senior Turk snarked. He set something down on the table in front of him with a soft thunk. "Here. Drink this... It'll help take the edge off."

Liam slowly sat up. His head was still throbbing... and his stomach didn't feel any better than his head did, frankly. Both, he was relatively certain, were about to explode... one way or another. He eyed the dark red liquid and the innocent-looking celery stalk sticking out of the top of the glass with uncertainty. He could faintly smell the scent of alcohol over whatever else was in the glass, and it made him recoil in disgust.

"Look, I know the last thing ya think ya want right now is more booze, but just trust me on this one. It's not very much," the redhead prodded.

Against his better judgment, Liam reached for the glass and brought it to his lips, taking an experimental sip. He immediately gagged on the chilled, peppery concoction, coughing violently as his eyes watered in response to both the burning sensation in the back of his throat and the sharp spike of pain that lanced through his skull.

"Yeah... maybe don't choke on it, though," Reno amended, patting him on the back until the coughing fit subsided.

"It tastes _terrible_..." Liam finally forced out. And it really did. It wasn't just the alcohol... the whole thing was some sort of unholy potion specifically designed to offend the tastebuds. The red color very _obviously_ came from tomato juice... but the rest. Oh, dear Ifrit, the rest...

The alcohol burned. The spiciness burned. Hell, even the acid from the tomato juice kind of burned. It had a distinct saltiness to it under all the other flavors that assailed him, and there was an odd, unpleasant, and somewhat oily taste that lingered on his tongue. He heard the senior Turk snickering quietly to himself.

"I know. It's not the most appetizin' shit when ya already _feel_ like shit, but just hold your nose 'n down it. It's either that, or explain to Veld why ya look like you're about five seconds from pukin' up everything you've ever eaten," Reno replied, "... which, full disclosure, you're probably gonna end up havin' to do anyway, but believe me, it's _way_ worse when you're barely keepin' your breakfast down."

Liam dutifully took the advice, pinching his nose shut and chugging the contents of the glass, leaving behind only a few somewhat gory-looking ice cubes and the stalk of celery.

"Blegh!" Liam shuddered at the aftertaste, "What's _in_ that?"

"You don't wanna know. It's... kinda my own variation on a Bloody Mary. Tastes like hell, but it'll fix a minor hangover like _yours_ in no time flat. Eat the celery. It'll kill some of that... uh... _flavor_ ," Reno replied, unabashedly smirking at the younger man.

"This is a _minor_ hangover?" the rookie queried, incredulously. He absently bit down on the crunchy vegetable. The senior Turk was right. The slightly sour taste of the stalk _did_ seem to banish the worst of the aftertaste almost immediately.

"You made it down here under your own power, didn't ya?" the redhead grinned. "If you can still stand up and walk without havin' to run for the nearest bucket to puke in the next mornin', yeah... it's pretty minor."

Liam's eyes widened. "It can be _worse_ than this?!"

"Heh... you don't drink much, do ya, kiddo?"

"No... and I'm _definitely_ not gonna start," he replied, dropping the uneaten leafy end of the celery stalk back into the empty glass.

"Maybe _next_ time you'll listen when someone with more experience gives ya a little friendly advice..." Reno said, grinning widely. "Heh... just be glad I'm a lot less of a sadist than Kai. When I told her I had to go check on you, _she_ thought I oughta just let ya suffer to make sure ya learned your lesson. Feelin' better?"

Liam was about to answer in the negative, but blinked in surprise as he realized that... while he couldn't by any means claim that he felt _good_ , the nausea, at least, had largely begun to subside, and his headache had diminished to a dull roar.

"I... yeah, a little bit."

"Good. Get some coffee before ya head out to your post, take some more aspirin if ya haven't already, 'n don't let yourself get too dehydrated today. I gotta go meet up with the Boss. Rufus'll be anxious to get the parade started," Reno said, getting to his feet.

"Hmph... playing Hangover Fairy this morning?" Rude's voice suddenly cut in, as the senior Turk approached the table, plate in hand. Sykes and Petra weren't far behind.

"Hey, _someone's_ gotta make sure the kid stays on his feet today..." Reno shrugged. "Anyway... like I was just tellin' the kid, I gotta go before the V.P. starts bitchin' about me not bein' right where he wants me to be, right when he wants me to be there. Keep the rookies in line for me, will ya partner?"

Rude gave the redhead a slight nod of acknowledgment and Reno took off, heading back upstairs towards, Liam assumed, the dual penthouse suites where the President and Vice President were sequestered. When he was gone, Liam turned back to the small group at the table. Petra was tentatively sniffing at the empty glass, a vaguely disgusted look on her face.

"What was in this? It smells awful..."

Rude snorted in laughter.

"Reno's custom hangover cure. Works great, but... you _don't_ want the recipe."

* * *

Reno very nearly ran directly into Tseng as he bounded up the stairs. The two members of the Shinra army guarding the stairwell audibly snickered at the twin expressions of surprise on the Turks' faces before quickly falling silent again and resuming their watch.

"Sorry, Boss..." the redhead hastily apologized, "Got up early 'n somehow I'm _still_ runnin' a little behind this mornin'."

"I was just heading down to find you," Tseng replied, gesturing towards the vice president's room, and ushering him inside. He closed the door behind them. "You've eaten, then, I take it?" he asked, noting the four strips of bacon in the younger man's hand. Reno had swiped them off the buffet before he'd hit the stairs. He quickly shoved them into his mouth.

"Yeah... I'm all good," he mumbled around the food, "Checked in on the rookies, too, while I was at it."

"And are they all... fit for duty?" Tseng queried, raising an eyebrow. Reno forced down the mouthful of meat, swallowing harshly.

"Eh... Liam was lookin' kinda green, but I hooked him up with a little secret recipe of mine. Think he'll manage. The other two seemed fine."

"Good," Tseng nodded, "In that case –"

"In _that_ case, it's about damned time you finally hauled your useless backside out of bed. We're _going_ to be late," Rufus broke in, emerging from the suite's bedroom. He'd forgone his white jacket – which, in the last year or so had become almost a sort of trademark for the young executive – in favor of something a little more summer-friendly; plain black pants, a black button down, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a white vest, with deep crimson trim, and a red tie.

Rufus gave Reno's own outfit a somewhat sneering once-over.

"Who in Ramuh's name taught you how to put on a tie? And tuck your shirt in, you lazy slob. The news cameras are already outside."

Reno glanced over at Tseng. "Hey... Boss? You don't happen to have a pair of pliers on ya, do you?"

"No. Why?" Tseng cautiously inquired.

"... 'Cause I think the stick's up there a lot farther than it –"

"Finish that sentence, and you'll be _carrying_ my sedan instead of merely walking beside it," Rufus snapped before storming off to the other side of the room and stepping out onto the suite's private balcony.

"... Boss?" Reno asked, in a low voice. Rufus was always a kind of a dick... but he was in a _particularly_ bad mood this morning.

"It seems there was a disagreement of some sort with his father after I left last night. I'm not certain of the specifics. He's been like this since I arrived."

"Oh, wonderful..." the redhead breathed. "That'll be fun to deal with all day."

"Please, don't antagonize him today," Tseng sighed, "He has a history of behaving... rashly... when he's in a mood like this and we already have more than enough to worry about."

"Yeah, yeah... No fuckin' with the brat. I got it."

The Turk lieutenant chuckled faintly, shaking his head. "Though I'm sure you're already aware, I'm _still_ going to point out that referring to the vice president as 'the brat' would almost certainly qualify as antagonizing him."

"Boss, me just _existing_ antagonizes Rufus..." the redhead replied, grinning widely.

* * *

Rude grimaced as sweat trickled down his back. It was going to be a hot one. Hotter for him – and the rest of the team – given that they were going to be on their feet and walking most of the morning. He was just glad that the parade wasn't going to be obscenely long. Once that was done, he and most of the others could take a little bit of a break, and fall back to mere observation rather than active escort duty. Only the executive details needed to be directly on hand for the subsequent tour of the city.

He knew at least _one_ of their number was exceedingly grateful for that. Liam was definitely suffering. But... they'd done what they could for him. He'd just have to push through it. Rude wasn't really _that_ concerned. So long as he did what Reno had told him, he'd be fine. Miserable... but fine.

Some ways ahead of him, he could easily make out the familiar shock of red that denoted his friend's position in the parade. Meanwhile, Rude and Kai were stationed near the middle of the procession, alongside a small contingent of Shinra SOLDIERS made up of Second and Third Class. Director Faine had outright refused to pull her First Class personnel out of their training regimen for a parade.

Frankly, it was probably a _good_ thing that someone – Rufus, if the rumors were to be believed – had talked the President out of insisting on that. Rude had heard that the man had specifically wanted Sephiroth... Somehow, he didn't think that would have gone over so well. The powerful SOLDIER may have been a hero in Midgar and beyond, but in Wutai? He was the man who had single-handedly defeated the great Leviathan and cost them the war. Rude doubted he'd have received a particularly warm welcome.

And if anyone _did_ feel they'd missed out for not seeing the Shinra war hero, you certainly wouldn't have known it. The festival crowds seemed to be enjoying the parade, regardless. The music from the performers out in front could likely be heard all over the city, and their foreign guests were sandwiched between groups in costume, acrobats, and dancers. Between that, and the vendors walking the streets, selling food and souvenirs, everyone seemed to be having a good time.

"I have to admit... this beats the pants off of the President's usual parades..." Kai proclaimed, beside him.

"Hmph... let's hope it doesn't give him any new ideas. Personally, I don't want to be on the team stuck hauling him around Junon in a sedan chair."

"... Me neither," Kai snickered. Rude raised a curious eyebrow and pointedly looked down at the much smaller Turk.

"I don't think you'd have to worry. They put _you_ on that detail, and the whole thing would be lop-sided," Rude replied with a slight smirk.

"Ah, one of the few perks of being short..." she retorted, grinning. Rude chuckled and turned his gaze back on the crowd. The streets really _were_ packed... but as they rounded a corner, one small group in particular caught his eye, and he very nearly stopped short in surprise.

"Rude?" Kai queried.

"... Up ahead. By the alley," he said, quickly composing himself and turning away from the aforementioned subject. He was Wutaiian. Probably about as tall as Rude, though not as broad, and leaning casually against the wall of a building, watching the parade. Watching it... _very_ closely.

"Who is he?"

"Zenshou. One of the ones that escaped from Junon."

He was the one that Rude had clobbered, as a matter of fact. Of course, it could just be a coincidence... the Zenshou almost certainly had a base of some sort here in Wutai. It would only make sense that they'd be out and about on a day like today. But he didn't like the idea of one of their number sniffing around in such close proximity to the President.

"Let the others know. I'm gonna hang back and keep an eye on him. Just in case."

Kai subtly nodded and Rude took the next available opportunity to slip into the spectators along the side of the street. He hurriedly backtracked and flanked his target, finding a quiet alcove in the shadows from which to observe him, unseen.

* * *

"... Boss," Reno said, quietly, quickening his pace slightly to match his mentor's stride. He nodded to the message displayed on his phone.

"I saw," Tseng calmly replied. "It's unlikely they'll attempt anything during the parade. Between the Turks and SOLDIER, an attack of any sort would be suicide."

"Yeah. That's not so much what I'm worried about," the redhead said, glancing around. "These assholes are thieves, not assassins, right? And we're all _here_... with one of 'em keepin' an eye on us."

The Turk lieutenant frowned noticeably but didn't answer right away. Finally, he turned his attention back on his protege.

"Send a message to Sykes. Have him return to the hotel and ensure that no one has gained access to our quarters, particularly the President's suite. He brought a little gift for Lord Godo that he means to present this evening. It's under guard in his room. I'm not certain it's anything the Zenshou would be interested in, but it certainly can't hurt to double check."

"Yes, sir," Reno replied, before dropping back to his assigned position while he keyed in the requested text message to the rookie. He wondered, vaguely, what the President was planning on giving the emperor of Wutai... though – assuming the Zenshou hadn't already snatched it – he supposed he'd find out tonight.

The idea that that's what they were after bothered him, however. It _made perfect sense_... but for some reason, it something still nagged at him. What the hell else would they be looking to get their hand on, though? Anything of technological or tactical importance that might appeal to them was safely back in Midgar...

~end chapter 46~


	47. Look Who's Coming to Dinner

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 47: Look Who's Coming to Dinner...**

 **by Desha**

"You're absolutely _sure_ nothin's missin'?" Reno asked again.

"Not from what I can see, sir. And I checked every room, just in case," Sykes replied. The senior Turk shook his head. Well... if the Zenshou really _were_ after something and not just hanging out, watching the parade, it certainly didn't seem to be at the hotel...

"Okay... I'll let Tseng know. Head back to your post."

"Yes, sir," the rookie acknowledged, and the the call was swiftly ended. Reno tucked his PHS back into his jacket, and hurried over to relay the message.

"All clear back at the hotel, Boss," he said, resuming his place next to Tseng. The parade had reached the end of the line, and the President was about to take the little makeshift stage that had been erected overnight in front of the massive airship that had brought him to Wutai. That, of course, had been all the executive's idea... The image of President Shinra addressing the people of Wutai with the technological marvel that was the Highwind in the background was just too good to pass up.

Thankfully, Rufus was merely in the VIP section of the audience for this... which meant that Reno and Tseng were there, as well, rather than stuck on stage like Veld and Remy were. The younger Shinra's mood had not improved much over the course of the parade route, but for the time being, he seemed content to keep his complaints to himself.

"It was, admittedly, something of a long shot. President Shinra's gift is more symbolic than anything else. It would have no great value on the black market."

"So what are they doin' here, then?" the redhead mused.

"Perhaps they have another target in mind. Or perhaps they are merely observing for the sake of intelligence gathering. We'll keep an eye on them, regardless."

The sound of applause filled the air, and Reno suddenly realized that, while they'd been discussing the uninvited guests, the President had made his way on stage. The two Turks took their seats on either side of Rufus as the din finally began to subside, not farfrom where Lord Godo was seated.

"Well. _This_ should be about as entertaining as watching paint dry..." the young executive muttered under his breath.

* * *

Petulant as he was, Reno had to admit, the brat had been right. Twice he'd had to elbow the vice president awake during his father's speech – which had gone on for nearly an hour in the increasingly hot sun of late morning – and at least once he'd caught _himself_ drifting off, as well. He'd finally had to tune the man out entirely and focus his attention elsewhere lest he end up getting reprimanded for napping on the job.

But once the show was over, things got very busy very quickly. The crowd wandered off, back to the festival, and the Turks reconvened at the imperial residence in preparation for lunch and the afternoon tour. Kai and Rude were, noticeably, the last to arrive, and when the pair finally _did_ reappear, the latter looked decidedly annoyed.

"Soooo... goin' by the look on your face, I'm gonna guess that you didn't find out what the Zenshou are up to..." Reno commented, approaching his friend. Rude scowled in response.

"I was made. Didn't _realize_ it 'til I'd been following the son of a bitch for over an hour. He had to have been there just to draw our attention away from other operatives."

"Ouch..." the redhead cringed. There was nothing worse that getting one-upped by a target on the job... except maybe getting on-upped by a target _and_ wasting more than an hour of your morning. Rude sighed and shook his head.

"The bastard even had the nerve to smile and wave to me after he lead me halfway across town to the docks..." he groaned, "Then he hopped a passing speedboat and took off down the coast."

"Geez... talk about rubbin' it in..." Reno chuckled, " _Although_... if these guys weren't causin' us so much hassle, I'd be tempted to admit I kinda like their style."

"Hmph..." was the only response he got from his fellow Turk.

"... What they _hell_ are they after?" Reno wondered aloud, more to himself than to anyone else. Rude shrugged.

"Your guess is as good a mine. We didn't bring anything with us that'd be considered rare or valuable enough to pique their interest. And we _know_ they're in it for the money. They're thieves."

"... What about kidnappers?" the redhead ventured. "I mean... stealin' a person's not so different from stealin' a weapon. Maybe they're after the President or Rufus for the ransom money."

"Seems like a weird way to go about it, if that's what they're up to. They have to know how tight security around the executives is going to be for something like this trip. They'd have an easier time nabbing one of them in Midgar... not that _that_ would be easy by any stretch of the imagination, either."

"Okay... what about the reactor, then? Somethin' there?"

"Well, sure, there's plenty of classified tech up at the reactor," Kai cut in, joining the discussion uninvited. "But the good stuff's going to be bolted down and hard to carry. Why mess with it while half the damn Shinra Army's in town? Um... hey, so... where's Veld?"

"Gettin' ready for the city tour with Tseng... Why?"

Kai sighed, and Reno couldn't help but notice that she looked extremely embarrassed.

"I... think I might've got my wallet lifted. I don't know if it disappeared during the parade or if I lost it sometime before it started, but it's entirely possible that some asshole pickpocket's got the eight hundred gil I was going to spend on souvenirs... along with my company credentials," she muttered, unhappily.

"Man... neither _one_ of you guys are havin' a good day," the redhead snickered, "Ya know what? Get the hell away from _me_ before your bad luck rubs off... I got enough of my own most days."

Kai smirked and before Reno could figure out what she was up to, she'd slipped around behind him and grabbed him around the waist, pressing herself tightly against him and nuzzling her cheek into his back, just below his shoulder blades.

"... I didn't mean that it _literally_ rubs off..." the redhead added, rolling his eyes, "Quit dry-humpin' me, already. I thought I wasn't your type."

The comment managed to get a quiet laugh out of Rude, despite his currently irritated mood and he moved to get the senior Turk away from his friend. He picked her up and physically pulled her off of the redhead, and then held her, her feet dangling uselessly a couple of inches off the ground.

"Come on, Kai... You're just stalling, now. Let's go find Veld so you can tell him about your ID."

"You know... I can see why Reno hates it when you do this to _him_ ," she muttered. Both of her fellow Turks snickered as Rude obligingly set her down again.

"Careful, Kai... This asshole's not above throwin' a person in the nearest body of water just for the hell of it," Reno teased. "Anyway... Last I saw Veld 'n Tseng, they were over by that Pagoda thing. When ya find 'em tell 'em I went to go make sure the rookies haven't passed out yet from either the heat or starvation."

Rude nodded, and then hoisted Kai off of her feet again, tucking the diminutive Turk under one arm and walking off with her. The redhead snickered loudly as she squirmed ineffectively in the larger Turk's grasp.

"Not funny, Rude!" she growled, but her protests went ignored.

Reno grinned and shook his head before turning and heading off to find the trio of rookies.

* * *

"Okay, dammit... You've had your fun," Kai grumbled, "This isn't cute anymore. Put me the hell down."

Rude laughed and finally relinquished his hold on the senior Turk. She straightened herself out and glared at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"You know..." she added, "I think I liked you better back when you were that shy, quiet, eager to please little kid we found in the recruitment program."

Rude merely smiled in response and started walking towards the Pagoda of the Five Gods. Kai fell into step beside him a moment later. The sun was well and truly up... which made sense, given that it was going on noon. The president and vice president, by now, would have retired to the imperial residence for a private lunch with Lord Godo and his daughter, leaving the Turks largely to their own devices. Kai suddenly chuckled quietly to herself.

"But, to be fair, you're not the _only_ one who's come a long way," she mused. "So... what do you think? Is my little Baby Turkling up to the challenge?"

Rude glanced over at her and silently raised an eyebrow. The senior Turk rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please... don't give me that mystified look. You know damn well what I'm talking about, because you know as well as I do that Tseng's flagged him to take over for him when Veld retires. You know every _other_ goddamn thing that goes on in our offices. I'm sure you figured _that_ one out."

The bald Turk snorted softly in amusement and shook his head.

"Reno'll make a terrific second in command... soon as he realizes that himself."

Now, apparently, it was Kai's turn to cock a questioning eyebrow.

"He doesn't think he can do it?" she asked, sounding somewhat surprised. Rude grinned slightly.

" _He_ doesn't even think he's being considered... Thinks it's gonna be either Remy or you, because you're so much more experienced than he is."

Kai stopped short and stared at him, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Wait... Tseng _still_ hasn't told him?! Oh, for _Shiva's_ sake... I'd thought for sure he'd have clued him in by _now_."

"Nope," Rude replied, shaking his head in the negative, "Not as far as I've heard, anyway. But thanks for confirming my suspicions about Reno being the new Second."

"Ugh... I _swear_ that man isn't going to tell him until about five minutes before he expects my Baby Turkling to accept the promotion..."

"Probably for the best, really. Reno'd freak out if he found out any sooner," Rude said, teasingly. Though he wasn't really _that_ convinced he was that far off in regards to his friend's reaction to finally finding out. The redhead was so utterly dismissive of the idea that even with all the evidence that it was eventually going to happen staring him in the face, Rude had a feeling it was going to come as a shock. As far as Rude could tell, Reno just... _truly_ didn't believe he was even in the running, let alone the heir-apparent.

Rude himself hadn't pressed the issue. Or, rather, he'd largely _stopped_ pressing the issue. He'd eventually come to the conclusion that, if Tseng wasn't coming right out and informing the redhead of his plans, then their must have been a reason. And knowing Reno, it was likely because, if he _did_ know, he'd obsess over it and worry about it to the point that he talked himself out of accepting. Rude had decided that he'd leave it alone until Tseng decided that his friend was ready to hear it.

Of course... that didn't mean he couldn't still sneak in the occasional comment or two about how well he'd do in the role, even if Reno _did_ always dismiss it out of hand. A little encouragement never hurt.

"Hey, Kai..." he added, smirking unabashedly as they approached the Pagoda and spotted the two most senior members of the team in quiet discussion. "You _do_ realize that you can't keep calling him that once he's officially your superior, right?"

A wide smile split the woman's face. "Of course I know that... Why do you think I'm getting it in as much as possible while I still can?"

"Hmph..." Rude chuckled. They made their way over, and Tseng glanced up at the pair.

"Where's Reno?" he asked.

"Went to feed and water the Turklings..." Kai replied, still grinning. Tseng eyed her curiously, but simply shook his head at her oddly happy demeanor.

"For Leviathan's sake, Kai... They're not pets," he said, though Rude plainly heard a trace of laughter in his voice. "Did you have any luck finding out what our... friends... are up to?"

Rude bit back a groan. The brief conversation had largely forced the more immediate business of the Zenshou from his mind momentarily.

"No, sir... The one I was following was a decoy. I didn't realize it until he'd led me all the way to the docks," he replied, and then as he noticed the shorter Turk somewhat hiding behind his much larger frame, "And Kai lost her credentials. Maybe stolen."

Veld frowned and stepped forward.

"When? During the parade?"

Kai shot Rude an annoyed glare. "Snitch," she muttered, before turning to the Turk leader, "I'm not sure _exactly_ , sir. I know I had everything last night before I left to check out the festival. But when needed my wallet after the parade today, it was missing. I... got back to the hotel kind of late last night. I _think_ I had it then, but I couldn't swear to it. And Reno paid for breakfast this morning, so..."

"Kai..." Tseng sighed, somewhat exasperated.

"I know, I know... I should have checked sooner. I just wasn't thinking about it."

"Remy and I will remain with the President and Vice President. Tseng... go and inform the Junon personnel and SOLDIER of the situation. In person. Just on the chance that this is more than a simple case of a particularly lucky pickpocket, I want to keep electronic communication to a minimum."

"Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant replied, before hurrying off to do as he was bade.

"As for _you_ ," Veld continued, looking directly at Kai, "Retrace your steps, and see if you can locate your ID. I'd much prefer it to have simply been misplaced than stolen."

"Yes, sir."

"Rude... get out of the sun for a bit, get some food, and then see if you can pick up the Zenshou's trail again. You might find it useful to put the rookies to work, as well. And let Reno know to keep an eye out for Kai's credentials while your at it. Titan knows he's rather frighteningly adept at simply stumbling onto things by pure chance."

"Yes, sir," Rude answered, nodding.

* * *

Liam shut his eyes, relaxing for the moment in the shade of a wide awning that shielded a handful of tables from the worst of the afternoon sun. He picked up the glass of ice water that had been set in front of him and raised it to his forehead, pressing the deliciously cool glass against his skin.

"How's the headache?" Petra asked.

"Still there... but a lot better than it _was_. At least I don't feel like I'm going to be sick every time I move anymore. I don't know what was in that stuff Reno gave me, but he was right. It worked _really_ well."

"Heh... Trust me. You're better off not knowin', kid."

All three of the rookies jumped, startled by the unexpected interjection, as the aforementioned redhead took a seat at their table.

"You guys order yet?" he asked, grinning.

"Just drinks, sir," said Sykes.

"Great... I'm starvin'," Reno said, reaching for the menu. "Soooo... Still alive, huh?" he added, glancing teasingly over at Liam.

"I think so, sir..." the youngest rookie replied, snickering softly. "Well... either that or someone finally put me out of my misery and I'm just haunting the place now."

"Don't be a smartass," the senior Turk said, rolling his eyes. He smirked slightly. "That's _my_ job."

"Sir, are _all_ of the President's speeches so... er..." Petra began, before trailing off awkwardly.

"Boring?" Reno supplied, with a laugh, "... Yeah, pretty much. This was actually one of his shorter speeches. Consider yourselves lucky. I once had to sit through one that went on for over two hours... and apparently _that's_ not even his record. Heh... I think even Rufus was gettin' fed up with it today, though. 'Course he wasn't in the best of moods to begin with."

"Why not?" Petra queried, looking vaguely concerned. Reno shrugged.

"Not sure. Tseng said somethin' about an argument with the President... but he didn't have the details. All I know is that somethin' _definitely_ crawled up the V.P.'s ass this mornin' 'n he wasn't exactly a happy camper when we went to get him for the parade. So... Turtle's Paradise still packed wall to wall, I take it?"

"Yeah," Sykes said, a bit dejectedly. Reno had figured as much. He'd expected them to be there, rather than at the little cafe across from the hotel... It was sheer luck that he'd spotted them sitting outside on his way to the world famous bar.

"Eh... Don't worry, kid. We got plenty of opportunities before we head home. I'm sure we'll get in there eventually."

"Yeah, well... I think _I'll_ just stay _out_ of the bars from now on," Liam groaned.

"Probably a good idea."

The rookie quite literally squeaked, he inhaled such a sharp gasp at the proclamation that had come out of nowhere. Reno laughed, and turned his grin on the Turk now standing directly behind the youngest rookie.

"Nice timing, partner..." he snickered, as Rude, too, took a seat at the table. "You tryin' to give the poor kid a heart attack or what?"

Rude grinned slightly. "Just following orders."

"Veld _ordered_ you to give the kid a heart attack?" the redhead shot back, feigning shock, "Man, he must _really_ be ticked about him gettin' drunk last night..."

The bald Turk playfully smacked his friend on the back of the head.

"Don't be a smartass."

"I thought that was his job..." Sykes quietly sniggered, which triggered badly disguised laughter from the other two rookies at the table as well. Reno rolled his eyes, but didn't comment, opting instead to go back to studying the menu.

"Veld told me to take a break and get something to eat before I head back out to look for the Zenshou. Also told me to commandeer the rookies for the search."

"They're all yours," the redhead shrugged, "Try 'n bring 'em back in one piece, huh?"

Rude snorted softly. "Veld also wants you to keep an eye peeled for Kai's company ID. He's hoping it was just misplaced or dropped... not stolen. Kai's out backtracking over everywhere she's been this morning."

"Heh... _finally_. Someone besides _me_ fucked up..." Reno laughed.

"Sir?" Liam asked, curiously raising an eyebrow, but the senior Turk only shook his head.

"Nothin'..." he chuckled.

"Nothin', he says..." Rude snickered. "When Reno was a rookie, if something went horribly wrong, you could almost _count_ on him being involved _somehow_."

"Hey!" the redhead replied, indignantly. "That's..." He paused when his friend shot him a knowing look, and shook his head, laughing. "Yeah, okay, that's totally accurate..."

"I'm sorry, sir... but I have a _very_ hard time believing that..." Petra giggled. The other two rookies nodded their agreement.

Reno grinned sheepishly, but dropped the matter. Somehow, he hadn't realized just how much the younger Turks seemed to look up to him. Sure, he knew they respected him... even liked him on a personal level. But somewhere along the line he'd apparently become something of a role model to them, too. It was... oddly disconcerting. That was more Tseng's department than his. Rude smirked in his general direction and elbowed him teasingly under the table. The redhead merely rolled his eyes.

"So... sounds like you guys are gonna be busy this afternoon. Guess we better get some food ordered..."

* * *

Whether the rookies were busy or not, Reno didn't have the chance to find out... because almost as soon as he returned from lunch, the tour of the city was ready to get underway, and he found himself back at work, keeping an eye on Rufus while Lord Godo went on and on about the many historical sites in the Wutaiian capitol.

To be fair... a lot of it _was_ actually pretty interesting. It wasn't often that Reno got the chance to play tourist while on duty, and even though a large share of his attention was focused on potential threats, he found himself enjoying the tour, as well. The first stop, of course, had been the Pagoda of the Five Gods. He'd seen it from the outside several times by now, but had been pleasantly surprised when they'd been led inside to meet the first floor's Master.

Then had come the imperial gardens. The market place. The river. The Temple of Da-Chou. And, naturally, there had been a viewing of carvings on the sacred mountain. It had been a lot of information to take in, and Reno had found himself wishing that he had more time to just... see everything... without being rushed along on a whirlwind tour of the place. It would have been pretty cool to be able to take his time, and really enjoy it. He was pretty sure Tseng would have been more than happy to play tour guide, given the opportunity.

Maybe tonight, after the formalities were out of the way, and Rufus and the President were safely tucked away back at the hotel, he'd see if his mentor was up to heading back out. It was, admittedly, asking kind of a lot, given that they had to be up early _again_ tomorrow, but Tseng had certainly seemed to relish showing him around the festival last night.

For now, though, he'd have to be content. And besides... in an hour or so, they'd be having dinner with Lord Godo. Not _just_ the President and Rufus, but their entire entourage. The Turks, the representatives of SOLDIER... the Highwind's pilot and copilot... even some of the higher ranking members of the Shinra army that had accompanied them. And on the Wutaiian side of things, Godo had his own list of guests, apparently. The dinner was going to be close to forty people when all was said and done.

He was... a little nervous about that, truth be told. Though, hopefully, with all those other people there, no one would actually notice if his table manners weren't perfect or if he fucked up with the damn chopsticks.

The redhead glanced over at Rufus as they made their way back towards the imperial residence near the Pagoda. He had chilled out a little over the course of the afternoon... but Reno hadn't missed the annoyed glare he'd shot at his father the moment his back was turned. Whatever it was they'd fought about, the brat _definitely_ wasn't over it. Tseng seemed to have noticed, as well, and was making a point of keeping his charge separated from the elder Shinra as much as possible. It wasn't likely that Rufus would go out of his way to start something in the middle of the tour... He valued his reputation far too much for that. But if something set him off? Well... why take the chance?

Up ahead, Reno could see the top of the Pagoda over the smaller buildings of the city, and he was glad to be back. It had been a long day... and a _long_ time since lunch. Fuck the chopsticks. He was getting hungry.

* * *

Rufus breathed a quiet sigh of relief, grateful that the day was nearly over, as he leaned back against the the cushions piled near the indoor spring. He hadn't realized it on their initial visit to the imperial residence, but this was no mere man-made water garden. It was natural spring that the whole house had simply been built around. Quite the unique feature... He approved wholeheartedly.

He wondered if the brightly-colored koi fish that swam languidly beneath the surface were also natural tenants of the tranquil little pool, or if they'd been intentionally introduced. He was not usually fond of living decorations. His father had, when he was much younger, been an avid collector of fish himself. They were never regarded as pets, however. They existed solely to look pretty alongside the opulence of the family manor... until the trend had fallen out of fashion and they'd been disposed of.

This was a bit different. These fish seemed to come and go as they pleased through the little opening at the base of the far wall. Earlier, he'd seen Godo's daughter sprinkling food of some sort into the water, resulting in a few moments of frenzied splashing as the fish had devoured it.

It was quite likely that, even if they did not originally live here, at the very least they stayed of their own free will for the easy meals and the protection afforded to them by the structure itself.

Yuffie.

That was the girl's name. It was one that he had, as of last night, come to despise... though it was certainly no fault of hers. No, it was his father's. For Ramuh's _sake_ , the girl couldn't _possibly_ have been more than eleven or so... If that. He'd be _twenty-four_ this coming winter. Nevermind the fact that he had been excruciatingly clear some time ago that he would not stand for being married off at his father's whim, the very thought of an... _arrangement_... of _any_ kind between himself and the emperor's daughter was outright disgusting, and he had not been shy in informing his father of such. He didn't give a damn if it was postponed until she was no longer a child. No amount of time would change the fact that she was barely half his age.

That sort of thing may have been his father's preference... but it _wasn't_ his.

He sighed heavily to himself. He was going to have to do something about this. And he had a sneaking suspicion that 'something' would ultimately have to be acquiring a female companion before his father attempted, yet again, to acquire one _for_ him. His choices were so _ridiculously_ limited, however. One would think that when one had been named Midgar's most eligible bachelor three years running, the simple task of finding a suitable companion wouldn't be exceptionally difficult. The truth, however, was that it was nearly impossible.

Nearly all of the women he met feel into one of two categories: idiots with no mind of their own, and gold-diggers. More than a few managed to fit neatly into both categories at once. He wasn't interested in being used for his position and money. If – and frankly, that was quite a big if at the moment – he opted to marry, it was going to be to someone who was his equal intellectually... someone who didn't care about his fortune... and most importantly, someone who saw him as more than just a ticket into Midgar's upper crust society and an easy life.

He was half-convinced no such woman actually existed. If she did, _he_ certainly had yet to meet her.

And frankly, that didn't upset him nearly as much as it seemed to upset his father. Rufus was no stranger to being alone. For most of his life, he'd actively held all but a select few at arms length. He didn't have _need_ of excessive amounts of companionship.

"E-excuse me, sir..." a voice somewhat hesitantly broke in on his internal monologue. The vice president tore his gaze away from the pool, annoyed at having been interrupted.

"Yes?" he snapped, with perhaps a bit more venom than was warranted, and then silently chastised himself for the unnecessary outburst. That had been quite unprofessional, particularly given that he was an invited guest. Thankfully, it was only one of Tseng's minions, and not a messenger from Lord Godo. One of the newer ones. He vaguely recalled having met her once before. She'd been part of his security, along with the Slum Rat, on a planning trip to Junon.

"I'm _very_ sorry to interrupt, sir... but Reno sent me to tell you that they'll begin seating us for dinner in ten minutes."

Rufus dismissively waved a hand at both the apology and the summons. He disliked formal dinners. The conversation was always dull, and the company was seldom any less so. At least the food would be of high quality tonight, though. And perhaps it wouldn't be wholly disagreeable with Tseng and the Slum Rat there. If he were lucky, the idiotic redhead would do something so thoroughly uncouth they could call it an early evening.

He sighed and got to his feet, casting once final glance at the fish, still swimming, unperturbed, in their little pool.

"Lovely creatures, aren't they?" he commented, dropping his earlier annoyed tone. After all, _she_ wasn't the focal point of his ire, and though he could hardly admit to it, he didn't actually _mind_ being in the company of the Turks, for the most part. The majority of them were intelligent, hardworking, and dedicated employees. And then there was the Slum Rat, who was all of that, _and_ obnoxious on a level that Rufus had hardly believed possible before meeting him.

"They _are_ very pretty..." the young Turk answered, somewhat nervously. Several of the fish swam up to the surface, peering up at her, their mouths open. She reached into the little feeder box mounted on the railing and tossed in a handful of food.

"And quite intelligent, apparently," Rufus replied. He stood beside the young woman, watching them eat for a moment.

"Oh? I didn't know that, sir. How smart are they?" she said.

"I would say exceptionally so. They've already got _you_ trained to feed them on command." The Shinra heir smirked slightly and turned towards the doors that led to the the large banquet room, leaving the Turk in slightly stunned silence.

A moment later, he heard quiet, unsuccessfully repressed giggling from behind him.

* * *

"Man... I don't know what they're feedin' us, but I can already _smell_ it..." Reno said, grinning as he hurried over to Tseng. His mentor chuckled softly and closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.

"... It _is_ rather alluring, isn't it?" he replied.

"Ah... Tseng's one weakness," Veld commented, teasingly, as he and Remy made their way over to them. "Or _maybe_ it's more accurately classified as an addiction."

"Since when's the boss addicted to food?" Reno asked, "I kinda thought that was _me_..."

Veld grinned knowingly.

"Oh, not just _any_ food. Food from _home_. I very nearly considered to putting him in rehab as a rookie, as much as he spent at Wutaiian restaurants back then. He had withdrawal symptoms if he went more than a day or two without miso soup..."

Tseng rolled his eyes. "I was certainly not _that_ bad," he sighed, and then smirked slightly, "Besides which... I don't even particularly _like_ miso soup. I much prefer a nice bowl of ramen. Preferably with a little pork and maybe an egg."

"Ugh... Stop it, Boss. You're killin' me, here. I'm _already_ starvin'..." the redhead groaned.

"Hmph... why does _that_ not surprise me?" a familiar voice sneered. Tseng chuckled softly as Rufus emerged from the other room and headed in their direction, Petra close on his tail. "I assume my father is waiting for me in the sitting room?"

"Yes, sir," Tseng replied. Rufus nodded, and continued on, disappearing through another door. The Turk lieutenant glanced over at Reno raised an eyebrow.

"You sent a _rookie_ to get him?" he queried. The redhead laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well... I figured they gotta learn to wrangle 'im sooner or later."

"Did he give you any trouble?" Tseng asked, turning to Petra. The rookie giggled softly.

"Not at all, sir... He was actually very charming."

Reno stared at her with an exaggerated expression of shock. "... Did you seriously just describe Rufus Shinra as 'charming'?"

 _That_ comment drew a laugh from Tseng as well, and he placed an arm over the younger Turk's shoulders.

"Don't tease her. You know perfectly well that Rufus can be quite personable when he wants to be," his mentor replied, "Hopefully, this means that his mood has finally improved."

Reno grinned and nodded to Petra. "Good job, rookie. You survived a one-on-one encounter with the brat."

"And since you're already running errands, go and tell the others that if they don't acknowledge my message in the next sixty seconds and get in here, they'll be eating back at the hotel. I believe they're out in the courtyard," Veld added as several of Godo's guests began to make their way through the foyer and into the banquet room.

"Yes, sir!" Petra replied, smiling, and hurried off to gather up the rest of the team.

As she slipped out the door, another trio of guests stepped inside. An older gentleman with a rather severe look on his face, and a woman that Reno took to be his wife. They were accompanied by a young man, perhaps a few years older than Tseng, who's left arm was missing from the elbow down. At first, Reno thought nothing of them... though he was slightly surprised when none of them so much as acknowledged the presence of the Turks. Since he'd arrived, the people had been nothing _but_ friendly towards them. He was going to write it off as them being some stuck up, wealthy family Godo had invited as a matter of protocol... until he turned around to mention his observations to Tseng.

His mentor had gone noticeably pale.

"Boss?" he prodded, concerned.

"Tseng... I'm sorry. I had no _idea_ they'd be here. It must have been a last minute addition to the guest list," Veld hurriedly said, steadying him. Reno looked over at Remy, who seemed just as mystified as _he_ was.

"Who are they?" Reno finally just asked. Tseng swallowed sharply.

"Hisao. My eldest brother," he breathed, somewhat shakily, "And... my mother and father..."

~end chapter 47~


	48. Family

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 48: Family**

 **by Desha**

Tseng had survived many things in his lifetime. Leaving home at eighteen for a new country he'd never set foot in with almost nothing but the clothes on his back and what little he could carry in a small duffle bag. Multiple gunshot wounds that had not only nearly killed him outright, but that had put him out of commissions for months after the surgeons had stabilized him. The senseless loss of close friends at the hands of a traitor. The death of his sister that had left him questioning every decision he'd ever made to bring him to that point.

He wasn't quite certain where sitting across from his estranged parents while they dutifully pretended they didn't recognize him as they chatted calmly with the other guests placed on that list... but he suspected it was rather high. The only thing he _was_ certain of was that he desperately wanted this dinner to end.

A part of him wished his father would glower angrily at him. Stare at him with the same fury Tseng had seen in his eyes the day he disowned him. Show him the cold indifference of hatred. Physically _attack_ him. _Anything_. Literally _anything_ would have been better than the unconcerned glances that occasionally came his way, as though he were a stranger the man had never seen in his life, rather than the son he'd raised from birth.

He'd known this meeting would happen eventually. Perhaps not on _this_ trip, but at some point when his work brought him back to Wutai. The possibility of crossing paths with one of his relatives was a strong one. It was a fairly large family, after all. Between his parents, five living siblings, their spouses and children, a plethora of cousins on his mother's side and _their_ families... it was just a matter of time, really, before he ran into someone he was related to in some way and either had to endure their shunning, or explain what had happened, depending on the distance of the relationship.

He'd known it wouldn't be pleasant, no matter what member or members of his former family he came across... but he hadn't expected it to be _this_ painful.

When he'd first caught sight of them, it was as if he'd been struck solidly in the chest. The reaction simply to seeing them from a distance had been so visceral that, for a moment, he could hardly even breathe. And then... he'd seen his brother. He'd learned, thanks to Koto, his youngest remaining sibling, that Hisao and Jian had _both_ joined Wutai's forces on the battlefield of their own accord rather than wait to be conscripted. Koto, thankfully, would have been judged ill-suited to fight even if he had wanted to, owing to an injury that had left him with a pronounced limp as a child... and Shui and Yun both lived out of the country... but no one had told him that Hisao –

Not his mother... not even Koto... had written to him to say that Hisao had been so grievously injured in the war. And he wondered if anyone would have bothered telling him if he'd lost his life, rather than merely an arm.

It really was all he could do to maintain the appearance, at least, of a professional Turk. He ate, but barely even tasted the food. He spoke, but half the time he was only peripherally aware of what he was saying. After awhile, it almost began to feel as though he were watching himself interact with the other dinner guests from some point outside of his body, and the thought and implications of that dissociation deeply concerned him... but there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it. He was a mere observer in his own skin.

When the introductions had been made prior to them all taking their seats, Rufus had looked over at him with a somewhat worried frown... but otherwise had given no other indication he realized there was a problem. He didn't have to. Tseng knew him well enough to understand that it hadn't escaped his notice. But like himself, Rufus was trapped within in the bonds of decorum. There was nothing he could do to prevent the inevitable.

And so they had sat down to dinner.

He was all but certain it was never going to end. The clamor of ceaseless conversation intermixed with the sounds of chewing that, to his mind, at least, seemed abnormally, almost painfully, loud. In fact, the longer it went on, it gradually became the only thing he was consciously aware of and it was slightly maddening. Every other part of him seemed to be on autopilot, like an automaton acting in his stead, pre-programmed with its artificial responses so he didn't have to think. But the chewing was real, and it was endless.

Or so he thought. Eventually... it _did_ end, and Tseng found himself being led out of the room while attention and conversation was focused was on other, more trivial matters. He didn't even realize that it was Reno prodding him out of the room until the cool breeze blowing in from the coast and his protege's increasingly worried words finally snapped him back to reality.

"Boss?"

Tseng shook his head, and finally, for what felt like the first time in hours, took a breath.

"You okay?" the redhead inquired.

"Yes..." the Turk lieutenant replied, closing his eyes for a moment and _forcing_ himself to be calm.

"... 'Cause ya don't really _look_ okay..." Reno added, hesitantly. Tseng raised his hands to his face and massaged tired eyes.

"That was... unpleasant," he finally acknowledged, and turned gratefully to the younger man. "I'll be fine."

"So... those were your parents, huh?"

"They used to be..." Tseng sighed, wistfully gazing out at the mountains in the distance, and realized for the first time that they were outside on the balcony. Well... that certainly explained the breeze. "Thank you, Reno. I think, if I'd been forced to sit there much longer, I would have started to go a bit mad..."

"... He... he's really serious, isn't he? 'Bout... ya know..."

The Turk lieutenant smiled sadly. "Yes... my father is quite thoroughly invested in insisting that I do not exist. Even to himself."

"... I'm sorry."

When he looked, he could see the sympathy in the redhead's eyes, and Tseng realized that his parents' unexpected presence had come as almost as great a shock to Renoas it had to him... albeit for much different reasons. For his protege, the thought of willingly giving up a member of his family was so outrageous... so unspeakable... that he likely could hardly have truly fathomed it before seeing it firsthand. It was something the young man himself was almost certainly incapable of. Reno was far too caring, and too innately gentle, to ever even consider enacting such an overtly cruel punishment against someone he loved.

Tseng rested a hand on the younger Turk's shoulder, squeezing softly.

"I'm going to go and find Rufus. I suspect he's been hoping to leave the party a bit early, and for once I'm not going to expend my energy convincing him to stay."

Not being the most overly social of people, the vice president disliked this sort of event even at the best of times, and really only tolerated it for the sake of his position and at his father's insistence. Knowing that Tseng was as desperate to leave as _he_ was would almost certainly encourage him to bid the others a hasty good night. Normally, the Wutaiian Turk wouldn't wish to take advantage, but under the circumstances, he was willing to be slightly selfish tonight.

"Ya don't have to go back in there... I can go grab the brat," Reno offered, but Tseng silently shook his head.

"No. I won't give my father the satisfaction of knowing that I've skulked off into the night without facing him one last time."

"You want me to come with you?"

"I... need to do this alone," Tseng replied, though he hesitated. The temptation to accept the younger man's support was strong, and he absolutely did _not_ wish to be anywhere near his father alone right now. But he'd meant what he said. His father wanted him to suffer for his sins. It was likely at least half the reason he'd come tonight... to rub it in his face. He wasn't going to let him. At least no more than he already had.

* * *

Reno sighed and watched as Tseng disappeared back inside. A part of him wanted to follow him anyway, no matter what his mentor said. But... if he _really_ needed to do this by himself... he had to respect that.

He couldn't understand how someone could just... forget... their kid like that. Was what Tseng had done _really_ that utterly unforgivable? Sure... he'd probably never forgive _himself_... but... parents were supposed to love their kids unconditionally. Okay, so yeah, there were some shitty ones out there that treated their kids like crap... abused them... sold 'em off to feed a habit... whatever. But Tseng's parents weren't like that. Not if Mayu, and Tseng himself, were any kind of reflection of them.

He shook his head and turned his gaze back out to the mountains in the distance. He hated that Tseng had to keep suffering for something he was already going to regret for the rest of his life. He hated that his dad was too much of an unrelenting asshole to forgive him. He hated that no one else in Tseng's family would stand up to the son of a bitch and _tell_ him he was being an asshole.

And he hated that there wasn't a damned thing he could do about any of it.

Reno still remembered _exactly_ how broken Tseng had been when Mayu had died. And how long it had taken him to return to some semblance of normal after his return to Midgar. To this day, his mentor still didn't talk about where he was or what he was doing for all the time he was gone. At least not to the redhead. Maybe Veld knew... but if so, the Turk leader was as tight-lipped about it as his mentor was.

Reno could only imagine how awful that time must have been for him. Alone. Abandoned by the people who'd raised him. Far from home and the ones who still cared.

He leaned unhappily against the balcony's railing. The moon was bright and not quite full, and stars were everywhere. It was weird seeing so many stars all at once. You never saw them in Midgar... at least not like _this_.

"... Reno?" an unfamiliar voice somewhat hesitantly queried, interrupting his thoughts. He blinked in surprise, not having heard anyone approaching, and turned... and then blinked again.

"Uh... hi?" he managed, not at all having expected to suddenly be face to face with Tseng's mom while he was standing alone on a balcony thinking about what a dick his mentor's dad was.

She made her way over to him.

"You are so much more grown now than in the picture Tseng sent..." she said softly. He must have looked as confused as he felt, because she gave him a sad smile. "He used to write often. He told me a great deal about you. I... was so looking forward to finally meeting you. But, then... the war... Mayu..."

She cast her eyes down for a moment, and when she looked up again, tears shimmered in the moonlight.

"We should not have come. I insisted that Hiro seek an invitation. I knew that if the Shinra President was here, so, too, would Tseng be here," she whispered. "I saw how it hurt him. But... I wanted to see him again. I wanted to see my _son_. So badly. It was selfish of me."

Reno glared at the woman. He couldn't help himself. Tseng was the one suffering, and this woman had the balls to come crying about it to _him_?

"If you wanna see him so badly, then why don't you just tell your husband to knock this bullshit off?!"

"You don't understand."

"Damn _right,_ I don't... I really, _really_ don't understand how you can treat someone you supposedly care about like that," he replied, folding his arms over his chest. Tseng's mother shook her head, and placed a hand on his arm.

"My Hiro... he is a _good_ man and a _good_ father."

Reno snorted in contempt. He had a hard time believing that. By all accounts, Hiro Itsudake had been a controlling, demanding, dictatorial jerk-off for most of Tseng's life, culminating in outright disowning his son over a tragic mistake. Granted, he didn't exactly have a whole lot of personal experience to draw upon when it came to fathers, but that certainly didn't meet _his_ definition of a good one.

"I know... from where you stand, his actions seem cruel and unjust. He is hurting, just as Tseng hurts. As we all hurt. Mayu was our only daughter. She was dearly loved by everyone, but to her father, she was his most precious gift. It was a profound loss for Hiro. That wound still has not healed, and he blames Tseng."

"But... even if _he_ can't forgive him, why's that mean _no one_ can?" the redhead demanded. "Why can't _you_?"

"I have. I could never hate my little Tseng. But... I must forsake him, to hold my family together. I cannot abandon them. He knows this."

"Tch... so he just gets tossed out in the cold so you can look after everyone else?" Reno said, angrily. Where the hell was the fairness in that? It just wasn't right. They'd turned their backs on him right when Tseng had needed them most.

"I have raised five sons and one daughter," the woman, explained quietly, "And not one of them ever dared go against their father's command until the day Tseng left home. He is, and has always been, the strongest of my children. He will survive whatever life may bring without me standing watch over him. It isn't fair that he should have to endure such hardship... but he will survive it. He is perhaps the only one of them that ever _could_."

"That doesn't make it okay..." Reno said, stubbornly shaking his head.

"Of course it doesn't..." she said, gently cupping his cheek with one hand. "And I wish things were different. You... you take good care of my Tseng for me. It is a small relief to know that he's not alone."

She turned to go, but before she disappeared through the doors, she turned back to face him.

"I... am deeply ashamed to say that I am _glad_ that I did not meet you sooner, Reno. You have a kindness within you," she said, with that same sad little smile, "... even when you're angry. I think I would have treasured you just as Tseng does. As one of my own. The loss of both a daughter _and_ a son was almost too much for me to bear. I do not think I could have borne a third loss. Tell him... that I'm sorry for what he must endure. And that I will always love him."

* * *

He'd been grateful when his suspicions had proven correct. When he'd returned to the dining room, Rufus was already rather loudly complaining to his father of a dreadful headache, and, upon spotting one half of his escort, had informed him, in no uncertain terms, that he was returning to the hotel.

Tseng... had done his best to meet the gaze of the man he'd once called Father. The feigned lack of recognition didn't seem to twist the knife quite so deeply this time... but it was by no means easy. Oddly enough, he didn't see his mother anywhere. A part of him had hoped to, even if she wouldn't – or couldn't – acknowledge him. Perhaps, though, that was for the best. Facing only one of them was difficult enough.

His brother ignored him utterly... not that Tseng was surprised. Hisao had never been especially adept at hiding his feelings, and he knew that his eldest brother was easily as angry with him as their father was. Better to simply pretend he wasn't there at all, than to risk a public confrontation.

Tseng quickly collected the Shinra heir and ushered him out into the water garden, following the lantern-lit pathway that led back to the front entrance. He found Reno waiting for them just outside.

"Sent the rookies on ahead to make sure our route back was clear," the redhead said.

When in Leviathan's name had he had time to do _that_? Had Tseng really been in there that long? It hadn't seemed like it... But then, he wasn't in the best frame of mind at the moment. Time seemed to have somewhat taken on a life of its own. For that matter, he hadn't even taken note of the fact that the rookies had been missing from the party at all, something that normally would _never_ have slipped his notice. Before he could respond, the redhead's PHS chimed softly and his protege glanced down at the screen.

"Sykes says we're good."

"... Let's go, then," Tseng replied, glad that at least _one_ of them was thinking clearly enough to follow protocol. It seemed that he was far more shaken than he'd realized.

They started off into the night. A few short blocks away, they could hear the festival still in full swing, and routed themselves around the crowded areas.

"So..." Rufus said, rather haughtily, " _That_ was your illustrious father, then?"

"Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant replied.

"Hmph. Well, I can't say as I'm impressed. He was an utter _bore_ all through dinner."

"Sir... I realize you're trying to help –"

"But I'm not succeeding, am I?" Rufus sighed, in a uncharacteristically put-out tone of voice. Reno snorted in somewhat sarcastic laughter, and to Tseng's surprise, he found himself echoing it faintly.

"I _do_ appreciate the effort, sir."

Rufus shook his head. "And I thought _my_ father could be callous... Did you know they would be there?"

"No. I didn't. Veld seemed to think it was a late addition to the guest list. They weren't on it when we vetted it last week."

"Wonder how they ended up on it so last minute?" Reno mused, and Rufus looked over him, cocking an eyebrow.

"You really _are_ oblivious, aren't you?" he said with a slight sneer. "If you'd been paying attention to the conversation instead of what was on your plate for a change, he would have answered that question _for_ you. He heard about the dinner through a more... _well-connected_... acquaintance and rather shamelessly called in a favor in his war-hero son's name. I assume for the prestige of being able to say that he dined with both the emperor _and_ the president."

Tseng turned, looking at him in surprise.

"It's... rather unlike my father to openly brag about something like that," he said. He certainly wouldn't put _doing_ so above him... Hiro Itsudake was a fairly shrewd businessman in his own right. He'd _had_ to be to effectively manage the large swathe of land he'd inherited from his own father. But the man had never been a braggart, and tended to play things much closer to the vest than that.

"Yes, well... there was, admittedly, a fair bit of reading between the lines involved," Rufus replied, "But I've been in enough meetings with pompous, arrogant, entitled suck-ups to be quite adept at that sort of thing at this point. They _never_ come right out and say it." 

Tseng's heart sank slightly. If that was true, he doubted it had anything to do with prestige. That wasn't his father's way. No... this had been about Tseng. He'd wanted to see him... to drive home the point that he no longer meant anything at all to him _or_ to his family.

"Tch... He's got it like... a hundred percent wrong, ya know, Boss..." Reno interjected, smirking slightly at having the chance to one-up the vice president.

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Rufus shot back, scowling in annoyance at the redhead.

"Wasn't your dad that wanted to come," the younger man said. "It was your mom."

"And just how would _you_ know _that_?" the vice president scoffed. Reno's smirk widened.

"'Cause she told me."

Tseng stopped dead in his tracks. It took the other two men a few seconds to realize that they'd been momentarily abandoned.

"You... spoke with my mother?"

Reno paused, turning back to face him, as he somewhat sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"... Yeah. Think she must've waitin' to get me alone for a couple minutes. She kinda turned up right after you went back inside to check on the brat, here."

Rufus glowered at the redhead and folded his arms over his chest, but for once, opted not to rise to the bait... apparently just as curious about the unexpected meeting as Tseng was.

"She... just wanted to see you again, Boss. She talked your dad into gettin' 'em invited," he continued, somewhat awkwardly. "She said said she could see how much it hurt you and that they shouldn't've come, but she just _really_ wanted to see you." He hesitated a moment, eyes subtly glancing in Rufus' direction as though internally debating whether or not he should continue before apparently deciding that Tseng wouldn't mind. "She... um... wanted me to tell you... she was sorry. Ya know... for all this. And that she still loves you."

"... I see..." Tseng breathed.

He didn't know what to say to that. A part of him half-wished she had just left things alone. It would have been easier. But a much larger part silently rejoiced at the thought of his mother defying his father and acknowledging him in _any_ way, even through a proxy. And... however much it may have hurt, he was glad he'd been able to see her again, as well... even if it was a only fleeting and momentary reunion.

The group walked in silence for the few short blocks it took to arrive back at the hotel. Neither Rufus nor the redhead seemed to want to be the first to break in on the senior Turk's thoughts. Even the light bickering between just the two of them had subsided by then, and in spite of the shock he'd received tonight at seeing his family again, he couldn't help but consider how fortunate he truly was.

Rufus – who seldom gave voice to any emotions beside irritation and general disdain – cared enough to violate his _own_ professional obligations for his sake. Granted, said obligation was something he hated anyway, but Tseng knew from experience that there were very few people he would so willingly risk the social disapproval and inevitable gossip about himself for. After all, the Turks were supposed to be the loyal ones, serving the executive board... not the other way around. But... it didn't surprise him, either. Rufus always _had_ been the type who showed how he regarded a person through actions rather than words.

And Reno... well, Reno was, as always, Reno. The young man very much wore his heart on his sleeve, and Tseng was well aware that the younger Turk considered him to be a sort of pseudo-parent. There was never any question about how his protege felt about him. The redhead was openly affectionate and unafraid of telling him outright just how much he cared.

When they _did_ finally arrive at their destination, Tseng quickly found himself flanked by the pair of them, and being escorted bodily up the stairs. He was almost convinced that they'd planned this beforehand, save that he knew for a fact that they wouldn't have had the opportunity to do so. Reno snickered quietly at his questioning expression.

"You need a night off, Boss. And we're gonna make sure ya _get_ one."

"As much as it aggravates me to be in agreement with your pet slum rat on virtually anything... I concur," Rufus added, "I will not have you disappear on me a _second_ time over a petty act of vengeance enacted by your odious progenitor."

Reno grinned slightly.

"Ya know... I'm really not sure if I oughta take you agreein' with me as a compliment or an insult."

"It was, most _assuredly_ ,an insult," the Shinra heir sneered.

"Wasn't a very _good_ one, then..." the redhead shot back.

"Alright..." Tseng interrupted, chuckling softly in spite of himself, "That's enough... as amusing as it has been." He paused for a moment and smiled slightly. "Thank you. _Both_ of you." He glanced over at Rufus in particular. "And no... I will not be pulling an unexpected disappearing act. I've largely made my peace with what happened... tonight's rather unpleasant shock not withstanding."

The young executive looked noticeably relieved at the pronouncement, and it occurred to Tseng that it had been no idle concern when Rufus had voiced that fear a moment ago. He meant it. And somehow, knowing that he was so ardently wanted here made his father's shunning of him easier to bear.

"Tch... yeah, well... I'm gonna hold ya to that, Boss. You try 'n take off on us _again_ , I'm tyin' ya to a chair this time. And lockin' that chair in a closet 'til you come to your senses."

Tseng gave a soft laugh and shook his head.

"It won't come to that," he replied as they reached the room he was sharing with Veld for the duration of their stay in the capitol. He reached into his jacket for his key, but hesitated. He looked over at Rufus. "If you're truly serious about giving me the remainder of night off, sir... I can think of far more relaxing places to spend an evening than the hotel..."

After all... the threat level here in the capitol city was minimal. The rookies were still patrolling the streets on the off chance something cropped up. And Leviathan only knew when the next time he might have the opportunity might be...

… Which was how, little more than fifteen minutes later, Tseng found himself quietly relaxing in the healing waters of tiny bathhouse near the base of the sacred mountains. The steam from the hot spring water curled into the night air, only to be whisked away on the breeze and the only sounds were that of running water and crickets chirping in the darkness.

Well... and the occasional splashing.

"So... you're just s'posed to sit here?" Reno asked, shifting once again to recline back against a large, flat rock that was propped at an angle near the edge of the bath. He'd been flitting about the space somewhat restlessly since they'd gotten in, not quite certain what to do with himself. Tseng chuckled quietly.

"Yes... that _is_ the general idea," he said, good-naturedly, "It's meant to be restorative and relaxing."

"Is he even _capable_ of sitting still for more than five seconds?" Rufus inquired, lifting the corner of the towel that was draped over his eyes just enough that he could glare at the redhead. Reno ignored him in favor of scooping up a handful of the mineral deposits that coated the bottom of the pool and letting the sediment filter through his fingers, back into the water. It left a thick, white cloud in its wake as it sank back to the bottom that the younger man dissipated with a swipe of his hand, grinning for a moment before finally abandoning the amusement and paddling over towards the tiny waterfall that fed the pool.

"Capable, yes," Tseng replied, teasingly, "Inclined to do so of his own accord? I'm afraid not, sir..."

"Tch... Oh, sure... Gang up on me," the redhead groused, but he _did_ obligingly settle down, making himself comfortable in his new location. He leaned back, letting his head rest against the stone, gazing up at the star-filled sky. "Okay... I'd still rather be swimmin', but _maybe_ this is kinda nice, too. Heh... to bad it's no co-ed..."

"Oh, for _Ramuh's_ sake..." Rufus groaned, pulling the towel away entirely. "There isn't even anyone else _here_ right now, let alone any women. Are sex and food the _only_ things that run through your pathetic excuse for a mind?"

"Sometimes I think about havin' sex _with_ food..." the redhead jokingly offered, laughing, "Does that count?"

Rufus eyed the younger man for a moment and then turned to the Turk lieutenant.

"When we return to Midgar, have him submit himself for a mandatory psychological evaluation," the Shinra heir deadpanned. "He's _clearly_ some sort of deviant."

Tseng snorted softly in amusement. "Yes, sir. Though I'm quite certain the medical staff is already well aware of _that_."

It was hard to believe that just a short while ago he'd been in a near panic over the presence of his estranged family. It was beginning to feel like little more than a distant memory now... and he doubted it had anything to do with the alleged ancient healing properties of the springs. These two young men – each endlessly irritating and endearing in their own right – were more important than his father's unrelenting fury or his mother's inability to speak out against her husband's decree. Somehow, he'd become mentor, confidante, friend... parent... to them both. _They_ were his family.

For a brief moment tonight, he'd allowed himself to forget that, giving the guilt and pain he'd fought so hard to be free of a fresh foothold in his mind. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

"Just who are _you_ callin' a deviant, sir? _I'm_ not the one with the stick up his ass..." Reno playfully snickered, not bothering to look up from his now far more relaxed position.

"You disgust me," Rufus sneered, returning the towel to its previous position.

His family. His... strange, dysfunctional, not the least bit normal in any way, sharp, or form... family. Tseng smiled silently to himself and settled back into a small indentation in one of the rocks. He wouldn't have them any other way.

~end chapter 48~


	49. Daytripping

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 49: Daytripping**

 **by Desha**

Reno woke up... somewhat to his chagrin... curled up on the floor next to an open window. The faint breeze combined with a particularly enthusiastic bird and decidedly too much sunlight made it impossibly to stay asleep. A pillow had been tucked beneath his head at some point, and, he noticed, he'd been stripped of his jacket and sidearm. He groaned softly as he sat up and stretched... and realized that this wasn't _his_ room at all.

"I would have moved you somewhere more comfortable... but I was fairly certain I'd wake you if I tried. You seemed tired... I didn't want to disturb you unnecessarily."

Oh... right. He'd stuck around for awhile last night after they'd returned from their unplanned trip to the hot spring and sent Rufus off to bed... The redhead yawned and dragged himself upright, clambering to his feet and rubbing his eyes.

"Tch... I can sleep anywhere. Soakin' in that hot spring musta made me extra sleepy, though. Think I was pretty much dead to the world all night," he replied, glancing over at Tseng, who seemed to be ready for the day already. The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly and strode over to his protege, steering him over towards the door.

"Mmm... Yes, it _can_ have that effect. Go and clean up. I'll meet your downstairs for breakfast."

"Yeah... H-hey, hang on. Where the hell's Veld?" Reno asked, blinking in confusion. They'd _all_ doubled up on rooms. Tseng was bunking with the Turk leader. The senior Turk shook his head.

"Already awake and working," Tseng replied, "In case you'd forgotten, there's a rookie that needs to be disciplined for underestimating his tolerance to the local... refreshments."

Reno cringed.

"Ouch... Don't tell me the poor kid's gettin' reprimanded _now_..."

"Well, I suppose Veld _could_ have done so last night, but the President returned quite late, apparently. I'm not sure it would have had quite the same effect had said reprimand been delivered while Liam was half-asleep," Tseng teasingly replied. Reno snorted in quiet laughter.

"Think _you're_ underestimatin' Veld, Boss... I know if he walked in 'n woke _me_ up for a formal reprimand in the middle of the night, I'd not only be wide fuckin' awake for the whole thing, I'd _probably_ shit myself for good measure."

"And thank you so very much for _that_ mental image right before breakfast..." Tseng deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Go and put on some fresh clothes. You're considerably more... wrinkled... than usual."

"Heh... Yes, sir," Reno replied, grinning widely. He turned to go, only to be unexpectedly held back by his mentor. Before he could question it, Tseng had pulled him into an embrace, one hand rising to coax his head down onto his shoulder.

"Thank you. For looking out for me last night."

"Tch... Come on, Boss. What else was I gonna do? You're _always_ there when I need _you_."

The senior Turk released him a moment later, and shooed him off. Reno hurried off to his own room, slipping quickly inside. Rude, it seemed, was already up and about, as he found their shared space already vacated. He quickly showered and pulled on a clean uniform and was out the door barely five minutes later, taking the stairs two at a time towards the breakfast buffet. Now that he was fully awake... he was starving.

That was likely because he hadn't really been able to enjoy dinner last night. In spite of Rufus' claims that his attention was on his plate rather than the conversation, the Shinra heir was really only half-right. Reno's attention certainly hadn't been on the conversation... but it hadn't been on his plate, either. He'd spent most of the meal focused on Tseng. So much so, that he was pretty sure he'd hardly actually _eaten_ more than a few bites.

When he'd learned who those people were... he hadn't been sure what was going to happen. To be honest, he was low-key expecting a fight of some sort to break out, and had prepared himself for that eventuality. He was not, however, ready to see Tseng's father just... sit there, acting as though his own son wasn't sitting right across the table from him.

At one point last night, he'd tried to imagine what he would do if he were in Tseng's shoes... He'd gone through over a dozen possibilities in his head; everything from screaming at them in anger in front of the entire gathering to quietly withdrawing from the room and not looking back. He _still_ didn't know how he would have reacted. And in the end, he'd realized that Tseng probably didn't know how to react to that, either. Which would certainly explain why he'd basically just... shut down and stopped reacting altogether.

Reno shook his head as he rounded a corner and spotted Rude and two of the rookies already eating... and then Tseng himself, filling his plate from the offerings on the buffet. As he was making his way over to join him, a rather pale-looking figure emerged from a small side room and Reno came to an abrupt halt. He snickered quietly, shaking his head as he altered course.

"Fuck, rookie... You're not hungover _again_ are ya?" he teased as he placed an arm around Liam's shoulders and guided him towards the food.

"No, sir, absolutely not!" he squeaked, somehow managing to go a shade or two paler than he already was as his eyes widened in abject horror. Reno couldn't hold back a laugh as the younger Turk viciously shook his head in denial.

" _Relax_ , kiddo..." he grinned, "Man... what the hell'd Veld _do_ to ya?"

"Reprimanded him... obviously," Tseng answered for him with a faint smirk, strolling up to the pair and handing one of the two plates he was holding to the startled rookie. He took charge of the rookie from his protege and guided him towards the table the others were sitting at. Reno snorted in amusement and resumed his beeline towards the buffet.

A few short minutes later, he rejoined the group, his own plate loaded down with a little of everything on offer. Kai had been right, he realized. The hotel really _did_ cater to tourists. The fare was surprisingly... ordinary. Bacon, scrambled eggs, donuts, pancakes, fruits, bagels... Pretty much what you'd find just about anywhere back home. All of it tasty and well-prepared... but he definitely understood now why Kai had been so adamant about going someplace else yesterday morning. And given that she wasn't there _this_ morning, either, he guessed that she'd done so again. Apparently she'd taken Remy with her, as well, this time, as _she_ was nowhere to be seen, either.

The redhead took a seat across from Liam, and chuckled softly.

"Hey, Boss? Is that what _I_ used to look like after a reprimand from Veld?" he asked, before shoving most of a cream-filled chocolate donut into his mouth.

" _Used_ to?" Tseng responded, cocking an eyebrow in challenge, "Reno, you _still_ emerge from Veld's office looking like that."

Rude snorted in laughter, choking slightly on the orange juice he'd just taken a sip of. Reno just rolled his eyes.

"Very funny... I'll have you know that it's been almost a _year_ since my last formal reprimand. And _you_ were the one that laid into me _that_ time... You're _way_ scarier than Veld when you're pissed off, by the way."

"Thank you," Tseng replied, teasingly.

"What were _you_ reprimanded for, sir?" Sykes suddenly asked, a noticeably surprised look on his face.

"Uh..." Reno frowned, thinking back. "Ya know... I actually don't remember what the last one was all about. Used to get in trouble so much, it all kinda runs together."

"Super glue," Rude helpfully prompted, and the redhead's face split into a wide grin.

"Ohhhhh... Right. _That_ ," he snickered, "Yeah, I... _mighta_ gone just a little too far with that prank. I kinda didn't realize the stuff worked _that_ well."

"... What did you glue?" Liam asked, a look of morbid curiosity on his face. Before he could answer, Tseng sighed.

"It was... more of a _who_ than a what," he replied, shaking his head, "He's just lucky the victim of said prank was content with allowing me to handle disciplining him."

"Um... You _do_ know Rufus got me back for that himself, _too_ , don't ya, Boss?"

The Turk lieutenant blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the information, and Reno's grin widened. He casually took a sip of his coffee.

"Why the hell do ya think he was so 'content' with just lettin' you yell at me? He already had his revenge all planned out," he added, smirking, "Asshole got me _good_ , too..."

"You played a prank on the _vice president_?" Liam interjected, jaw dropping. "And you're still _alive_?"

"By _some_ miracle, yes..." Rude confirmed, shaking his head in a perfect mirror of the Turk lieutenant. The redhead merely sniggered into his coffee cup.

Their short-lived prank war had largely died out back when he was still a rookie... but every _once_ in awhile, he liked to pull out his bag of tricks. You know... just to keep the Shinra heir on his toes.

In the executive's defense, Rufus usually gave as good as he got. The thing with the super glue, though... _that_ hadn't turned out quite the way Reno'd envisioned. He'd only intended to slightly inconvenience the brat. Not trap him in his office with one hand stuck to his desk for the better part of an afternoon. Apparently that _particular_ brand bonded to skin just as well as it bonded to everything else. And apparently it did so almost immediately on contact. Rufus hadn't been pleased... and Reno had ended up feeling pretty bad about it, given that his prank had resulted in the vice president missing a couple of important meetings and pretty much fucked up his whole week since they had to be rescheduled to fit with every _other_ appointment that was already packed into a very over-scheduled few days.

But like he'd told Tseng, the brat had most definitely gotten him back for it. They'd ended up sharing an elevator just as Reno had arrived one morning about a week later. Rufus had _clearly_ been waiting for him. The older boy had smirked and then calmly dropped two cans of aerosol body spray, their triggers strapped down with cable ties, before he all but dove through the doors and out into parking deck just as the elevator closed. He'd then used his executive override code to send the car non-stop to the roof, leaving the unfortunate Turk in what essentially amounted to a make-shift gas chamber for the 70-story ride. The redhead had absolutely reeked of cheap body spray for two days straight, the smell was so deeply embedded in his skin.

It was a pretty fucking epic retaliation, actually. Reno had been impressed. Well... once he'd finally managed to wash the pre-teen boy stink off, that is.

"Well, _I_ for one, never want to go through that _ever_ again... It was _awful_ ," Liam breathed, turning his attention back on his plate. Tseng chuckled and lightly gave the youngest rookie's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Sir? _Why_ did you play a joke on the Vice President?" Petra asked.

"Because he's out of his damn mind," Rude opined, as he spread a thin layer of butter over his toast.

"It's just, Rufus seems so... nice," Petra continued, "A little... er... _abrupt_... maybe..."

Both Sykes _and_ Liam were staring at her by then, and the rookie blushed slightly under the scrutiny. The redhead laughed and downed a second donut.

"Ah, Rufus is okay. He just likes to give me shit. I'm more than happy to give it right back."

"Much to my everlasting dismay," Tseng sighed, though Reno was positive he caught just the barest hint of a smile from his mentor.

Rude genuinely thought the redhead was nuts for poking the hornet's nest so flippantly when it came to Rufus... but Tseng got it. Reno's relationship with Rufus was... admittedly a little odd. By all appearances, they couldn't stand one another. And probably about ninety percent of the time, that wasn't all that far from the truth. But the redhead had actually come to hold the brat in pretty high esteem... even more so since his little intervention with Scarlet not so long ago. All the pranks and petty bickering aside, Reno trusted him. Besides which... he'd shown, on more than one occasion, just how important Tseng was to him, and that went a long way in Reno's book.

Reno, however, ignored his mentor's commentary and grinned back at the rookie.

"I'm totally tellin' him you think he's 'nice', by the way," he teased, watching as the young woman's face turned bright red.

* * *

"No luck, then?" Remy inquired as she helped herself to the tomagoyaki on the plate they were sharing, smiling slightly at the familiar slightly sweet, eggy taste. She hadn't had one this good since her grandfather had passed away... though his were _still_ superior.

Kai groaned and shook her head.

"It's long gone," she sighed, "I looked everywhere. And anyway... I'm absolutely positive I didn't just drop it somewhere like an idiot. Someone had to have lifted it. Ugh... why _me_? Getting pick-pocketed is something a _Turkling_ would fall for. Not a seasoned Turk."

Remy laughed softly at her friend's obvious annoyance.

"I suppose we all need a reminder now and then..." she offered, "Next time, watch your back."

Kai sighed and shook her head. "You know what the worst part is? I was having a _terrific_ time up until I realized it was missing. Now I'm out eight hundred gil, I've got no credentials until I can get a new ID card back at headquarters, and Veld's angry with me about the potential for a security breach. Which, I mean, he's _absolutely_ in the right on that, but it doesn't make it any less irritating..."

"It was a very _expensive_ reminder..." Remy agreed.

"Well... at least I got laid," Kai finally shrugged, causing her dining companion to choke.

"Kai!" Remy hissed, slightly mortified as several other early morning diners looked over at them disapprovingly.

"What? I _did_..."

"That's _hardly_ appropriate breakfast conversation. And besides which, we're on assignment. A little professional decorum in public, please?"

"Oh, for Shiva's sake. We're not even on duty yet today. And just because _you_ don't have any sordid tales of your love life to share this morning doesn't mean I'm not going to tell you about mine," she teased, "I don't care _what_ they say about him down in the secretarial pool, Reno _doesn't_ have a monopoly on debauchery."

"My 'sordid tales' are no one's business by my own," Remy replied, somewhat stiffly... and vaguely wondered just what it was that they said about the redhead down in the secretarial pool. Kai laughed openly at her statement.

"Give me a break, Remy," she giggled, "When's the last time you even went _out_ with a guy, let alone brought one home with you?"

"I really couldn't say," the other Turk said in a clipped tone.

Well... _wouldn't_ say, would actually be more accurate. The last time had been just a few days before they'd left for Wutai... not that that was _any_ of Kai's business. Reno had spent the night, and it had been... lovely. Her little redhead knew _exactly_ what she liked by now, and he was more than happy to give it to her. Taking him on as a lover was proving to be one of the best decisions she'd ever made. He was enthusiastic, obedient, talented... and perfectly discrete, even if he _did_ like to tease her now and then about the secretive nature of their relationship.

"Exactly my point," Kai giggled. "Remy, honey... _everyone_ needs a little attention now and then. Even _you_."

"For _Leviathan's_ sake, Kai... This is neither the time nor the place to discuss what sort of... _attention_... either of us needs," she groaned, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Reno may have had a company-wide reputation for being a pervert... but catch Kai in the right mood and she could easily give the younger Turk a run for his money.

"Suit yourself," the diminutive Turk said with a shrug, "But _I_ for one am glad I took the opportunity when it presented itself. She was _amazing_. No regrets. I... haven't been with someone like that in a long time."

Remy's disapproving glare softened slightly. It hadn't been so long ago that Kai would have balked at the mere thought of saying something like that. Her friend had suffered immensely when they'd lost Alyssa. Just the fact that she _was_ opening herself up to relationships again – even just brief, sex-driven flings – was a small miracle. The woman, for all her teasing, rarely went out with anyone more than once, and from what she'd told Remy, very few of those dates ever ended with more than a goodnight kiss. It was... _good_... that she was starting to move on.

"Well... I'm happy for you. But it's _still_ not appropriate breakfast conversation."

"I never said it was," Kai replied, grinning teasingly, "But that never seems to stop Reno. Why should it stop me?"

Remy cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "That's the _second_ time you've mentioned our resident pervert for no particular reason this morning. Is... there something you want to tell me?"

At that, Kai laughed. "Oh, _Titan_ , no. Don't get me wrong, Reno's absolutely adorable. But aside from the fact that I really haven't gone for a guy in... god, I don't even know _how_ long at this point... I've just never been into that delicate pretty-boy look he's got going."

The relief Remy felt at that statement seemed odd. After all, she didn't have any particular claim to the redhead. They'd outright agreed from the start that this wasn't a monogamous or commited relationship by any means. Still... for whatever reason she _was_ glad to know that he wasn't sleeping with Kai, as well.

"He's just been on my mind a lot lately, that's all," Kai continued, oblivious to her friend's reaction. "Especially now that Tseng is starting to get him specialized for leadership. He's come _such_ a long way since he was a little baby Turkling."

Remy snorted softly. "I was under the impression that you still think he _is_ a little baby Turkling."

"I like to tease him," Kai replied, smiling, "But... I've had to accept that he's almost all grown up at this point. And that _one_ of these days, we're all going to be calling him Sir instead of Baby Turkling."

"I would just like to point out that _I_ ,for one, have _never_ called him, or any other rookie, 'Baby Turkling'," Remy responded, rolling her eyes at the name. Kai did, however, have a point. As much as it pained her to admit it, someday Reno was going to be their superior. It was all but given, at this point, that Tseng was preparing him to take over as Second in Command when Veld eventually stepped down. For Remy, that knowledge was... bittersweet.

She had long desired to take on a leadership role within the Turks... but the reality was that there were simply too few such roles available. She had nearly gotten her wish when the Junon branch office almost took off... but the war had quashed that chance, and at the moment, there were far too few of them to even consider restarting the project. For a time, she'd quietly entertained the possibility of taking over for Tseng when Veld finally decided to retire, but it was more than clear that _that_ was not Tseng's plan of succession. He wanted Reno.

And it wasn't as if Reno wouldn't make a _good_ Second. She simply thought _she_ could do better. She had more experience. More training. More seniority. Hell, she'd _already_ taken over Tseng's duties once... albeit temporarily... while he'd been on extended personal leave. But that wasn't always how things worked in the Turks. And she couldn't even blame Reno for it. It wasn't _his_ fault. It was just the way her cards had fallen.

"Well, you should probably give it a try at least _once_ before you miss your chance altogether..." Kai snickered, drawing Remy out of her inner monologue, "... that is _if_ Tseng ever gets around to actually _telling_ him about it. Apparently he hasn't yet."

Remy blinked.

"I-I... beg your pardon?" she stammered, "Reno doesn't _know_?"

"Nope. Tseng's keeping him in the dark. Why, I don't know. If it was _me_ , that's not something I'd want sprung on me out of nowhere five minutes before I'm expected to take over... but it's not _my_ call. Rude says that Reno thinks it'll probably be _you_ that gets promoted to Second. Or _maybe_ me... but probably you. My Baby Turkling doesn't have a clue."

"How can he not know?" Remy breathed, the question not really directed at her breakfast companion, but rather to the universe in general.

* * *

"Hey... so... I meant to ask..." Reno commented as he and Tseng were making their way upstairs to collect Rufus for the first planned event of the day... a tour of the Highwind for Lord Godo and his kid. It would be immediately followed by a flight over the island nation, a stop at one of the southern temples, and lunch aboard Shinra's flagship craft during the return trip. "What the hell was it that the President was givin' Godo? We fucked off last night before he got around to it."

"A scale model of the Highwind the Midgar fabrication lab created prior to the airship's construction," Tseng said, chuckling softly. "Rufus was apparently quite displeased to find out it was being given away. He's always been rather intrigued by his father's model collection. Particularly the one of the Junon canon in the President's office on base. They were strictly off limits when he was a child."

"You seriously tryin' to convince me that someone actually told the brat he _couldn't_ have somethin' he wanted?" the redhead snickered.

"They're... rather expensive models," Tseng replied, "The detail on them is quite extensive, and some of them are even functional. They're certainly not toys that are meant to be played with. Rufus has always been rather... put out... that he's never been trusted with one."

"So's that what they were arguin' about yesterday?"

The Turk lieutenant shook his head. "I don't believe so, no. He's known for weeks that it was intended as a gift. I'm still not certain _what_ the issue was yesterday. But then I haven't yet asked, either. I've... had other things on my mind."

"Yeah," Reno said, somewhat awkwardly. "Any idea if we're... ya know... gonna be runnin' into your dad again?"

"I doubt it. His invitation was issued as a favor to someone else. It probably doesn't extend to any of the other planned events this week. In all likelihood they're on their way home by now."

"... You okay?"

His mentor paused before the final flight of stairs and turned to him, smiling slightly.

"Yes. It would perhaps be a bit of a stretch to say that I'm _fine_ , but I'm... recovered enough, now that the initial shock of seeing them again has passed." He shook his head and laughed quietly. "The sheer number of people who have expressed their concern for me since I woke up this morning has been more than enough of a reminder of who my family _really_ is."

Reno grinned and obediently fell into step beside his mentor as he continued their trek upwards. Moments later, they were knocking on Rufus' door.

"Enter!" a slightly muffled voice called out, and Tseng frowned as he reached for the doorknob and gave it a sharp turn.

"Sir... Why exactly was this door unlocked?" he asked, as soon as he stepped inside. "You're well aware of travel protocol..."

Rufus glanced up, unconcerned, from the book he'd been reading, and smirked slightly.

"I merely wanted to make sure you were back on your game this morning. Whether or not you immediately begin nagging me about personal safety is an excellent indicator of just how focused you are."

The redhead gave a laughing snort at the response, but didn't comment. Every _once_ in a while, Rufus could be almost amusing.

"I do _not_ nag," Tseng replied in an affronted tone, as he folded his arms over his chest, "I merely issue timely reminders as often as I deem necessary to ensure compliance."

"Uh... Boss? I hate to tell ya this, but that's basically the definition of nagging," the redhead snickered.

"I do not _nag_ ," Tseng repeated, firmly. "Are you ready to leave, sir? Your father is expecting us to meet him in the lobby in five minutes."

Rufus tucked a slip of paper into his book to mark his place and set it aside on a small table. He wordlessly stood up and strode over to the pair of Turks.

"I am. Hopefully, _Father_ will be as punctual as _I_ am. I'm quite looking forward to today's little day trip. So... if you're finished nagging me about my unlocked door..."

Tseng's eye twitched slightly, but he didn't rise to the bait this time. Instead he remained exactly where he was, arms still folded over his chest, eyeing the young executive.

"You have you PHS?" he queried, to which Rufus rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I have my PHS."

"And your tracking device?"

It was standard issue on long trips like this... a policy that had been quietly implemented during the war and that had been kept around afterwards in spite of the lower threat level. Rufus glared at him.

" _Yes_ , I have my Ramuh-forsaken tracking device," he sighed, pushing back a sleeve to reveal the thin, silver bracelet encircling his left wrist.

"And your weapon?"

"Not that I'll have any need of it on board the Highwind, but _yes_." It was more than clear that the Shinra heir was growing tired of the questions.

"A jacket in case it gets chilly?" Tseng probed.

Rufus narrowed his eyes at the senior Turk.

"... You're doing this to get back at me for calling you a nag, aren't you?"

Tseng's lips twitched into a smug smile, and Reno almost immediately cracked up.

"Oh, shut up, you idiot," Rufus snapped at the laughing redhead, before turning back to Tseng. "Alright... you've had your little revenge. Now, let's go... I don't wish to be late."

* * *

Rufus closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the rush of the wind and the warm sunlight as the Highwind soared through the summer sky. It truly was a technological marvel, even by Shinra's high standards. He'd always loved the airships... but the Highwind really _was_ something else. He'd been enamored of the craft since the earliest days of its design, studying every plan... every model. He probably knew it almost as well as the crew itself did by now, even if he didn't fully understand all of the intricacies of how it kept itself aloft.

There was something about flight that he found enticing. Perhaps it was just that fact that it was largely forbidden to him. He'd asked his father many times over the years to allow Tseng to teach him to fly one of the company helicopters, and was always denied on the grounds that it was much too dangerous.

Of course, there was no danger in _riding_ in one. He could do _that_ all he liked. But Ramuh forbid he actually be in control of the craft. He might inadvertently kill himself. His father could be such a hypocrite at times. He'd been the same way about the Shinra heir learning to drive... and in fact, Rufus likely _still_ wouldn't have been able to do _that_ , had he not taken matters into his own hands and learned behind the senior Shinra's back.

He smirked silently to himself. His father was _still_ trying to determine just who had done the teaching, and Rufus wasn't about to tell him that it had been Tseng.

Rufus finally opened his eyes again and gazed over the railing that surrounded the Highwind's upper deck. They were over the mountains by now, and some distance away, he could just make out the location of the new mako reactor they would be officially opening in a few days time. He had to admit... he took a certain amount of pride in that particular reactor. Once the treaty with Wutai had finally been signed, responsibility for its construction had fallen to him. He'd overseen the entire project, from design approval to construction materials to the assignment and hiring of the staff to build it.

He was far more involved _here_ than he'd been in his first major project... the reactor at Corel. His role in Corel had been a matter of shrewd negotiation and selling the townspeople on the idea. In Wutai, however, that part of the process had already been taken care of for him. Corel may have been his first project as vice president of Shinra Company, but the Wutai Reactor was the first for which he truly felt a sense of ownership. He was looking forward to finally seeing it up close and in person at the end of the week.

For now, though, he would have to be content with the view from the air.

Rufus glanced back over his shoulder and snorted softly. His father was still schmoozing the Wutaiian Emperor at the far end of the deck. Godo Kisuragi, he supposed, was a competent enough leader... but the man had wildly miscalculated his chances of success against Shinra Company. It was a foolish mistake that had cost him a great deal, both in terms of reputation and confidence. Now, instead of a proud warrior... he was deferential and submissive, eager to please those who'd been victorious over him.

In a way, Rufus pitied him. Wutai would feel the repercussions of his error for many years to come, and Godo himself would likely never be as revered as he once was. All simply because he thought he could win.

But that was hardly _his_ problem. Rufus had the good fortune to have been on the winning side, and whatever he may have felt for Godo's self-made predicament was vastly over-shadowed by that victory. Perhaps the next time someone considered challenging Shinra Company, they would think twice before actually _acting_ on such an absurd idea.

He turned away from the small group surrounding his father, and considered stepping below deck for a short while. The engines, when running, were truly a sight to behold, and now was an excellent opportunity to go and take a look. That thought in mind, he stepped back from the railing and headed towards the door that would take him down into the bowels of the airship.

He glanced over at his security detail and smirked as he noted that the Slum Rat wasn't giving him his full, undivided attention. Decision made, Rufus slipped through the door, unnoticed by the obnoxious redhead, and started down the narrow staircase that led towards the engine room... and almost as soon as he reached the bottom, had to dodge out of sight behind a large bulkhead to avoid being spotted by one of Tseng's other Turks patrolling the lower decks. He didn't recognize her, oddly enough. She was Wutaiian, and fairly young. The only Turks of Wutaiian lineage that Rufus was familiar with were Tseng himself and that irritatingly by-the-book woman, Remy. But it was certainly a Turk uniform she was wearing... and he _was_ well aware that there were three rookies presently in training. He'd only had the opportunity to meet one of them to date. The girl must have been another of their newer members.

He quickly opted to take the longer way around to the engines, in the hopes of avoiding her patrol route.

~end chapter 49~


	50. A Thief in our Midst

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 50: A Thief in our Midst**

 **by Desha**

"Uh... Boss?" Reno said, somewhat hesitantly, "I... _think_ I mighta... kinda... lost Rufus."

Tseng cocked an eyebrow as he turned to face his protege.

"I swear, he was _right fuckin' there_ a minute ago..." the redhead insisted, pointing towards the foredeck. "I turned my back for five fuckin' seconds 'n he's gone."

Tseng shook his head and opted to assuage his protege's concern.

"I'm aware. He went below deck. The moment your back was turned, as a matter of fact" the Turk lieutenant replied with a slight smirk. Reno groaned.

"That asshole..." he muttered. "Fucker was just _waitin'_ til I wasn't lookin', wasn't he?"

The senior Turk chuckled softly. He was fairly certain that was _precisely_ what Rufus had done.

"Just leave him to it for now. There's little trouble he can get into on board the Highwind. I suspect he's simply gone to sneak a look at the engine room. He's been rather fascinated with this craft since the they began _designing_ it."

Tseng guided the younger Turk over towards the railing. They were somewhere near the middle of the island country by now, over the huge mountain range that formed a spine of stone right down the center. A short while ago they'd passed the site of the new reactor, and it wouldn't be _that_ much longer before they'd be nearing the southern portion of the country.

"Wutai's not really all that big, is it, Boss?" Reno mused looking out at the scenery below.

"No... it's not. Were it not for the mountains, a person could easily walk from one end of to other in a week or so... provided they didn't need to eat or sleep at any point during the trip," he teased. Reno rolled his eyes.

"You know what I meant."

"Yes, I do. And you're right. It's really _not_ that all big, comparatively speaking. It is, after all, an island, which by their very nature are generally smaller landmasses," he confirmed. The senior Turk turned his gaze to the south. "In fact, we've been in the air less than an hour, and we're already very near where I grew up. It's just on the other side of those peaks over there, in the valley."

The redhead turned to look, cocking his head to one side as the airship approached the aforementioned terrain, and blinked in surprise as they crossed over the peaks and the land unexpectedly fell away, vanishing in to a deep mist they could barely see through. Tseng could just make out the outlines of the buildings down in the village, and the small river that snaked its way through the center of the valley.

"Is it _always_ this foggy?" Reno asked, curious, and Tseng shook his head in the negative.

"Not generally, but it's not altogether unheard of. When cold air from the mountains collides with warm air from the sea, this tends to be the result. There must have been a storm last night or early this morning for it to be _this_ thick. It will likely have burned off by the time we make our return trip." He leaned over the railing slightly, eyes scanning the ground for a moment, and locating the familiar landmarks with ease even through the haze. "That's my father's land directly below us, by the way... It begins just before the split in the river. The family estate sits in between the two branches."

Reno squinted, trying to make out the structure through the mist.

"So... that's where you grew up?"

"Yes. I have to admit, I rather wish I could have shown it to you a bit more close up. The Midori Valley really _is_ very beautiful. I... had planned to take you home with me one day."

"... Your mom said you wrote to her about me."

Tseng could hear the hesitation in his protege's voice, as though he was wary of broaching the topic of his family again so soon. The senior Turk smiled slightly.

"Of course I did. I wrote about you to Mayu, as well," he replied, "I was... excited... when Veld approved your recruitment. A First Rookie is, after all, a fairly substantial responsibility to take on and I took great pride in reaching that point in my career. I wanted to share that... and _you_... with my family. Even more so as I grew more and more attached to you." He sighed quietly and glanced down at the valley again, shaking his head. "It's a pity I'll never have the chance to do so. I think you would have liked my mother had you met her under better circumstances. And I'm _certain_ she would have doted upon _you_."

The Highwind, by then, had nearly crossed the entirety of the valley, and was fast approaching the mountains on the opposite side. It wouldn't be long, Tseng suddenly realized, before they reached the southernmost tip of the island... at which point they were scheduled to land briefly for a tour of one of Wutai's most ancient temples.

"We should probably go and track down the vice president before his father misses him. He won't be pleased if the tour is delayed while we're trying to locate him below deck," Tseng commented.

"Tseng? Would you mind joining me for a moment?" Veld suddenly interrupted, striding up to the pair.

"I'll go grab the brat, Boss," Reno quickly said, "Just leave it to me."

He was already heading for the door to the lower deck before Tseng could reply. Veld chuckled.

" _He's_ certainly eager to please this morning..."

"I suspect he's simply trying to make my job a bit easier today, after the rather unfortunate encounter at dinner last night."

"Hmm... Well, if there's anything _I_ can do to aid him in that endeavor..." the Turk leader offered. Tseng waved a hand dismissively.

"There's no need. I really _am_ feeling much more like myself. Besides which... I can only tolerate so much coddling, sir. And Reno has already, apparently, decided to take on that duty himself."

Veld nodded in understanding. "In that case... I'd like you to double check that the rookies are clear on the etiquette expected of them in the temple before we arrive. I've already had to reprimand _one_ of their number on this assignment."

"Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant replied, with a knowing smirk. Veld moved to return to his place at the President's side, but paused.

"Make sure _Reno_ is aware of the proper etiquette, as well. No sense in tempting fate," he added, teasingly.

* * *

Reno descended past the passenger cabins and down into the lower decks of the Highwind. The noise from the engines reverberated through ever corridor down here, almost making the airship seem as though it were a living, breathing entity. He could feel the regular rhythms that pulsated beneath the general hum of the machinery, and wondered if the crew ever thought of it in that manner as well.

Probably, he mused, they _did_. He knew from experience that when you were around a machine long enough, you got familiar with every sound, every shudder, every vibration it made. He himself could tell from sound and feel alone when something was off with the Turks' helicopter. No need to wait for the instrument panel to figure out that something was wrong and sound an alert. He imagined that the same was true of something like the Highwind... just on a much larger scale.

He hadn't been down to the engine room as of yet, but the place seemed easy enough to find. There were signs at every junction, pointing the way to various locations. All he had to do was follow them. _Personally_ , if he'd been just hanging out on board the newest Shinra flagship, he'd have been far more interested in the command deck... but if Tseng thought they'd find Rufus down with the engines, he'd check there first.

He skirted past several crew members in one of the corridors, and finally rounded a corner to find himself in front the the door to the engine room. He peered inside, jaw dropping slightly. He'd had no idea the fucking engine was _that_ big. It took up most of the room, which was, by no means, small, its multitude of moving parts shifting back and forth, up and down, in and out as it churned away, propelling them through the sky.

"... Okay. I can see why the brat might think this is kinda cool..." he commented to no one in particular. The handful of crewmen manning the stations paid him little mind as he took a look around. He didn't see the Shinra heir anywhere, however. Frowning, he walked the length of the room, peering into corners and behind machinery... but didn't find hide nor hair of the vice president.

"Dammit... Where the fuck's he disappeared to?" the redhead sighed, shaking his head. Maybe he _was_ up on the command deck, after all. Or maybe he'd fucked off to his passenger quarters for awhile. With a slight scowl, Reno reversed course, leaving the engine room behind. If he ended up having to search the whole Ifriti-be-damned airship, he was gonna smack the little shit upside the head.

He quickly made his way back upstairs where the din of the engines wasn't quite so loud and pulled out his PHS. Rufus was wearing a tracking device, after all. All he really needed to do was grab the receiver from Tseng, and it'd point him right at the little shit. He started to dial Tseng's number to ask him for it... but then paused. He'd said _he'd_ handle this. And Tseng had had enough to deal with in the last twenty-four hours. Reno rolled his eyes and instead selected the contact entry for Rufus' phone. Maybe if he was lucky, the pain in the ass would actually pick up.

He finally answered on the seventh ring.

"What do _you_ want?" Rufus queried, sounding annoyed.

"Where the fuck are you?" Reno demanded without preamble.

"Don't you take that tone with me, _Slum Rat_."

"Tch... Fine. Where the fuck are you... _sir_?" he amended, his own inflection conveying just as much irritation as the vice president's. He heard Rufus snort in contempt on the other end of the line.

"And just why should I tell you?" he asked.

"'Cause I'm your Ifrit-forsaken security detail, sir. I'm _s'posed_ to be watchin' your ass and I can't do that if I don't know where said ass _is_. So quit fuckin' around already, will ya? We're gonna be landin' pretty soon."

"There's no need to be vulgar, you uncouth little street urchin," Rufus replied. Reno rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Will ya _just_ tell me where you are so I don't have ta get Tseng involved? I'm _tryin'_ to make shit easy on him today..."

"You really _are_ the most unobservant, useless cretin to ever walk the planet... You _do_ know that, don't you?" the Shinra heir admonished him, "I'm right behind you, you moron."

Reno's eyes narrowed as he spun on the spot, turning a full one hundred and eighty degrees... He angrily snapped his phone shut, ending the call, as he spotted the vice president standing at the end of the corridor... a decidedly smug expression on his face.

"Very funny, sir," the redhead deadpanned.

"Mmm... Yes, _I_ thought so."

"Ya done fuckin' with me now? 'Cause seriously... we're almost there."

Rufus smirked and headed up the nearby staircase that would lead him out onto the airship's observation deck. Reno heaved a frustrated sigh, and wordlessly followed.

* * *

Tseng glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Reno and Rufus emerging from below deck. His protege, he noted, looked more than slightly irritated, and he had to force the amused smile from his face before the redhead noticed it. Given how long they'd been gone, the Turk lieutenant suspected that Reno'd been pulled into something of an impromptu game of hide and seek. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the younger Shinra had attempted to extend his personal time in such a fashion. Tseng had once spent nearly two hours searching for him during a trip to Costa del Sol when he was much, _much_ younger... only to eventually find him in the very first place he'd looked for him when he finally doubled back.

"Any trouble?" he asked as his protege walked over to him.

"Tch... nothin' I couldn't handle," Reno replied, shooting a glare in Rufus' general direction. Tseng finally _did_ let his smile slip through.

"I take it he decided to disappear for awhile?" he asked, and the younger Turk confirmed his suspicions with a nod, "Don't take it _too_ personally. He's done that to me, as well. Rufus simply likes to have a little time to himself on occasion. So long as I know he's not at risk, I don't concern myself with it overly much these days."

"Pain in the ass coulda at least let me know before he took off. Can't that brat _ever_ cut me a break?" Reno muttered. He sighed and shook his head. " _Anyway_... so what's this temple we're goin' to? Is it like... a church kinda thing, or what?"

"In a manner of speaking. It's dedicated to Leviathan. At one time, it housed the materia used to summon the Great Serpent, though that has long since been relocated to the capitol. It's now kept in the Pagoda of the Five Gods under the care of the fifth master."

"Ya mean Shinra didn't take that one?" Reno asked, sounding surprised.

"They initially planned to... but given it's cultural significance, Lord Godo pleaded with the President to allow Wutai to keep it, with the promise that they would never use it against the Company again. President Shinra agreed as a token of good-will. From what I've heard, Godo was forced to give up several _other_ summon materias, however, though I'm not sure what Shinra explicitly acquired through the treaty agreement."

"Huh. Hey, Tseng... You ever _seen_ a summoned creature? Like in person, I mean."

"No, I'm afraid I've never had the honor. Viridia has, however. She was in Mideel when Titan was summoned to stop a tsunami from reaching one of the coastal villages. If you're curious, you should ask her about it sometime," he said. Then the senior Turk chuckled, "Though I'll warn you now... the story becomes more and more embellished each time she tells it."

The redhead grinned. "Made kind of a lasting impression, huh?"

"Indeed. I think she's quite annoyed that she's never managed to acquire a summon materia for herself. She finds them fascinating. They're extraordinarily rare, of course. You don't typically just stumble upon one in a shop. At least _I_ certainly never have."

"Ya spend a lot of time lookin' or somethin'?" he snickered.

"Not anymore," Tseng replied, teasingly. "But... I _was_ once young and naïve. And _very_ intent upon ingratiating myself to a certain member of the Junon Materia Corps I'd only recently met."

The redhead's grin widened.

"Don't start," Tseng added, firmly, before his protege could even open his mouth. He was perfectly aware of what was coming. Even the most passing mention of his personal relationship with Viridia was inevitably met with... commentary. Reno simply couldn't resist the opportunity.

"What?" the redhead innocently replied.

"You know perfectly _well_ 'what'. We're on duty. Behave yourself."

"Yeah, yeah..." the redhead laughed, before his attention was drawn to the fact that the airship was suddenly descending. "Guess that means we're here..."

He and Tseng joined the others at the railing, watching as the Highwind slowly sank until it was hovering mere feet above the ground. In the distance, the Turk lieutenant could see the roof of the Temple of Leviathan rising above the trees. It was a short walk from their landing site.

Set back in a wide cove, the temple extended out over the water, its ornate columns decorated with the visage of it's namesake. Inside, he knew, was a statue of the Great Serpent, whose scales had been individually, and painstakingly, crafted from silver and mythril. He'd seen it often in his childhood, as his father had made a yearly pilgrimage to the temple to pay his respects to the God of the Seas. It had always fascinated him as a child, the way the light played off the intricately shaped metal, gleaming in the sunlight that streamed through the open roof.

"Hey... best behavior, guys. Boss' orders..." he heard Reno say, and turned to find him quietly addressing the three rookies. Tseng smirked faintly, and moved to join Rufus in to procession towards the ship's gangway. The redhead really _was_ a natural born leader... but then, he'd recognized that quality in the young man quite early in his time as a Turk. Reno was the rare type of person who could look at a situation from multiple angles and evaluate which course of action to take to achieve the best outcome. But more than that, he was good at _interacting_. People listened to him. You wouldn't think it to look at him normally, but his protege could assume quite the commanding presence when he needed to. He inspired confidence in both his peers and his subordinates, and _that_ , Tseng believed, was key to being an effective leader.

… He was going to have to make the younger Turk aware of his plans for him in the very near future, he realized. For one thing, he was progressing so quickly that, soon, it was going to be difficult to shrug off the questions regarding why Tseng was involving him in matters that were almost exclusively the domain of command. Reno was _already_ questioning the reason for his role in the selection of their new rookies, after all. It was only a matter of time before he figured it out on his own... assuming he hadn't put most of the pieces together already.

Tseng knew why he was hesitating, though. The day Veld had told him that _he_ would be the next Second in Command had been, simultaneously, the proudest _and_ the most terrifying day of his life up to that point. He had long suspected it was going to happen, but in that moment, it had finally become real. It was a lot to live up to and a lot of pressure to put on a young Turk. Reno was even younger than _he_ had been at the time, and Tseng very clearly remembered the feelings of fear and self-doubt that had dogged him on and off for months afterwards.

Because becoming Second meant knowing that, eventually, the well-being of the entire team would be firmly on his shoulders. That, one day, he would no longer have that comfortable fall back of having someone more experienced to turn to when he didn't know what to do. And perhaps more importantly, the moment Reno was officially promoted to Second in Command and had to fully take on the burden of _knowing_ that he would one day lead the Turks... Tseng would have to take on the burden of actually _doing_ so.

The prospect was both thrilling and horrifying at the same time.

Halfway down the walkway that led to the ground, Rufus froze, scowling as he patted his pockets in search of something.

"Sir?" Tseng queried.

"I'd intended to bring an offering for the temple. I seem to have left it in my cabin," Rufus muttered, annoyed at his own forgetfulness. He glanced down at the rest of their party, who had already disembarked and were starting to make their way down the road that led to the temple gates. The vice president sighed. "There's no need to delay _everyone_. Inform my father that I will catch up."

"Yes, sir," he replied. Rufus hurried back into the airship, brushing past Reno without a word as he did so.

"Where's _he_ goin'?" the redhead inquired, quickening his pace to reach his mentor's side.

"He left something in his cabin. Wait for him while I catch up to the rest of the group and inform the President that he'll be a few moments."

Reno rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Instead, he leaned back against the post at the end of the walkway that held up the railing along the narrow ramp.

"Sure he's not just pullin' another disappearing act to go see the damn engines again?"

Tseng laughed quietly. " _Fairly_ sure. Rufus has a passing interest in Wutaiian history. I don't think he'd pass up a visit to this particular temple. Just wait here. I'm sure he won't be long. I'll be back momentarily."

* * *

Reno grumbled quietly to himself as he watched Tseng jog off to catch up to the group. He wasn't nearly as convinced that this wasn't just Rufus trying to get out of something he didn't really want to do... which the redhead found particularly irritating since he kind of _did_ want to see the temple. Wutai was so far removed from what he was used to in Midgar. He was actually enjoying all the tours and sightseeing, even if he was largely doing it from the periphery.

He tapped his foot impatiently against the ground, and folded his arms over his chest. Waiting was one of his _least_ favorite things to do. Especially when waiting meant risking missing out on something cool. If they started the tour before he finally got there, he was gonna be pissed.

The redhead glanced down the road and saw that the group had paused. For a moment, he thought they were going postpone the short hike while Rufus retrieved whatever the hell it was he'd forgotten, but in short order, they set off again, and Tseng started back towards the airship.

"Come _on_ , already..." he groaned, eyes flicking up the opening that lead into the airship.

When his mentor at last returned, he, too, looked up at the entrance.

"He's not back yet?" Tseng asked, and Reno shook his head.

"Tch... nope. You want me to go see what's takin' so long?"

A smile f littered over the senior Turk's lips. "Eager to see the temple for yourself?"

"Hell, yes, I wanna see it! It's my first time in Wutai. I wanna see everything!"

The Turk lieutenant smiled indulgently. He calmly glanced at his watch and shook his head. "Hmm... He _does_ rather seem to be taking his time. Alright... Let's go and find him."

Reno eagerly hurried up the gangway, disappearing inside and heading straight for the passenger cabins. Rufus' was at the far end, and as he entered the corridor, he could see that the door was slightly ajar. He strode purposefully down the hallway, and pushed it open, stepping into... an empty room.

The redhead blinked, looking around, and groaned. Tseng reached him moments later.

"I _told_ ya the brat decided to back outta the tour. He's _probably_ hidin' below deck again."

The Turk lieutenant sighed, shaking his head. "You check the engine room... I'll check the command deck."

* * *

Rufus was not generally one to swear. By and large, he considered crass language to be beneath him, and generally indicative of a poor vocabulary and questionable upbringing. The slum rat was a perfect example of _that_. There were, however, occasions when a more... cultured... response to a situation simply didn't express the appropriate level of frustration.

As he searched behind one of the large turbines in the engine room, he was quickly approaching that very level. The space had been abandoned for the time being, the machinery running at a bare minimum... just enough to keep them airborne... the engine crew likely off somewhere enjoying a little downtime while they were docked.

"Where _has_ that Ramuh-be- _damned_ thing gone?" he ground out under his breath. He'd initially assumed that he'd simply left it in his cabin earlier, but when he'd returned, the simple dyed silk pouch was nowhere to be seen. That was when he distinctly recalled tucking it into his pocket before he'd gone downstairs to tour the engine room.

Monetary offerings were common at temples and shrines in Wutai. And though he didn't particularly _believe_ in any of the gods and spirits folklore that surrounded most of them, the Leviathan was certainly real enough... though he had his doubts as to whether or not the creature paid any mind to the demands of people who left a coin or two in his temple's offering box. Still... he'd decided that asking the Great Wutaiian Serpent for a reprieve from his father's asinine attempts to marry him off certainly couldn't hurt.

To that end, he'd procured the aforementioned pouch, containing a handful of hand-painted one gil coins... a very traditional offering... and had planned to make said request on their visit today. Unfortunately, it had gone missing, he could only assume, while he'd been down here earlier. Probably when he'd crouched down to examine some part of the engines.

Which one, however, was a bit of a mystery, as he'd been thoroughly engrossed in the inner workings of the airship at the time. He scowled as he stood up, considering where to look next... and nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized that someone was standing directly behind him. He yelped and spun on his heel to find himself face to face with... one of Tseng's blasted rookie Turks. The same one he'd spotted and successfully avoided earlier in the day. He glared at the young woman.

"What in Ramuh's name are _you_ still doing here? The others have already left. You should be with them," he groused, annoyed at the unexpected shadow. Not that he really needed an answer. Obviously, he'd been absent longer than anticipated, and Tseng had sent one of his newer minions to track him down.

"Vice President Shinra," the woman said with a cordial nod, "You're not supposed to be here. You should go."

"It's _my_ airship. I'll go whenever, and _wherever_ , I please," he replied, looking down his nose at her. _Clearly_ a _very_ recent hire. She hadn't yet learned her place, _or_ how to speak to her superiors. Either that, or Tseng was letting the blasted slum rat train their recruits now. The redhead virtually _never_ showed him the proper respect. Why should he expect him to _teach_ it? He glared and pushed past her, stalking over to one of the large pistons. He distinctly recalled observing it for several minutes earlier. Perhaps he'd dropped the pouch there.

There was a soft click, only audible above the hum of the machinery because it was right next to his ear.

"You should go. Now."

Rufus felt a chill run down his spine. The cordiality was gone and there was a distinct note of threat in the woman's voice now. He slowly turned to face her, only to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"What is this?" he breathed.

"We're not interested in a body count, but if you insist, I'll make an exception. You have ten seconds to leave and not look back. Go. Before you annoy me farther."

Rufus's eyes narrowed. "You're no Turk..."

She certainly _looked_ the part. The uniform. The assured bearing. The dangerous look in her eyes. Perhaps a little _too_ dangerous, given that it was more than apparent that her primary concern _wasn't_ his personal safety.

"Very astute. _Five_ seconds," the woman stated. She was serious. The gun was trained on him, and though he was certainly no weapons expert, he knew how to tell when the safety was off. The safety was most _definitely_ off. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized that this woman could very easily kill him and almost certainly _would_ if he didn't as she said.

He was beginning to wish he hadn't shed his _own_ weapon in his cabin as soon as they'd boarded that morning. He'd only brought it in the first place because Tseng had specifically asked about it back at the hotel. In general, he disliked carrying the damned thing around with him. And besides... they were on the Highwind! What did he need a gun for? He was now rapidly reconsidering his stance on that matter.

The vice president slowly backed away from the woman, edging towards the exit. Five seconds. He hoped she was being generous with her countdown, because that didn't give him a whole lot of time to cover the distance between his present position and the door.

Meanwhile, the woman's aim never wavered. The gun was still pointed directly at him, and the faux-Turk wore a mask of utter calm.

"Who _are_ you?" he found himself asking, against his better judgment. Why in the Nine Hells wasn't he running like his life depended upon it? Tseng and the slum rat were just outside the ship, waiting for him with guns of their own. She was giving him the chance to leave... to run straight _to_ them... and _he_ was trying to engage her in a Ramuh-forsaken conversation!

"Time's up," she said, coldly.

The Shinra heir's eyes went wide as he saw her finger tense on the trigger, and he was half-certain his heart stopped dead in his chest for a brief moment as he realized that he had no escape now. He'd stupidly wasted his brief opportunity. In half a second, he'd have a bullet in his head.

Before he could fully process that thought, however, something slammed into his side, knocking him painfully to the floor, just as the deafening sound of a gunshot echoed in the enclosed space of the engine room. He hit the ground hard, his elbow slamming down painfully on the metal deck, hard enough to send a jolt of pain through his entire arm. For a moment, that was all he could focus on.

A crackle of electricity followed by two more gunshots and a shriek of pain brought him back to reality.

Rufus forced himself upright, turning to look, eyes still wide as platters as he tried to sort out what in Ramuh's name had just happened and why he wasn't dead.

The woman was on the ground as well, out cold, limbs occasionally twitching with the aftereffects of electric shock. And standing over her, breathing heavily, was the Slum Rat, electrified baton in hand, poised to resume the attack if she attempted to get up.

Rufus closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know where in the Nine Hells Tseng's pet protege had come from, but at the moment, he'd never been happier to see the obnoxious little vermin in his life. Of course, _now_ , he mused, he _probably_ owed the bastard another bottle of expensive liquor. He opened his eyes again and staggered to his feet, still somewhat shaken by the close call.

"You okay, sir?" the redhead asked, and Rufus was somewhat surprised at the strained note in his voice.

"Aside from the bruises you no doubt managed to inflict upon me during that mediocre excuse for a rescue... yes."

"Good..." the Turk ground out, rather breathlessly, and Rufus suddenly realized that something wasn't right. "In that case, do me a favor 'n... 'n get... get the Boss..."

With that, the redhead dropped to the floor himself, and lay there, motionless. Rufus simply stood, frozen for several seconds, before his more rational mind reengaged. He roughly rolled the Turk over, and felt inexplicably ill at the sight of the blood soaking through the front of his shirt and slowly pooling underneath him.

He scrambled back, tripping over his own feet as he scurried away from the blood, and in a panic, ran for the door.

" _TSENG_!"

~end chapter 50~


	51. Consequences

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 51: Consequences**

 **by Desha**

Most people, upon hearing something that sounds suspiciously like gunshots, would make a conscious effect to remove themselves from the general vicinity of said sound. Very few would opt to run _towards_ potential danger. Turks, however, are not "most people".

Tseng had been tempted to dismiss it as the airship's machinery, at first, but training and prior experience wouldn't allow for such an assumption to be made, particularly not with the vice president still unaccounted for. As he left the command deck and found himself passing concerned and confused crew members, it became apparent that it wouldn't have been a _valid_ assumption to begin with.

" _TSENG!_ "

Rufus' voice. He quickened his pace, weapon already drawn, and took the stairs to the lowest deck of the ship where the engines resided. There was a definite note of fear in the younger man's summons, and he wanted to answer him, but Tseng couldn't afford to give his own position away. Either Reno had opened fire on an unknown assailant... or someone had opened fire on _him_. Whatever the case, he had no way to confirm if the attacker had been neutralized, and if they were still on the loose, he wasn't about to surrender the element of surprise.

Tseng rounded a corner and had to immediately sidestep the frantic figure that stumbled towards him as it exited the engine room. Rufus yelped in surprise, backing away from him for a brief moment before recognition dawned.

"Are you injured?" Tseng asked, voice pitched low in case their intruder was still nearby. Rufus shook his head, struggling to find his voice.

"In there..." the young executive finally managed to stammer, pointing towards the room he'd just vacated.

"Stay here," the Turk lieutenant replied, slipping past him. He didn't like leaving him unattended, but if the assailant was still in the engine room, the corridors were marginally safer than keeping the young man with him. He crept past the machinery, using it for cover until he could get eyes on his target.

He needn't have bothered. At the far end of the room, two figures lay on the floor. His eyes immediately went to the rapidly expanding pool of blood beneath one of them.

"Reno..." he breathed, kneeling beside the fallen Turk. His fingers sought out the vein in his neck, probing for a pulse. It was sluggish, but it was there. The other figure twitched slightly in his peripheral vision, and Tseng instinctively leveled his gun at her, eyes narrowed.

She was wearing a Turk uniform, or at least a reasonable facsimile of one... but she was certainly not one of theirs. The young woman was Wutaiian – younger than he was, but probably not by much. Her long hair had been bleached to a platinum blonde – a recent fad, apparently, as Tseng had seen a number of young women at the festival sporting similarly colored hair – and tied back in a neat braid. Her body spasmed again in what Tseng quickly recognized as the aftereffects of contact with an EMR on a fairly high setting. And indeed, Reno's EMR was on the floor near where he'd fallen.

The impostor Turk likely wouldn't be capable of going anywhere for awhile yet, but it was unwise to take any chances. He retrieved her gun from the floor, and hurriedly secured her hands behind her back with a pair of handcuffs, before turning his full attention on his injured protege.

His skin was ashen... likely from blood loss, given how much of it seemed to be coating the metal floor. Tseng tapped the redhead's cheek with the palm of his hand, calling his name, in an effort to bring him around, but Reno only managed a somewhat groggy moan and a brief flutter of his eyelids before passing out again.

Tseng had to forcibly push the fear and the anger and the panic to the back of his mind. There was no time to allow emotion to take over. He needed to get control of the bleeding. Now.

The redhead's shirt yielded easily to him, buttons flying off in several directions as he unceremoniously yanked it open in search of the wound, and found two. One bulled had hit him in the left side. A clean shot – through and through – painful, certainly, and dangerous if ignored for too long, but probably not _immediately_ life-threatening. The other, however...

The entry point was between two ribs on the right side of his chest. Tseng lifted the younger Turk enough to slide a hand beneath him, probing for the second exit wound, but felt nothing. He frowned, and lowered him back to the floor, pressing a hand against the hole in his chest and applying pressure. The location of the injury was concerning enough, in and of itself... but if the bullet was still inside, Leviathan only knew how much damage had been done. Gunshots with no exit wound were inherently more dangerous than ones that passed through cleanly. If a bullet went in, but didn't come out, it often meant that it had hit something hard enough to stop it... or to redirect it.

He tried not to think too hard about that possibility. Instead he focused on the more immediate problem. Getting help.

"Sir!" Tseng called out, casting a look over his shoulder towards the door. Rufus, in spite of being instructed to stay where he was, had crept close enough to peer inside. He jumped when Tseng addressed him, but a moment later recovered enough to cautiously make his way back over to the bloody scene. As one hand was presently employed in an effort to prevent his protege from bleeding out, Tseng reached into his jacket with his only free hand, and extracted his PHS. He quickly selected Veld's contact. As he waited for his mentor to pick up, he turned back to Rufus. "Were there any others?"

Rufus' eyes flickered first to the impostor and then to Reno, where they remained, staring.

"Rufus!"

"I... I don't know," he said, shaking himself from his daze, "I only saw her."

Tseng nodded.

"I need you to go to the command deck. Inform the captain of what has happened. Have him lock down and search the ship. Take her weapon with you... just in case."

The vice president bent down and somewhat shakily reached for the gun sitting on the floor near Tseng's knee, before snatching it up and all but running for the exit.

"Veld here," the senior Turk finally answered.

"Sir... We have a situation..." Tseng stated, his voice wavering slightly as he glanced down at his protege's unconscious form.

* * *

Given that the Highwind had yet to be properly searched, Veld ultimately decided that the President was safer where he was for the time being. Rather than interrupt the tour, Kai and Rude had been ordered to return to the airship and assist. As they approached, they spotted Rufus Shinra on the observation deck... He quickly vanished upon seeing them.

"... He waiting for us, you think?" Rude asked.

"Could be. He _does_ occasionally do what Tseng tells him to, after all. Maybe he had him watching so he could tell him when we got here," Kai replied with a shrug.

Rude frowned. Details on what had happened, exactly, had been a bit sparse. All he knew for sure was that there had been an intruder on board, and that Reno had been wounded in the process of apprehending her. They two Turks hurried up the gangway, only to be confronted by a sealed hatch. Locked down, apparently. Rude swiped his ID card through the reader, granting them access.

As they entered, Tseng emerged from a passage off to their left, Rufus trailing close behind him. Rude's eyes widened behind his sunglasses.

The Turk lieutenant was covered in blood.

"Tseng? W-what the _hell_?! Are you okay?!" Kai stammered, stopping short upon seeing him.

"It's not mine," Tseng replied, and Rude felt a chill run down his spine.

"Sir...?" he queried, not quite able to voice the question he wanted... _needed_... to ask.

"Reno is... stable," said the senior Turk, "But seriously injured, and in need of a proper medical facility. The ship's medical officer is treating for him for the moment, but the sooner we deal with this situation, the sooner we can get him the care he needs... so let's not waste time on pleasantries. We have one known intruder, secured in the the ship's hold. A full, top to bottom search is currently underway to make sure she didn't bring along any friends. Kai... find out who she is, why she's here, and how she got access. She's still recovering from a encounter with Reno's EMR, but I'm sure you can manage to get _something_ useful out of her."

"Count on it," Kai replied, and quickly departed to pay her new interrogation subject a visit.

"Rude... Take the vice president to his cabin, secure it, and stay there with him until the crew has determined the ship is clear. I'll be assisting in the search."

"Yes, sir..." Rude answered, eyeing the Shinra heir who, he noted, looked somewhat shell-shocked at the moment. He would have preferred to accompany the Turk lieutenant... if only so that he could ask him what in the name of Hades had happened... but now wasn't the time. Tseng was right. This was no time for pleasantries. The Highwind wasn't going anywhere without the President, and the President wasn't going anywhere until the Highwind was completely secure.

Reno's life depended on them doing their jobs swiftly and efficiently... and _not_ getting distracted by the fact that one of their number had been hurt.

That in mind, Rude wordlessly guided the executive towards the passenger cabins, escorting him into the one designated for his personal use, and barred the door behind them.

* * *

It had taken far too long to cover the necessary ground... but Tseng had to be thorough. Just because he wanted nothing more than to get this Leviathan-forsaken ship in the air, didn't give him leave to shirk his duties. The Turks' first duty was to the Company, and he served the Turks. The fastest way to get Reno to a competent surgeon was to ensure that the Highwind was safe for the President... because until he was on board, the airship wasn't going _anywhere_.

He had only just received word that the crew had swept the last section and passed that information along to Veld.

That done, he could finally take a moment to... process what had happened. Tseng leaned back against the wall of an empty corridor, and looked down at his hands. They were still covered in Reno's blood... mostly dried, now, but still a deep red. His uniform was likewise stained, and he wished he'd thought to bring a change of clothes.

He was stuck with this reminder, however, until they returned to the capitol. Not that he needed one. He had a feeling that it would be a very long time before he was able to forget the sight of the redhead lying there on the floor, a pool of red spreading out underneath him as he'd begun to struggle for breath. By the time assistance had arrived in the form of the ship's medical officer, there was blood staining Reno's lips, as well, and Tseng could feel tiny air bubbles escaping from the bullet hole he was so desperately trying to plug with his own hands.

Tseng had been injured enough times himself to know what that meant. The bullet had torn through Reno's lung. It was filling with blood, or perhaps simply collapsing, making it harder and harder for him to breath. He'd been in and out of consciousness while the medical officer had worked to stabilize him enough to move him. And once he _had_ been moved, it quickly become apparent that the volume of the blood loss was going to become an issue.

Of course, there _was_ blood on board for emergencies. Both the President's and the Vice President's type, neither of which matched Reno's... because of _course_ they wouldn't. Tseng had never been more grateful to have been born a universal donor... though the process of having a not insignificant percentage of his own blood volume extracted to be infused into the redhead had delayed him in joining the security sweep.

Now, however, it was done. The Highwind was secure, Rufus was safe, and Veld was on his way back with the President and Lord Godo. They would be leaving shortly, and Reno would be alright. He _would_ be. He was strong, and stubborn, and not about to let some evil little infiltrator in a knock-off Turk uniform take him down.

Tseng took a shuddering breath, and silently wiped away the wetness he suddenly realized was making its way down one cheek. He would _not_ fall apart now. Reno was in good hands. His injuries were serious, but they could be repaired, and they would be back in the capitol soon where they would do just that.

He was _not_ going to lose _him_ , too. Not today.

It took him several minutes to fully compose himself, and by the time he managed it, the President, Lord Godo and his daughter, along with the rest of the team were making their way inside. Tseng quickly ducked out of sight. He was in no state, either emotionally or in terms of appearance, to greet them. He stood there, hidden from view, waiting for the VIPs to pass by on their way to the passenger cabins, before reporting to Veld.

"Sir..."

"Tseng..." Veld breathed, taking in his bloodstained uniform and shaking his head. "How is he?"

"Alive," the Turk lieutenant replied. "And I would very much prefer to _keep_ him that way."

"I've already sent word to the pilot. We'll be lifting off momentarily. What in Odin's name happened?" the senior Turk demanded.

"I'm afraid I haven't had time to piece together the _entire_ series of events. Rufus, from what he was able to tell me, went to the lower decks to retrieve an item he'd dropped earlier in the day... where he was confronted by our intruder. She was dressed like one of us, and he initially mistook her for one of the rookies he'd not yet met. She was about to fire on _him_ when Reno arrived and intervened. He took her down, but apparently not in time to avoid being shot himself."

"Do we know who she is?"

Tseng shook his head. "I sent Kai down to find that out, along with just how she managed to breach our security. She hasn't reported back yet."

Veld frowned, but nodded. He took a step towards his protege, and placed a hand on either shoulder.

"And how are _you_?"

"I would be far _better_ if we were closer to a full medical team," he replied, a hint of the anger he felt towards the whole situation slipping through, and then sighed, "I... will be fine."

"Here," Veld said, handing him a key. "I have a clean uniform in my cabin. Get out of those clothes." He managed a somewhat forced smile, "You would think that, by _now_ , you'd have learned your lesson on that..."

"Yes, sir," Tseng gratefully replied. He hadn't relished the idea of spending the entire return trip covered in Reno's blood, "Will you check on Rufus for me, sir? He was rather shaken by everything that's happened. I left him in his cabin, with Rude."

"Remy and I will deal with _all_ of the VIPs," the Turk leader added, "Once you've cleaned up, go see if Kai has made any progress, and then... see to your protege."

"Yes, sir."

Tseng made his way past the more luxurious passenger cabins to the smaller ones intended for lower level staff, unlocking the door to the one assigned to Veld and slipping inside. In short order, he'd stripped off his bloodstained clothing and changed into the spare uniform tucked into one of the cabinets that lined one wall.

It was decidedly ill-fitting. Veld was taller and broader across the chest than his protege was, and – though he would almost certainly deny it – had put on a pound or two around the waistline in recent years, as he spent more time managing the day to day minutia of the Turks than he did actively out in the field. Tseng immediately missed his perfectly tailored suit, that had been made to compliment his exact measurements. Over the years of his service to Shinra, it had become almost a second skin to him, and suddenly being without a uniform – or at least without _his own_ uniform – inexplicably made an already terrible day even worse.

He glanced in a nearby mirror and did what he could to make himself presentable, but regardless of his efforts, it was plain that the uniform didn't fit. Tseng sat down on the foot of the bed and pressed his hands to his face.

He'd very nearly lost Reno today. For that matter, until the redhead was safely in a hospital, the possibility that he still _might_ continued to linger. And if Reno _hadn't_ been there, Rufus would almost certainly be the one fighting for his life, or worse. If Reno had hesitated... or if he wasn't as predisposed towards occasionally shocking speed of movement as he was... it might have even been both of them.

Tseng sighed and shook his head. He'd allowed himself to get far too attached. To _both_ of them. It was almost impossible to treat either young man objectively anymore, and though the nearly-paralyzing fear of losing one or both that had rendered him virtually useless for a time following the tragic death of his sister had been largely contained... he still struggled against it now and then. Especially on days like today.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to consider that attachment to be a mistake, even when he was well aware that _most_ people would. It ultimately made him a more dedicated Turk. He would do whatever he had to to keep them from harm.

The unfortunate drawback to that, however, was the pain he felt when he failed. One day... hopefully still _years_ from now... his responsibility would increase ten-fold. One day, he'd be responsible for not only the safety of his former First Rookie and a stubborn and occasionally rash executive... but for the entire team and the executive board of the Company. He had big shoes to fill... and a part of him worried that they would ultimately fit him as badly as Veld's spare uniform.

Tseng sighed and stood up. He didn't have time to wallow in self-pity right now. He still needed to check in with Kai before he could return to Reno's side. That thought in mind, he left Veld's cabin and hurried down to the lower levels of the ship once again, making his way to the forward hold where they were keeping their prisoner.

As he reached the deck he was looking for, Tseng suddenly found himself accosted by very a wide-eyed and concerned-looking Liam.

"Sir? Is... Reno going to be alright?" the rookie asked, "No one wants to tell us anything!"

The Turk lieutenant's eyes briefly glanced over the young man's shoulder, where he spotted both Sykes _and_ Petra lingering in a nearby hallway... ostensibly on guard duty, though they seemed far more focused on their comrade's conversation at the moment.

"He... is doing as well as can be expected," Tseng replied, somewhat hesitant to make promises regarding the redhead's continued health that he had no way of keeping. "We'll be back in the capitol soon."

It wasn't really an answer. He knew it, and so did Liam... but it would have to suffice for the time being. He wasn't clairvoyant. He couldn't predict the future any more than the rookie could, no matter how much he might wish it possible. The rookie, somewhat unhappily, stepped aside and let him pass, and Tseng gave the other two-thirds of the trio a nod as he slipped into the cargo hold, pulling the hatch shut again behind him.

It was surprisingly quiet inside. Save for the hum of the Highwind's engines, in fact, he heard nothing at all... which was, to put it mildly, unusual for an interrogation. Frowning, he found his way to the foremost part of the deck.

Kai was seated on the floor in front of the closed compartment they'd commandeered as a temporary holding cell for the intruder. Her knees were pulled up tight to her chest, head bowed and pressed against her clasped hands, eyed squeezed tightly shut.

"Kai?" Tseng asked, in alarm. His friend slowly raised her head, and he instinctively recoiled at the devastation he saw in her eyes.

"It's all _my_ fault..." she whispered.

* * *

Rufus folded his arms over his chest, glaring out one of the the small windows along the far side of his cabin. He huffed in annoyance and stalked across the room, planting himself in a chair and snatching a book from the side table, before reading all of two sentences and tossing it aside in favor of migrating back to his previous position.

"Don't you ever _say_ anything?!" he snapped, angrily, at the Turk seated by the door. _Most_ of the Turks, at the very least, were capable of conversing. Even that blasted Remy could be coaxed into saying more than two words at a time. This one, though... _this_ one said almost _nothing_.

"Yes, sir..." Rude replied, simply, and when it became clear that _that_ was all he was going to get, Rufus scowled and returned his attention to the scenery on the other side of the ballistic glass.

They were very near the capitol now. The flight to the other end of the island had been a leisurely one. The return trip, on the other hand, was being conducted with urgency. And still, he was annoyed that they were not moving faster.

 _Why_ it annoyed him was anyone's guess. He didn't want the blasted Slum Rat to die, of course. It would be an utter waste of a good employee... One that the Company had already sunk a lot of funds into training. But why should _he_ be so agitated? He didn't even _like_ the little street urchin.

… No. That wasn't true.

Reno was irritating, uneducated, and bordered on uncivilized under even the best of circumstances. But he wasn't... unlikable. True, Rufus could only tolerate him in small doses, but... there were times when the redhead's company wasn't _wholly_ disagreeable. Occasionally, he even welcomed the diversion the Turk inevitably provided.

And even at his most obnoxious, Rufus would never have wished death on him.

Particularly in _this_ instance. It never would have happened if he hadn't insisted on going back for that Leviathan-be-damned offering pouch. A stupid, _idiotic_ superstition, and his willingness to partake in it, had resulted in a man taking a bullet that was meant for _him_.

He could still clearly remember when Tseng had done the same thing. Rufus had been only nine years old at the time, but the clarity with which that memory could be recalled, even now, was quite astounding. He could still see the face of his mother's murderer, clear as day. Could hear her frantic screams as the bastard's partner had attempted to drag him off to Ramuh knows where. Could smell the gunpowder as both she _and_ another Turk died before Tseng could do anything to prevent it.

He could still remember the feeling of his would-be abductor clawing at his expensively tailored jacket as he broke away from him in the confusion, and being shoved roughly to the cold tiled floor of the department store as Tseng shielded him from the retaliatory gunshots.

… And he could still remember the blood. The coppery smell of it. The stickiness. The bright red that stained his hands and his clothes after he'd dared to wriggle out from beneath his fallen protector. He remembered Tseng lying there after the gunman had fled, in a pool of it... just like the Slum Rat. Rufus had been thoroughly convinced that they were _all_ dead. He'd only been right on three counts. His mother, the other Turk, and one of the two assailants had died... but Tseng had survived. Though _how_ Rufus couldn't even begin to imagine. There had been so _much_ blood...

Seeing things repeat themselves like that... it had all come back to him, as if it had happened just yesterday. If Reno survived, he, like Tseng before him, would be recovering for weeks. Maybe months. Tseng had been gone for so long, that, as a child, Rufus had assumed he wasn't coming back at all.

And then, one day, he did.

One day, Tseng had simply reappeared, waiting to accompany him to the doors of his private grade school, instead of his usual escort. From that point on, Rufus demanded _his_ presence anytime security was needed, and as his father's only son and future of the Company, no one dared tell him no. There was simply no one else who would do. Tseng had saved him. Rufus had learned later that the man had _technically_ died doing so, only to come back to life not once, but twice. Tseng was the sort of person who never conceded defeat, even when staring down death itself, and that was _exactly_ the sort of person Rufus wanted protecting him.

And though Rufus found the Turk lieutenant's choice in protege's to be questionable at best... he couldn't help but hope that the Slum Rat was that sort of person, as well.

* * *

"Kai, none of this is –" Tseng began, only to be cut off.

"It's my fault!" Kai repeated, her voice cracking with emotion. She slowly unclasped her hands and held up a black leather wallet. "She had this on her... It's how she got aboard."

The diminutive Turk dropped her gaze as he reached for the object. Tseng flipped it open, revealing a Shinra Company ID card... belonging to one Kai McNamera. He shook his head.

"Kai... You can't blame yourself. We _knew_ your credentials had been stolen... You informed Veld as soon as you realized –"

"No... You don't understand," Kai said, miserably, "I _know_ her. I met her two nights ago. I..." She exhaled a shaky breath, shoulders slumping in remorse. "I... spent the night with her," she continued, a note of disgust in her voice, "She _used_ me to get access to Highwind. That was her plan from the moment I showed a little interest in her."

"... Kai," Tseng breathed, taken aback.

"She's a Shiva-be-damned Zenshou!" the younger Turk continued with an anguished sob. "They were waiting for us. They were waiting until everyone was at the shrine, and then they were going to steal the Highwind. She's been on board for days, pretending to be _me_. She was supposed to let them in. She took my Shiva-be-damned ID, walked in like she owned the place, and she's been on board, hiding, since... since I... since the morning after we..."

Tseng knelt down as Kai trailed off, pulling the younger woman into his arms.

"It's my fault she got in. It's my fault Reno got hurt," she said in a quiet voice.

A part of him wanted to be angry. A part of him wanted to shake her and scream at her and demand to know how she could have been so foolish. And if this had happened two years ago, he might have done just that. Now, however, he just felt like a bit of a hypocrite the moment the thought entered his mind. Given his own rather devastating and life-altering error in judgment, he was finding it hard to condemn Kai for a similar mistake.

"Say something..." Kai pleaded.

Tseng pulled away, getting to his feet and helping _her_ up as well.

"I know how it feels. I know how _you_ must feel," he said after a moment. Tseng shook his head and fixed his gaze on his long-time friend. "But our first duty is to the Company. Reno was injured protecting the vice president. Who or what is to blame doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to ensure that it cannot happen a second time."

Kai nodded somewhat shakily, wiping a hand across her eyes. "Just... give me a few minutes to compose myself. I'll find out everything that scheming little _bitch_ knows... even if it kills her."

"No. Head back upstairs. Have Remy take over the interrogation," Tseng replied.

"What?! No way... I'm the best interrogator on the team! You can't just pull me out like that!"

"I can, and I just did." The senior Turk sighed. "It's not a punishment, Kai. She lied to you. She used you. She stole from you. And you're _angry_ , but that anger won't last forever. You're too personally involved with this woman and I'm not about to force you to interrogate someone you've been intimate with. You and I both know that nothing you might do to her will banish the guilt you're feeling. It will only add to it."

The diminutive Turk's shoulders slumped in defeat, as she reluctantly nodded and started towards the exit. As she reached the hatch she glanced back at the senior Turk.

"I'm so sorry..."

"... I know," Tseng replied. She turned and resumed her retreat, and Tseng closed his eyes, forcibly repressing the urge to stalk into the prisoner's cell the moment he was alone again and demonstrate precisely how angry _he_ was at the moment. Not only had the Zenshou nearly killed his protege... she'd inflicted painful emotional damage on one of his closest friends. It was tempting... so _very_ tempting... to make an example of the one they'd taken prisoner.

The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Reno _was_ badly injured... and if the worst should happen, Tseng intended to be with _him_ , not exacting revenge on the person who'd pulled the trigger. Revenge could wait. His protege could not.

Steeling himself for that vigil, he made his way back up, towards the rear of the airship, where the Highwind's tiny infirmary was located. It was little bigger than one of the passenger cabins, really. The Highwind wasn't, strictly speaking, a military aircraft, even if it _was_ under the care of the Shinra army in Junon. It was a flagship, designed to transport people of great importance to the Company from one end of the Planet to the other in comfort and style. It was a veritable floating fortress, yes, but that was intended to protect, not to engage. As such, high casualty rates were hardly a concern. The infirmary was meant to handle _minor_ injuries... not major trauma.

Not that the medical officer that crewed it was unqualified should there be an emergency... but he worked largely alone, with only basic equipment, resorting to conscripting other crew members as support staff when needed.

Which was why, when Tseng saw a young private darting out of said infirmary towards the supply room in a very noticeable hurry, he was understandably concerned. The senior Turk quickened his pace, stepping inside just in time to see...

Frankly, he wasn't certain he wanted to _know_ what he was seeing. It was enough to know that things were bad. Reno was, for lack of a better descriptor, corpse-like. His lips were tinged with a faint blue, eyes cracked slightly open but staring blankly ahead. At some point while he'd been gone, the doctor had intubated him, forcing a plastic tube down his windpipe. The doctor himself had one hand almost fully inside of Reno's chest, having widened the initial bullet wound enough to access the internal damage directly.

"Oh, thank Typoon... you're back..." he breathed upon seeing the Wutaiian Turk standing in the doorway. "He hemorrhaged again. I've got it back under control, but he lost a _lot_ of blood before I could manage it. We put a call out for donors, but frankly, we'll be in the damn capitol before we get any volunteers screened for blood type."

Tseng had already tossed his jacket aside and was rolling up a sleeve before the man finished speaking.

"Take whatever you need..." he replied, eyes fixated on younger Turk, a growing sense of desperation welling up inside of him.

~end chapter 51~


	52. Aftermath

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 52: Aftermath**

 **by Desha**

He awoke to pain.

It wasn't the first time in recent memory he'd experienced such an awakening, but the previous ones had all been almost immediately followed by the return of unconsciousness. Or at least, that's what he assumed the fact that he remembered waking several times now, but nothing in between said wakings, meant.

This time seemed different, though. Those earlier brief moments of wakefulness had been fleeting at best. He had his doubts as to whether he was even really awake at all, or simply having a particularly lucid dream. This time, though, he was... aware.

Dazed... but aware. It took a great deal of effort to fight through the lingering haze of sleep, but the pain actually _helped_ with that, pulling him back from the edge when he started to drift off again into oblivion. It was a dull pain, and as clarity slowly returned, he realized that he recognized it as pain masked by drugs. Probably _a lot_ of drugs, given how hard it was to hold onto an individual strand of logic at the moment. His mind wandered constantly and he couldn't focus on any one thing for long.

 _'Open your goddamn eyes.'_

It took him several seconds – or, hell, maybe they were actually minutes... who the fuck even knew? – to figure out that it was his own mind making the demand. It took him even longer to comply with it, and even when he did so, he was half convinced he _was_ , in fact, dreaming, because he was surrounded by a sea of white.

Agonizingly slowly, other senses began to filter back in, and the dreamlike fog lifted ever so slightly. He groaned, though whether he did so out loud or only mentally, he wasn't sure.

He was in an Ifrit-forsaken hospital.

He'd know that sterile, antiseptic, unnaturally clean smell _anywhere_. Great. What'd he do to himself _this_ time? His brain felt like mush right now... which he was pretty sure was due to being doped up on fuck only knew what. He recognized _that_ ,too. He'd been put under. Anesthesia always left him feeling groggy for hours, even after it finally wore off.

Thankfully, though, he _didn't_ feel the disturbing sense of wrongness he always got when they gave him the hardcore painkillers... so apparently, either whatever had happened wasn't all that bad, or someone had thought to let the doctors know ahead of time that he shouldn't have them. Either that, or he'd been out of it so long, he'd slept through the worst of the effects.

Judging by the pain in his chest, he was going to go with the second of the possibilities. He was _definitely_ hurt bad enough that he was in a hospital bed, so it was probably fairly serious. And the drugs that _didn't_ turn him into a sniveling, panicked mess mostly just took the edge off the pain and brought it down to tolerable levels. If he'd been given the good shit, and he wouldn't have been feeling much of anything for awhile, even if they were starting to wear off. Well... physically, anyway. He'd decided a long time ago that he'd prefer to tolerate _some_ pain, rather than be so completely stoned that paranoia and anxiety started to take hold.

Speaking of paranoia, though... Reno was suddenly very aware that he was being watched. He turned his head in the direction of his observer who was seated next to his bed in one of those horrendously uncomfortable hospital chairs the redhead was fairly sure they only used because it made it that much easier to enforce visiting hours.

"Ah... There you are."

"Sir?" he queried... or, rather, attempted to. It was utterly impossible to speak. And the reason became readily apparent as he touched a hand to his lips and encountered plastic. Something was in his mouth, taped in place to prevent whatever it was from moving. Reno went cross-eyed for a brief moment, trying to get a glimpse of it, before his slightly terrified gaze flickered back to the face now hovering over him.

"Calm down," Veld said in an even, unconcerned voice. "You can't talk right now. You've been sedated for a day and a half, recovering from major surgery. They needed to protect your airway. Do you remember what happened?"

Reno closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus... but it was no use. Between the pain and the medication and apparently just having woken up from anesthesia, his memory was fucked. He vaguely recalled something about Rufus and a gun... but beyond that, everything was a jumbled mess.

He silently swore. If that little shit had shot him again, he was gonna fucking beat the hell out of him when he got out of here... even if he _was_ the goddamned vice president.

He managed a slight shake of his head and Veld nodded. "That's not uncommon after a serious injury. It'll come back to you," he said, "In the meantime... I'll see if I can fill in some of the blanks for you. You've been unconscious since we returned from our trip to the south. You were shot in the chest by a member of the Zenshou who was threatening the vice president. Rufus is fine, by the way. You managed to take her down, in spite of your injuries. We have her in custody now. I'll let Tseng brief you on the specifics, seeing as _I_ only arrived well after the fact."

The redhead's gaze instinctively wandered across the room, searching for his mentor... only to realize that he wasn't present. He glanced questioningly up at the Turk leader. Veld chuckled softly.

"Let me amend that," he added, "He'll brief you _after_ he recovers a bit, himself. He was, perhaps, a bit... over generous... in donating blood to sustain you until we could reach adequate medical care. He's presently under explicit orders to rest... and if he _doesn't_ , I've threatened to send him on a mandatory week long vacation as soon as we return home. Hmph. Though just between you and me... I may do that _anyway_. He's overdue. Again."

Reno blinked in surprise... since blinking was virtually all he _could_ do at the moment. Tseng had given him blood? Not that he was especially shocked by the fact that he was willing, but he'd somehow never realized they had the same type. Come to think of it, he really had no idea what his blood type even _was_ to begin with. He'd have to remember to ask Ward the next time he got dragged in to see her... which would likely be about five and a half seconds after they arrived in Midgar, anyway. Hell... he probably wouldn't even have to be dragged. She'd _probably_ be standing there, just waiting to get her hands on him. Regardless, though, that information might come in handy some day.

Veld leaned back in his seat and pressed his fingertips together, fixing him with a much more serious expression.

"All joking aside, however... you're going to be sidelined for quite some time, I'm afraid. If Dr. Ward holds true to form, I'd say six weeks, minimum, _full_ medical restriction, half in the hospital, half at home, in bed. And that's _best_ case scenario, assuming no infections or other complications from the wounds. That Zenshou really did a number on you, Reno."

By now, he was getting decidedly pissed off about having a tube shoved down his throat, because he would have liked nothing more than to inform Veld of _exactly_ what he thought of _that_ prognosis. Six _weeks_ full restriction? Minimum? He'd go _nuts_. He was absolutely going to lose his fucking mind if he had to stay in bed for six Ifrit-forsaken weeks.

He'd never been stuck in the hospital for more than a week at a time before... and that was because he was typically all but climbing the walls after the first few _days_ , to the point that he was pretty sure the doctors mostly just released him for the sake of their own sanity.

Veld suddenly laughed, and Reno turned to glare at the Turk leader. He shook his head, quickly composing himself.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so used to you virtually never closing that mouth of yours I don't think I've ever realized quite how expressive you are without it. I take it you're not exactly thrilled by the idea of a prolonged recovery?"

Reno narrowed his eyes, annoyed at the commentary... but it wasn't as if he could deny it. The Turk leader rested a hand on his shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we can find _something_ to keep you occupied once you're feeling up to doing much more than eating and sleeping. Though if past experience is any indication... _that_ won't be for awhile, either."

The redhead pointedly rolled his eyes.

"Hmph... I'm going to let that response slide without a reprimand just this once. But only because you were half-dead thirty-six hours ago," Veld said, the barest hint of a teasing threat in his tone. Then he patted the younger Turk on the shoulder again. "Get some rest. I'll let Tseng know you're finally shaking off the anesthesia. I'm sure he'll be in to see you far sooner than he ought to be."

* * *

He didn't remember falling asleep. He didn't _really_ remember waking up again, either, for that matter. As far as Reno was concerned, he'd closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again the curtains on his windows had been drawn and the lights had been turned down and Veld had vanished.

He was very much aware of the pain in his chest, though... and that it had expanded to include his left side, just above his hip. He prodded the epicenter of said pain and winced. Yep... the drugs were definitely wearing off. Reno shifted his gaze towards the ceiling and tried not to think about it... but didn't have a whole hell of a lot of luck there. It was starting to really _hurt_.

But on the bright side, it kept him from slipping back into dreamland, and he took full advantage of the opportunity to take stock of just how bad things were, carefully raising himself up ever so slightly... just enough to get a halfway decent look at himself.

He couldn't see _much_ , truth be told. Most of his torso seemed to be wrapped in gauze bandages. A narrow tube disappeared under the ones that tightly bound his chest. It was filled with bright red blood. The inside of the elbow of his left arm seemed to have been used as a goddamn pin-cushion. He could plainly see the bruising from multiple attempts at inserting a needle into a vein. His right arm wasn't much better, and both had active IVs jabbed into them, as did the vein along the back of his right hand.

The redhead shuddered slightly. He _hated_ those. He wasn't sure why, but somehow they were even worse than having one in his arm. A flicker of movement to his left drew his attention away from his self-examination, and let his head drop back against the pillow, hoping it was one of the docs with more drugs.

It wasn't... but it was the next best thing.

Tseng slipped into the room, and just as quickly peered back out into the hall, as though he were worried someone had followed him, before soundlessly easing the door shut behind him. He turned, and for a fleeting moment, looked a bit shocked to see blue eyes looking back at him from the bed.

"... It's well past visiting hours," he quietly explained in response to the curious gaze, "And I don't seem to have quite the same clout here as I do at Midgar General. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner," he added, making his way over to the bed and taking up residence in the chair beside it... and then scoffed, " _Veld_ insisted that I needed more rest."

Tseng rested his palm on the younger Turk's forehead, lightly brushing the hair away from his face, and Reno closed his eyes, enjoying the physical contact.

"I will never cease to hate seeing you like this..." his mentor sighed, "Rufus sends his regards, incidentally... and his gratitude."

Normally, Reno would have snorted in disbelief at such a prospect... but as no one had bothered to take the damn tube out yet, the best he could manage was a sardonic raise of one eyebrow that somewhat mirrored one of Tseng's _own_ common expressions. His mentor chuckled in response.

"Well... if you wish me to be _exact_ , I've been instructed to inform you that you had better not expect a second bottle of Banora White whiskey for this, as he's _still_ on the waiting list after gifting you the previous bottle. But I'm quite certain that 'thank you for saving my life' was heavily implied."

The redhead rolled his eyes... but he knew Tseng wasright about that. Rufus virtually never actually _said_ those words. He let his appreciation be known in other ways. _Usually_ very expensive ways.

Reno shifted slightly, hoping for a more comfortable position, and winced as the small movement sent a sharp stab of pain through his chest and abdomen. Tseng frowned slightly.

"Are you in more pain than you should be?"

The younger Turk shrugged somewhat feebly, but didn't try to dissuade him from the idea. The fact was that, yeah... he hurt. And he _really_ could use a little more pain relief. Tseng stood and walked towards the door, reaching for the chart that hung on the wall, and scowled.

"If I'm reading this correctly, you haven't been given anything for nearly four hours. No wonder you're uncomfortable... The way _you_ metabolize medication, it likely wore off ages ago. I'll be back in a moment," his said, quickly leaving the room, chart in hand.

 _That_ was a little detail they'd figured out shortly after his nineteenth birthday. Well... it was more that _Rude_ had figured it out. Reno had ended up with a broken wrist following an assignment in the Kalm... courtesy of being thrown by one of the Ifrit-forsaken chocobos Kai had insisted on riding instead of taking the helicopter like _normal_ human beings. He'd been given his usual brand of non-fucks-with-his-head prescription painkillers for a week or two until it had healed up enough that it stopped throbbing.

The label on the bottle said two pills every four hours, just like it always did. And that's what Reno had taken. It was Rude who had realized that by about the two hour mark, they were having little to no effect at all. Well... the redhead had long since realized that, _too_ , of course... but he'd always just assumed that was how they were _supposed_ to work. His friend had forcibly dragged him back down to Medical, where Reno had been thoroughly chastised for not saying something sooner and then given a new prescription with new dosing instructions to account for his faster than normal metabolism.

Reno glanced towards the door when he suddenly heard raised voices... one of which was unequivocally Tseng's, and which sounded particularly unhappy. But given that the borderline shouting match was being conducted entirely in Wutaiian, he didn't know for certain what was being said. He could _guess_ , though, and the thought made him grin around the tube in his mouth.

A few moments later, his mentor was ushering a slightly terrified-looking doctor back into his room.

* * *

The week wore on at a snail's pace for Reno. A Turk almost being murdered in cold blood wasn't reason enough to end the trip early, after all, and knowing that the Zenshou had their eyes on the Highwind, the Turks who were still able-bodied were practically on duty around the clock, with only short, staggered breaks to eat and sleep.

Thus, the redhead had been largely abandoned following Tseng's forced departure after outing himself to the hospital staff in order to procure more painkillers for his protege. He'd returned the following morning, but it had been a very short visit. By day five of their trip... two days still before they planned to be home... Reno's prediction was quickly coming true. He was losing his mind from boredom.

Well... when he was actually conscious, that is... which, frankly, he wasn't convinced was all that often. When he _was_ awake, though, it was torture.

He couldn't talk. He couldn't get up and move around. Hell, he couldn't even really watch TV, because every fucking channel, even the ones coming out of Midgar, seemed to have been translated into Wutaiian. Though on the bright side, Tseng had apparently put the fear of Leviathan into his doctors and they were making absolutely certain that he was good and drugged up twenty-four hours a day... which, though it made him ridiculously drowsy, was moderately better than laying around in pain _and_ having nothing to do all day. So... he spent his time laying around like a useless lump, instead.

It was only for two more days. Then, they'd load his sorry ass back onto the Highwind and shuttle him off to Midgar General. He was _almost_ looking forward to having Dr. Ward grumbling at him again, at this point. The docs in Wutai were all business and efficiency. They didn't bother having a conversation with you that wasn't related to your medical needs. Not that Reno was all that talkative at the moment, anyway, but it would have been nice if they'd made an effort.

The moment the thought that he actually _missed_ Ward's overbearing presence entered his mind, he swore to himself that he'd never openly admit that to _anyone_. Ever. Especially not to the good doctor herself. He'd never hear the end of it.

But perhaps worse than being bored, drugged, and bed-ridden was the lengthy silence from his teammates. His phone had been confiscated as a matter of hospital policy – they alleged that the signal interfered with the medical equipment – so his only method of communication with the others was in person, face to face... which as previously mentioned wasn't exactly a regular thing with them all on duty right now. Plus, with him passed out for better than sixty percent of the day, even if someone _did_ have time to drop in, odds were pretty slim he'd ever know they were there.

Which made his waking hours not only boring, but depressing, as well.

The knowledge that he had about six to eight weeks of this to go after he got home wasn't exactly an uplifting prospect, either...

* * *

"This is _infuriating_..." Rufus muttered angrily as he stormed into his hotel room following a private meeting with his father. Tseng glanced up at the unexpectedly loud entrance, tucking his PHS back into his jacket's inner pocket.

"Sir?" he queried.

"Father utterly _refuses_ to move the official reactor opening," the young executive scowled, "It's one Ramuh-forsaken day. Is it _really_ so much to ask that we get it over with early so that we can go _home_? I _was_ very nearly killed, after all!"

Tseng had to bite his tongue before he said something he'd later regret... because, though Reno had come _far_ closer to death than the Shinra heir, and would be recovering for weeks, Rufus wasn't technically _wrong_. He very well _could_ have been killed, had the redhead not been able to intervene in time. The Turk lieutenant quickly reminded himself that the experience had more than slightly rattled the young man in spite of having emerged relatively unscathed.

Rufus stalked across the room and helped himself to the bottle of wine that was waiting for him on the sideboard table, pouring himself a glass and settling into a chair in the corner. He was silent for a few minutes, alternately sipping his drink and studying the dark red liquid intently. Finally, he looked up at Tseng expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. The Turk raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what, sir?"

Rufus rolled his eyes and set the glass aside.

"Well, is the Slum Rat still among the living or not?" he snapped, "And don't even _bother_ trying to tell me that you didn't use my brief absence to check in with his doctor..."

A faint smile flashed briefly over Tseng's lips.

"Reno would be quite touched to know that you're worried about him, sir..."

Rufus scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. "I'm merely inquiring about a company asset. A very _expensive_ one, that the Company happens to carry a five million gil life insurance policy on to offset the outrageous medical bills your department turns in every quarter. It was a budgetary question... nothing more."

"Sir... Is it really so difficult to admit that you've grown fond of him?" Tseng sighed. He wasn't particularly in the mood for his charge's usual games. He knew perfectly well what Rufus was doing by couching his concern behind the familiar and safe shield of monetary value. And normally, he didn't mind humoring him, because he had first-hand insight into the reasons why the younger Shinra tended to keep most people at arms length, emotionally speaking... but right now, the last thing he wanted was to listen to Rufus' faux-insults towards his protege.

Rufus glowered at him in response.

"I am certainly _not_ 'fond of him'," he replied in an affronted tone. "Just because I don't wish to attend his funeral in the near future doesn't mean I _like_ the bastard."

Tseng couldn't help but smile slightly at the proclamation. "Forgive me, sir, but I find it very hard to believe you would consider attending his funeral at allif you _didn't_ like him. At least to _some_ extent."

The Shinra vice president certainly hadn't attended any of the funerals for fallen Turks in the past, and there had been more than just a few during his tenure in the office. Rufus sputtered, searching for an appropriate reply that didn't contradict his prior statements, but Tseng opted to take pity on the younger man.

"Reno is... doing well. Considering. I'd intended to check in on him in person when Rude arrives to relieve me, but it seems he's presently asleep."

Rufus frowned, and Tseng could almost literally see the facade drop for a moment.

"... How long will it take him to recover?"

"Six weeks, on the optimistic end," Tseng replied, "But we'll see what Dr. Ward has to say when we return to Midgar. She tends to err on the side of caution rather than optimism."

"Ugh... _that_ old harpy," Rufus muttered, rolling his eyes.

"That 'old harpy' is a very dedicated physician, and probably the _only_ doctor in Midgar that Reno doesn't openly detest, sir," the Wutaiian Turk chuckled, "As such, I will bow to her judgment on any and all medical matters where he is involved."

Rufus dismissively waved his hand. "It's hardly any of _my_ concern what sort of medical advice the idiot takes. He can see one of those ridiculous Cosmo Canyon 'spirit healers' with their crystals and essential oils, for all I care."

Tseng shook his head. "Sir, forgive me for the liberty, but since the attack you've been considerably more... moody... than usual. Is there something you want to talk about?"

"I am never _moody_ ," Rufus snapped. "And if I seem slight put off by the fact that I came rather unjustifiably close to being _shot in the head_ , I think I ought to be pardoned for being in a less than ideal frame of mind!"

The Turk lieutenant said nothing. He simply fixed his gaze on the younger man and waited. Rufus stubbornly stared right back at him for almost a full minute before growling low in his throat and dropping eye contact. His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"... The whole fiasco brought back some... _unpleasant_ memories for me."

"I imagine it _did_ ," Tseng gently replied.

"How do you stand it? Knowing that history might repeat itself every time you report for work..."

"It's simply part of the job, sir. It's something every Turk has to eventually accept."

Rufus glanced away from him, turning his gaze on the open window that overlooked the sacred mountains.

"Then why call yourselves a family? Why let yourself even get attached at _all_ to something that could easily be gone tomorrow?"

"Because, for many of us, it's the only family we have. If we _didn't_... we would be alone."

The Shinra heir snorted softly. "And just what's wrong with being alone? It works quite well for _me_."

"Sir, if that were true, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Tseng pointed out, forcing back a faint smile. Rufus glared at him.

"You're taking a great _number_ of liberties today, Tseng..." he muttered, though there was no real venom in his voice.

"Yes, sir. I suppose I am. Would you like me to stop?"

The young executive was silent for a moment, his attention back on the tranquility of the mountains beyond his window.

"... No."

* * *

Remy made her way down the path towards the Highwind. It was nearing lunchtime, but she'd already eaten. She'd be stationed on board the aircraft until dinnertime. After the attack on the Vice President, _and_ the failed heist, they weren't taking any chances – particularly not with the President furious with them about the security breach to begin with. Kai had been subjected to a _personal_ reprimand from the senior executive for being the one to inadvertently facilitate said breach – complete with threats of termination of employment, that were only ultimately threats because Veld intervened – but they were _all_ feeling the man's anger in one way or another.

Speaking of Kai, however... Remy was worried about her. She was blaming herself for what had happened to Reno. She hadn't even gone to _visit_ him, she felt so guilty about it... not that there was a whole lot of time to sit at a hospital bedside, but just about everyone else had made at least one trip to see the redhead, however briefly. Nothing Remy said to the woman seemed to get through to her.

And that concerned her, given Kai's history. Granted, her feelings towards the redhead were nothing like what she'd had with Alyssa... but Kai adored him in her own way. Reno was... something akin to a beloved nephew to Kai. Or at least that's how Remy tended to view the pair's relationship. Kai teased him relentlessly, but she was undeniably protective of the younger Turk... and being an orphan herself from a fairly young age, she had a connection with him that the rest of them really couldn't boast. Knowing that her own carelessness had almost cost him his life was weighing heavily on her.

Remy sighed and climbed the ramp leading up to the Highwind's entrance on deck. It was only two more days. Once they were safely back in Midgar, things would settle, and they could all unpack what had happened and deal with it... but for now, as much as she might wish otherwise, she had to focus on the assignment. And at this particular moment, her assignment was relieving Rude of guard duty so that he could go and relieve Tseng of escort duty.

Rude greeted her with a nod as soon as she stepped inside.

"Anything to report?" she asked. The younger Turk shook his head.

"It's been quiet. If the Zenshou are still interested, they're being patient about it. None of the patrols have reported anything, either."

"And our prisoner?"

"She's been quiet, too. Don't think isolation's gonna break her. Hasn't said a word since Kai was in with her. Sykes thinks it's a little creepy, the way she just stares at him the whole time when he's on watch."

"Who's on duty down there, now?" Remy asked, trying, and failing, to mentally pull up the rather last-minute roster.

"Petra."

The senior Turk nodded. "Alright. Hurry and get something to eat. Tseng is probably anxious for a break by now."

Rude turned to go, but hesitated a moment.

"Heard anything new about Reno?"

"Just that he's been in and out of consciousness. Mostly out."

The younger Turk's shoulders slumped slightly, and he sighed, but made no other comment before turning and heading off to his next duty station. Remy understood how he felt. If Reno was a nephew to Kai, he was nothing short of a younger brother to Rude. He was understandably worried. She'd been trying hard _not_ to think about Reno, herself, as far as _that_ went – at least not while on duty – but it was easier said than done. In fact, it was far harder than it had ever been for her in the past. Normally, she had little difficulty separating her personal life from her professional life. She loved her teammates. They were her friends. A second family. But she had never allowed herself to become so deeply attached to one of them that their loss, or potential loss, impacted her ability to do her job. She maintained a 'professional distance' for her sake, as well as theirs.

She was beginning to think that the redhead might have slipped through a crack in her carefully crafted emotional barrier... because she found herself thinking about him far more than she should have been. After all... she knew him in ways that she would almost certainly _never_ know the other members of the team. She was intimately acquainted with every square inch of his body, and he _damn_ well knew hers inside and out. Literally.

And... maybe that was a mistake.

Reno had been the most perfect lover from the moment she'd finally given in to her desires and accepted his offer. But he was also a fellow Turk. Not just any fellow Turk, but the heir apparent to Tseng, and her future commanding officer. More than that, though... she was worried that their "purely physical" relationship wasn't so purely physical anymore.

And it wasn't just this latest incident. She'd been actively seeking him out for more than just sex over the past several weeks. Dinners... the occasional movie... just hanging out, sometimes for hours. Granted, it inevitably _ended_ in sex, but she couldn't deny anymore than it had moved beyond that. At least for _her_.

And she didn't want that. No matter how good a lover he was, no matter how much fun he could be to spend time with, no matter how caring and sensitive he was... she didn't _want_ to fall in love with a fellow Turk.

The only question was... how in Leviathan's name was she going to tell _Reno_ that?

~end Chapter 52~


	53. Seven Weeks Later

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 53: Seven Weeks Later...**

 **by Desha**

He was trapped. And worse, he'd fucking walked right into it. What in the Nine Hells had he been thinking, taking their bait like that?! In hindsight, the setup had been obvious. He'd been at this too damn long... He was losing his edge, and it was gonna cost him, big time.

Well... there was really nothing he could do about it now. If he was going down, he was taking as many of them with him as he could. He reloaded his weapon and ducked behind what meager cover there was in the dead end alleyway. And he waited.

The first of his pursuers peered around the corner, and he immediately let loose a barrage of gunfire, clipping the attacker, but not taking him down. In response, his ears where suddenly filled with the sound of bullets flying, as one of their number sprayed the narrow space with machine gun fire.

He wasn't going to last long. And as his opponents advanced on him, slowly backing him into the corner, he pulled out his secret weapon. The last of his grenades. Reno smirked as he readied himself, and when they were close enough, he lobbed it directly at them. It was close enough that the blast radius would almost certainly take _him_ out as well... but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it meant delivering a little retribution to the assholes that were planning on gunning him down.

He laughed, mere moments before the grenade exploded, and was rewarded with the sight of the four-man team scrambling so desperately to get away from his impromptu trap that they ended up blocking one another into the narrow space in their attempt to flee.

And then the grenade blew. Reno laughed as the screen turned red and the Game Over text appeared over his avatar, proclaiming the results of the match to be a stalemate.

"Ha! Suck it, losers!" he shouted, switching over to area chat. His personal victory celebration was met with angry swearing over his headset. "Yeah... you try 'n fuck me like that, I'm fuckin' you right back, assholes!" He grinned and backed out of the completed match, returning to the game lobby to wait for the next round to start.

The redhead yawned, stretching his arms over his head and rolling his neck. To be honest, he _probably_ ought to take a break... maybe get something to eat. But then... it wasn't like he had anywhere to be. He could do this all night, if he felt like it. He was still on medical leave, same as he'd been for the last seven Ifrit-be-damned weeks.

Seven very _long_ Ifrit-be-damned weeks.

Though to be fair, it was only recently that he really had the energy to do much more than eat, sleep, and watch TV. Even video games had seemed like too damn much effort until just a short while ago. Hell, when Ward had finally proclaimed him healed enough to continue his recovery at home, Tseng had had to physically _carry_ him into his apartment. Just walking from his mentor's car to the elevator had worn him out.

It had sucked. He'd wanted so badly to be up and about after four weeks in a hospital bed, getting poked and prodded ever hour or so, dealing with constant visits from Ward... not to mention being _totally_ out of the loop on what was going on at headquarters until someone finally bothered to tell him.

For fuck's sake, he'd even missed out on Petra's Hell Week... something he was _still_ pretty salty about, even though Tseng had spent literal hours recounting her performance for him after the fact.

But even after he'd come home, the physical limitations imposed on him by his injuries were pretty impossible to ignore. There had been more than one instance where he'd been left gasping for air after overdoing it, as his still healing lung struggled to pull in enough oxygen to satisfy him. In the end, he'd had no choice but to give up and adhere to Ward's instructions.

Bed rest. No strenuous activity. Do your Ifrit-forsaken physical therapy exercises... which consisted mainly of a lot of deep breathing. It was pure hell. He'd basically been told to stay in bed and not die.

The countdown to the next match hit single digits, and reached for the controller again. Truth be told, he was getting a little bored with the game. All the _good_ players had migrated to the third entry in the series by now. _He_ was still stuck playing the second, having been unable to get out to a store and buy a copy of the new game.

Just as the timer hit zero, a knock at his door pulled his attention away from the screen. The redhead rolled his eyes, and swore under his breath. With his luck, it was _probably_ Ward coming to check in on him again. He sighed and dropped out of the match, tossing his headset and controller onto the coffee table and dragging himself off of the couch.

Before he could reach the door, however, he heard the faint snap of the lock and the doorknob turned, granting access to his visitor. Reno snorted softly.

"Sure, just let yourself right on in," he snickered, as Rude stepped inside, arms laden with bags from the grocery store down the street.

"I've been knocking for five minutes now. Figured you were asleep again."

Reno laughed and sheepishly rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "Oh. Uh... Sorry. I had headphones on. Must not've heard ya 'til that last time."

Rude snickered and set the bags on the counter that separated the redhead's living room from the kichenette.

"You still sane?" he teased, and then smirked, "Well... as sane you as _ever_ get, I mean..."

"Ugh... _Barely_. Seriously, man... if I gotta spend much longer hangin' out alone in my apartment, I'm gonna lose it. You got _any_ idea how boring shit is when you're not allowed to do anything but sit around all day?"

"At least as boring as it was yesterday when you asked me the exact same question," Rude replied, with a laugh.

"Tch... See? I really _am_ goin' nuts. I don't even _remember_ that. So... How was work?"

Rude shrugged and started unpacking. "You didn't miss much," he said, and then smirked, "You know... _other_ than the new rookies."

"What?!" Reno all but shouted, eyes going wide, "When did Veld 'n the Boss make their picks for the new rookies?! And how come no one told _me_ who they finally picked?!"

Rude grinned, and then laughed out loud at the redhead's reaction.

"Relax," he sniggered, "They're not actually _here_ yet. Veld just announced that he and Tseng are conducting final evaluations on the top three. If all goes well, offers will officially be made for promotion, and they'll be coming on board in about two weeks. They didn't tell us any more than that."

Reno shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Great. _You_ guys get new rookies, 'n _I'm_ gonna be stuck at home still. This _sucks_!"

"Hmph... It could be worse, you know."

The redhead sighed, and dramatically rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah... I know. I'm lucky to even be alive. Medical restriction _still_ sucks. Bein' outta the loop sucks. Everything _sucks_."

Rude shook his head, but didn't push the issue. "Go sit down. I'm making you dinner tonight."

Reno suddenly grinned slightly. "Oh... finally somethin' that _doesn't_ suck," he laughed, "What are we havin'?"

"Your favorite."

"Pizza?" the younger man joked. Rude shot him an exasperated look from behind his sunglasses.

"You _other_ favorite," he deadpanned.

Reno smirked. "... Donuts? I mean, that's more of a breakfast thing, but hey, I'm down..."

"I'm making you almond crusted tilapia, and you're damn well gonna enjoy it," Rude laughed, shaking a fistful of fresh asparagus at him.

"Ooooh, _that_ favorite," Reno teasingly snickered. Actually... the dish really _was_ one that he always looked forward to. Not just because Rude was goddamned amazing in the kitchen, but also because... that recipe was the very first thing he'd ever cooked for him. It had sort of a sentimental value to the redhead. And it certainly didn't hurt that it was fucking _delicious_.

Reno settled himself back on the couch, and let Rude take over the tiny kitchen space.

"Hey, Rude?" he called out after a few minutes of companionable silence.

"Yeah?"

"So... I was thinkin'..."

"Uh oh... Nothing good ever happens when you start off a conversation like that..." Rude quickly shot back, trying to hide his grin. Reno flipped him off.

"Yeah, fuck you, too, Rude. _Anyways_... I was thinkin' maybe it's time I learn to cook. Like, I mean... _legit_ learned how. And, you _did_ kinda offer to teach me..."

Rude paused in whatever it was he was doing to the fish fillet on the cutting board and blinked somewhat owlishly.

"I did?" he finally managed. Reno sniggered in laughter.

"Well... ya at least joked about eliminating the city's biggest fire hazard..." he replied, thinking back on the conversation. "It was at that place in Mideel. Ya know... when we were lookin' into that sword that got stolen. The one with that fuckin' incredible apple stuff."

Rude snorted softly. "That was _months_ ago," he chuckled.

"Yeah... I know. But I mean... would ya be up for it?"

The bald Turk shrugged. "Sure. But you're still banned from my kitchen until the end of eternity, so we'll have to do it at your place."

"Fine with me!" Reno said, getting to his feet again.

"Sit back down. I'm not letting you anywhere near the stove until Ward clears you for field duty. The way _you_ cook, we'll probably have to evacuate at some point and I don't want to have to worry about you passing out on the stairs."

"Oh, ha, fuckin' ha, ha, _ha_ ," the younger Turk responded, dryly. Rude flashed him a wide smile, and went back to his tilapia fillets. Reno sighed. "Wish she _would_ clear me, though. I'm not kiddin', Rude. I _hate_ bein' stuck here all day while the rest of you guys are workin'. It's boring and it's lonely and I fuckin' hate it."

"It can't be _that_ bad..."

"No, it is. It _is_ that bad. I mean... yeah, someone usually comes by after work for an hour or two, 'n Lira's been dropping in on the weekends when she _can_ , but the rest of the time... I'm here all by myself, all fuckin' day long, day after day, week after Ifrit-forsaken week! At this point, I'd be happy to come in just to do paperwork!" he lamented, flopping over on the couch and burying his face in a pillow. He stayed that way until felt the cushions beside him sink down with a new occupant's weight, and a light touch settled between his shoulder blades. "I don't like bein' stuck all alone for so long..." he added, voice still muffled by the pillow.

"It won't be for much longer," Rude said, reassuringly. "You're already looking a lot better than you were just last week. I'm sure Dr. Ward will clear you for at _least_ light duty soon..."

Reno whined in frustration against the pillow. A moment later, he found himself being lifted upright, and found his friend looking at him in concern. He dropped his gaze, embarrassed by his own behavior. He was acting like a goddamned five year old, and he knew it... but he was just so _sick_ of this. Yeah, he could distract himself for a little while with video games or movies or porn or whatever... but ultimately he ran out of shit to do and he was back to contemplating his depressingly lonely existence, being confined to his apartment without his teammates. For fuck's sake, he couldn't _drink_ 'cause he was still on painkillers. He couldn't _smoke_ because up until recently he'd had a bullet-sized hole in his lung. Hell, he couldn't even _fuck_ , because... well, to be fair, he could _probably_ have managed it, but it kinda took two people, and Lira was following Dr. Ward's instructions that he take it easy to the letter. He doubted Remy would have been any more inclined towards rule-breaking... and he certainly wasn't up to trolling for a date just yet.

The redhead sighed. He'd been sober, celibate, and nicotine-free for _entirely_ too long at this point.

"Tch... just ignore, me, pal," he muttered, "I'm totally goin' stir crazy, that's all..."

"Hmph... I probably would be by _now_ , too, to be honest," Rude said, brushing a few strands of hair out of the redhead's eyes. "When's Ward due back to check on you again?"

"Tomorrow, I think. Why?"

"Do yourself a favor and tell her how crazy this is making you."

"Tch... what good's _that_ gonna do. Just 'cause I'm slowly losin' my mind doesn't mean I'm healin' any faster," Reno grumbled, folding his arms over his chest. Rude shook his head.

"No. But she might come up with _something_ that could help. _Your_ problem is you never wanna _ask_. You just assume everything is hopeless and suffer in silence."

"I do _not_..." he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Uh huh..." Rude said, more than a _slight_ hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You had appendicitis as a rookie and thought you were just going to work through the pain instead of telling anyone you were sick."

"... We had a lot of shit we were dealin' with. There was a war startin'. We needed all hands on deck!" Reno protested.

"And then you wouldn't take anything for the pain _after_ they removed said appendix..."

"Yeah... 'cause I had such a _wonderful_ time on pain drugs the _first_ time they gave 'em to me..." he snorted... and belatedly realized that his 'defense' didn't exactly counter Rude's argument that he tended to assume the worst.

"Mmm hmm. Remind me... How many _years_ did you just tolerate your medication wearing off too soon because the dosage was all wrong for that weird-ass metabolism of yours?" Rude smirked, recognizing that he'd already won.

"Umm..."

"And I won't even mention just how many time's I've had to throw you into the pool..."

Reno rolled his eyes. "You're not gonna mention it, huh?" he deadpanned.

"You're _giant_ pain in the ass..." Rude said firmly, ignoring the comment and grinning at him. "But you have a family who cares about you. So ask us for help sometimes instead of making me _force_ you to."

"And again... fuck you, too, Rude," Reno laughed. "Okay, okay... Fine. So apparently, I'm an eternal pessimist. I'll talk to the Doc next time she's here. Happy?"

The older Turk chuckled and gently ruffled his friend's hair.

"Very. Come on. If I'm gonna eventually be giving you cooking lessons, you might as well get some observation time in first. Let's go finish dinner," he said, standing up. Reno moved to follow suit, only to have Rude pause and turn back towards him, a stern expression on his face. "Touch. _Nothing_."

* * *

"I'm still not certain about Latchley," Veld said, shaking his head. "I'll admit, she's certainly very skilled, but I think she would benefit from another year in recruit training."

"I know she has a bit of a... shall we say, _wild streak_ , sir... but I respectfully disagree. She's undisciplined... not untrainable. I'm confident in her ability to adapt her behavior."

"What? Once wasn't enough for you?" the Turk leader queried.

"Sir?"

Veld chuckled softly. "She's not all that different from Reno... at least in _that_ regard. I would have thought you'd had your fill with _him_. Or have you just selectively forgotten all of the mayhem he caused as a rookie."

Tseng set the personnel folder aside, and leaned back in his seat, smiling faintly.

"No, sir... I can assure you, I most certainly have _not_ forgotten what Reno was like as a rookie. And I thank Leviathan on a daily basis that he grew out of that stage fairly quickly, all things considered." He shook his head and sighed. "I _do_ share your concerns. But her propensity for mischief aside, I truly do think she'll do well as a Turk. Reno agrees, and frankly, I'm inclined to trust his judgment on this... perhaps even more than my own, sometimes. And if we wait, we may lose her to SOLDIER. I've heard rumors that she and Taiko _both_ have caught Faine's eye."

"Hmph... Faine," Veld groaned with a roll of his eyes at the mention of the Director of SOLDIER, "Alright. If you _really_ think that you and Reno can reign in her wilder tendencies, she's all yours." The Turk leader reached for his coffee, and took a sip, grimacing at the now decidedly cool temperature. "Speaking of whom... how is he doing? I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to check in on him in person recently."

"He would _very_ much like to come back to work, sir," Tseng replied with a soft laugh. "I believe his exact words were... 'I'll even do the goddamned filing all day... Please just get me outta here!'..."

"What's Ward's opinion?" Veld asked.

"She'll be giving him a full evaluation tomorrow... but she _has_ tentatively said that, barring any unforeseen discoveries during said evaluation, she's comfortable releasing him from full restriction to light duty."

Veld nodded and then gave a quiet laugh. "I'll be glad to see him back in the office. I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but... it's been too quiet around here, lately."

"I think everyone will agree with that sentiment, sir," Tseng chuckled.

"And what about Kai?" the senior Turk inquired, and the smile quickly fell from Tseng's face.

"She still blames herself," he sighed. "I can't even convince her to go and see him, even though I _know_ Reno would welcome a visit from her. She... just can't seem to let go of the guilt. That's the _other_ reason I'll be glad when Reno is cleared to return to the office. I think finally having no choice but to face him is really the _only_ thing that's going to help convince her she's not responsible for his injury."

"It _was_ her carelessness that led to the security breach," Veld pointed out, and raised a placating hand when his protege scowled and opened his mouth to defend the younger Turk, "Don't argue that point with me, Tseng. You'll lose. I'm not saying she _deserves_ this self-inflicted punishment of hers. I'm just saying that she _does_ have cause to blame herself. Trying to convince her otherwise is likely futile. She needs to come to terms with it... not simply be absolved of her mistake."

Tseng sighed and leaned back in his chair. Veld was right, of course. Guilt could be a difficult, if not impossible, thing to rid oneself of... He knew that better than anyone, having thus far been unsuccessful in _completely_ assuaging his _own_. But Kai was not _solely_ to blame for what had happened. Security could have been tighter, particularly after the theft of her credentials became known. _He_ could have accompanied Rufus personally to look for his temple offering instead of letting him go on his own. There were any number of points in the timeline where something done differently would have resulted in a much less messy outcome. This was _not_ exclusively on Kai's shoulders, even through she'd firmly placed it there.

"Remy tells me that she has made no further progress with our prisoner. It's been over a month. It may be time to consider sending Kai back in," Veld stated.

"Sir..."

"I know. But she _is_ the best interrogator we've got, and the damned Zenshou are getting to be a real pain in the ass. Two attempted break-ins at secure Shinra facilities, and one _successful_ theft from Fort Condor just since we returned from Wutai. It can't continue. Rude is doing his best to stay ahead of them, and to his credit, he's the reason we've had only _one_ theft rather than three... but he's only one Turk. We need insider intel so we can stop this at the source."

"Yes, sir," the Wutaiian Turk sighed. He paused a moment in thought. "I'd prefer she not go alone, though."

"Are you volunteering?"

"If necessary... but I think I may have a better idea. Though it would be contingent upon Reno being cleared to return to work."

Veld nodded in understanding. "You want to send him in with her. Are you sure? You said yourself she can't even bring herself to visit him at the moment... He may end up being more of a distraction than a help to her."

"Perhaps. But, if you'll forgive me for being a bit egotistical... I know Kai better than anyone. Having him there as a constant reminder of what that woman nearly cost us will provide ample motivation to obtain the information we need."

The Turk leader was silent for a moment as he took another sip of his coffee, before glowering at the cold liquid and setting it aside.

"I'll take it under consideration. After all, as you said, it's contingent upon your protege returning to work, and this isn't something I want to delay if he's not yet able to."

"Yes, sir."

Veld glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall on the far side of the room.

"In any event... we're not going to accomplish much more tonight. It's late, and I suspect everyone else has gone home by now. I suggest we do the same," he continued, "Hmph... before Esme has _me_ sleeping on the coach for working late again. Care to join me as backup? She's far less inclined to yell when I bring a dinner guest..."

Tseng smiled but shook his head.

"I'd intended to stop by and see Reno on the way home to ask if he needs anything," he replied, and then chuckled, "And to offer my continued moral support as he descends slowly into madness, trapped in his apartment." A moment later, however, he reconsidered. "Though if Esme doesn't _mind_ keeping a plate warm for me, while I run that particular errand..."

"We'll see you in hour or so," Veld warmly laughed, getting up from his chair.

* * *

Reno sighed in content, enjoying the dual pleasure of a full belly and good company.

"Hey, Rude? You want a roommate? 'Cause I could _definitely_ get used to you cookin' for me every night..."

Rude looked up from the plate he'd just plunged into the soapy water, and eyed his friend.

"Hmph... Reno, I love you like a brother... but if I had to live with you, I'm pretty sure I'd kill you," he teasingly replied. The redhead grinned widely from his position on the couch.

"Fair enough," he snickered. He closed his eyes and settled back against the cushions, yawning slightly. Dinner had made him sleepy. "Man... I'm seriously lookin' forward to gettin' back to work, but gettin' myself back into shape's gonna be a bitch. I've been sittin' around _literally_ doin' nothin' for weeks now. Between you feedin' me all the time, 'n me bein' so fuckin' lazy since I got put on leave, I think I _mighta_ actually gained weight for like the first time in my entire life."

"You _are_ looking a little pudgy..." Rude joked, "You must've put on a whole _pound_. Maybe even a pound and a _half_."

Reno snorted in laughter. "Hey, you joke about that, but that's a _lot_ for me."

Hell... sometimes he had to work just to keep the weight _on_ his scrawny frame when things really picked up on the job. Ward had told him, years ago, that he might eventually outgrow his hyperactive metabolism... but if it was going to happen, it didn't seem to be happening _yet_. And at this point, he honestly had his doubts that it ever would. Not that it really bothered him these days... Now that he wasn't scavenging for damn near every meal, it was easy enough to snack whenever he needed to. It was just something he had to keep an eye on every now and then... or else Ward would get after him for "not taking care of himself".

Back in the slums, food had always been his number one worry. Well... really, _Lira_ had been his number one worry, but when he was talking strictly about his own needs, it was definitely food. How the hell he'd managed to survive for so long on such meager rations was anyone's guess.

When they were younger, Lira had occasionally joked that he was starving even when he was full... and now he kind of wondered if maybe that wasn't so far from the truth. Hunger was almost a perpetual state of existence for him as a kid, to the point that he'd taught himself to largely ignore it unless it got _really_ bad. Maybe that had just been his body's way of telling him that he wasn't quite normal.

Whatever the case may have been, he was grateful those days were behind him... because he _definitely_ preferred _not_ being hungry all the damn time.

"Don't worry... A few trips through the gauntlet will get you back on track," Rude commented from the kitchen. Reno laughed.

"Geez, Rude... Didn't I come close _enough_ to gettin' killed? You want me to start off runnin' the fuckin' gauntlet soon as I get back?"

Rude's reply was interrupted by sharp knock at the door. The redhead moved to get up, but the older Turk waved him off.

"I got it," he said, drying his hands on a dish towel and making his way around the counter. Reno shrugged and made himself comfortable again. He wasn't used to this whole being waited on hand and foot thing... but he was pretty sure he could get to like it. He snickered faintly to himself, noting that he probably _shouldn't_ let himself get to like it _too_ much. It wasn't going to last forever. He certainly wasn't going to complain about it, though.

"Sir," Rude said by way of greeting, as he opened the door, and Reno twisted slightly to see who his visitor was, grinning as he spotted Tseng standing just outside.

"Ah... I see I'm not the only one who thought to check in on the prisoner this evening."

"Hmph... _Someone_ has to come over and feed him. Otherwise, he'd just order pizza for every meal."

"Nothin' wrong with pizza," the redhead piped up from the couch, but he silently laughed at the comment. Rude was absolutely right. Since being introduced to the real thing three years ago – not the cardboard-tasting crap they called pizza down in the slums – it had become one of his favorite things ever. He had exactly zero issue with eating pizza for every meal for days at a time, and would happily have done so if his friend hadn't insisted on a somewhat more varied and healthier diet while he was recuperating.

Tseng shook his head and stepped into the apartment, and made his way over to his protege.

"Well... _you_ seem to be in a far better mood than when I last left you."

"Well, _yeah_. Rude fed me," Reno smirked, jokingly.

"Would you like something, sir? I could –"

"That's not necessary. Thank you, though. I've already accepted a dinner invitation from Veld... I'm just here to make sure Reno hasn't clawed his way through the walls yet and to remind him that Justinia will be arriving tomorrow at nine for his weekly evaluation."

"Uggggggggh..." the redhead groaned, letting his head flop back against the couch cushions. "Great. Just how I wanna spend my mornin'... gettin' poked 'n prodded 'n threatened with needles 'n rectal thermometers 'n shit..."

Rude snorted loudly at his friend's lamentations, and quickly tried to cover the reaction by biting into one of the cookies from the plate he'd left out on the kitchen counter. Reno shot him a glare.

"Yeah... You won't be laughin' so hard when she's tryin' to shove one of those things up _your_ ass some time..."

"I wasn't aware you'd had the... uh... pleasure..." Tseng snickered.

"Yeah, there was _no_ pleasure involved with _that_ bullshit," he muttered in reply. "Just 'cause a guy's got a fuckin' hose down his throat... Couldn't even fuckin' _complain_ about it 'til they took that thing out. Two goddamn days _later_. I'm sure some people enjoy that sorta thing, but I'm not into the whole medical procedures as a fetish scene. If somethin's gettin' shoved up my ass, it better be a –"

"Please don't finish that sentence. I _really_ don't want to know what you enjoy having shoved up your ass..." Rude cut in, rolling his eyes.

"Nor do I. Particularly since I haven't eaten yet," Tseng agreed.

"Fuckin' prudes..." the redhead snickered, grinning mischievously. "Fine. Be that way. Hey, Boss? Speakin' of the Doc... she didn't happen to mention anything about me, uh... ya know... _not_ being stuck sittin' around doin' nothin' all day anytime soon? Did she?"

Tseng smiled slightly. "As a matter of fact..."

" _Please_ tell me she's lettin' me go back to work," he begged, clasping his hands in front of him, pleading, " _Please_ , Tseng... I can't take much more of this."

"It will depend upon your evaluation tomorrow. But..." his mentor replied, pausing for a moment, and torturing him with the anticipation, "... She _did_ say she a return to light duty was a strong possibility."

"Oh, _thank_ Ifrit..." Reno breathed, groaning in relief. The senior Turk smiled and shook his head.

"It's not absolutely certain yet. You still need a clean bill of health," he cautioned him, "But I think I speak for the entire team when I say I hope it goes well tomorrow. Even _Veld_ thinks the office has gotten too quiet without you."

Reno blinked, and instantly looked up at his mentor.

"... Is Veld losin' _his_ mind, too?" he joked.

"I'll be sure to ask him when I join him for dinner later," Tseng chuckled.

* * *

Reno was awake uncharacteristically early the following morning. He hadn't been able to sleep in late the way he normally did when he didn't have to get up and go to work... his brain simply wouldn't allow it, demanding that he think non-stop about Ward's visit and whether or not she'd clear him for duty. Sure, he'd probably be behind a desk for awhile... but _anything_ was better than another week sequestered at home.

But mostly, he was worried that she'd decide something was still wrong with him. He'd ultimately been laughing at his own complaints last night with Rude, but... the prospect of legitimately being sidelined even longer had kept him up late, staring blankly up at the ceiling above his bed. He didn't _like_ being sedentary and isolated. Visitors were a bright spot in his days, but eventually, they left. He just felt so... cut off. Life was going on without him.

By eight o'clock, he was showered, dressed, and eating breakfast. By eight forty-five, he was pacing his living room almost frantically and cursing Ward for not showing up for his appointment early, pausing only long enough to occasionally peer out of the window, looking for her car to pull into the parking lot. Each time he _didn't_ spot her, led to another round of frustrated swearing, followed by more pacing.

At eight fifty-three, a familiar car _finally_ turned into the parking lot entrance. Reno all but plastered himself against the sliding glass door that led out onto the balcony, watching as, with agonizing slowness, Dr. Ward stepped out of the vehicle, gathered up her bag, and made her way inside the building.

"Oh, thank Ifrit..." he breathed. He didn't think he'd ever been happier to see the Doc in the entire time he'd known her... and that _included_ the time she'd miraculously shown up in Junon with the antidote after he'd been poisoned by Hojo's blob-monster. The redhead scurried over to the door, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited... before finally yanking open the door and standing there, eyes fixated on the elevator a few doors down from his apartment.

After what felt like a literal eternity, it finally chimed and the doors slid open, depositing one Justinia Ward in the hallway. The doctor stopped short, surprised, when she caught sight of him, and then smiled and resumed her trek towards his apartment.

"Ah... Looking forward ta seeing me fer once, are yeh, my little headache?" she teased, as he hurriedly ushered her inside.

~end chapter 53~


	54. Revelations

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 54: Revelations**

 **by Desha**

Reno shuddered at the sensation of icy metal being pressed against his bare chest.

"Geez, Doc... can't ya warm that thing up first for a change?!" he groused, annoyed. Dr. Ward snorted softly.

"Take a deep breath fer me," she replied, holding the stethoscope in place rather than making a move to grant the request. The redhead grumbled softly, but did as he was told, inhaling deeply while she listened to whatever the fuck it was she was listening to.

His chest still felt a little tight when he did that... but not _nearly_ as bad as it had been when he'd first been released from the hospital. Back then, just breathing normally had been uncomfortable for awhile. It wasn't so much that he had _difficulty_ breathing... it was more that his injured lung protested with a deep, aching pain each and every time it was forced to expand. Thankfully, that unpleasant sensation had been steadily dwindling over the past few weeks.

The stethoscope moved downwards, to his lower ribs, just above the healed bullet wound.

"Again..." Ward prompted him. It went on like that for several minutes before she was finally satisfied... and by then Reno himself was feeling a little light-headed from all the intentional hyperventilating.

Next, she probed the exterior wounds, checking for any signs of infection or reopening.

"Hmm... Any further pain around the wound sites?" she queried.

"No... like I told ya _last_ week. That shit's been healin' up just fine."

Ward straightened up and looked at him, arching a slender eyebrow. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Tch... I know. _Language_... Sorry," he muttered. Ward chuckled softly.

"Well, now... _someone's_ on their best behavior taday... Yeh must _really_ want yer treat."

"Come _on_ , Doc... You know as well as I do this isn't about the candy. Are you lettin' me go back to work or not!?"

"How's yer appetite?" she asked, ignoring the question.

"I eat constantly. Same as always. Can I go back to work?"

"How often are yeh needing ta take yer pain medication?"

"Ugh... I'm hardly takin' any at all. Usually just a couple pills in the mornin' if I'm sore when I first wake up 'n start movin' around again. Can I go back to work?"

"Any signs of fever since I saw yeh last? Chills? Night sweats?"

"No, no, and no. Can I go back to work?"

"No coughing or shortness of breath?"

"No! And while were at it, no dizzy spells, sharp pains, bleedin', or passin' out, either. But my Ifrit-forsaken _blood pressure's_ gonna be through the roof by the time you're finished, at this rate. Now can I _please_ go back to work?!" he begged.

Ward gestured to the couch and Reno grudgingly took a seat, folding his arms over his chest in a huff.

"Tseng _said_ yeh were getting ta be a wee bit fed up with convalescence. I see he wasn't exaggerating..." she chuckled softly, sitting down beside him.

" _Dooooc_..." he moaned, plaintively, "You're _killin'_ me, here. Are you gonna clear me or not?"

Dr. Ward smiled. "Are yeh _sure_ yeh wouldn't like another week or two off? I'm sure I could justify it if yer not quite ready..."

"I swear to Shiva, Doc..." the redhead growled, prompting a laugh from the aging physician.

"Yer cleared," she pronounced, and Reno breathed a long sigh of relief, letting his body sink back into the softness of the couch cushions. "Fer light duty _only_ , starting on Monday. I want yeh ta ease yerself back inta training slowly. _Don't_ push yerself too hard, too soon. And if I hear tell yer anywhere _near_ that Titan-forsaken obstacle course 'o yers before the next time I see yeh, I'll personally strap yeh ta a bed fer another _month_. We'll reevaluate in two weeks."

"Whatever you _say_ , Doc... long as it gets me the heck outta my apartment," Reno readily agreed.

"Hmph... Do me a favor and _try_ ta avoid gettin' yerself shot, maimed, or poisoned again fer a wee bit," she replied, tucking her equipment back into her bag. "Yer medical records are startin' ta take up a positively _obscene_ amount 'o room in my filing cabinets."

"Heh... Well, maybe if you didn'tdrag me down to Medical for some Shiva-forsaken _shot_ all the time, they wouldn't be so full..." Reno said, grinning back at her, his mood having instantly improved the moment she'd set him free.

"Oh, please. Yeh get the occasional flu jab or vaccine booster. If I _really_ wanted ta torture yeh like yeh claim I do, I've a whole _host_ o' other thing I could be giving yeh..." She smirked slightly as she snapped her case shut. "Would yeh like nice vitamin injection?"

"No," Reno deadpanned. Ward snickered quietly to herself and got to her feet.

"Suit yerself, then. I'll let Tseng know ta expect yeh on Monday, 'n I'll see yeh downstairs in Medical in two weeks," she replied, and smirked knowingly, "... Or _however_ soon yeh inevitably ignore medical advice 'n overdo it, yeh little troublemaker."

* * *

Remy was scowling as she exited the secure room in the basement of the Shinra Building. If Tseng had been a more fanciful person, he might have sworn up and down that storm clouds were hovering just over her head, so dour was her present mood.

"Nothing?" he ventured, and the younger Turk startled violently at the query, apparently having been too lost in her own thoughts to have noticed him waiting outside the door.

"Sir," she breathed, eyes still slightly widened from the unexpected jump scare.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

Remy waved her hand, dismissively at the apology. "She hasn't said a word. It was more than apparent from the beginning that she's been trained to resist interrogation, but frankly I'm rather stunned that she hasn't broken after so long. I'm beginning to think this _may_ be futile."

Tseng sighed softly. "That's... unfortunate. I was hoping you'd made at least _some_ progress with her. Veld wants to send Kai back in."

"Tseng... Kai's in no state of mind to deal with an interrogation right now. Especially _this_ interrogation," she replied, her frown deepening.

"I know. Which is why I was rather hoping to avoid it."

"She's been seeing her therapist again, you know," Remy stated, bluntly.

"Yes. She already told me. I'd been encouraging her to do so for weeks, in fact," Tseng replied, gesturing to a small room a little ways down the hall. Remy obligingly followed him inside, and took a seat at the small meeting table in the center as he shut the door behind them.

"Are you worried about her?" she asked when he joined her. The senior Turk slowly exhaled, pressing his fingertips together.

"At present? No. She's been very open about how this is affecting her and receptive to help in dealing with it," he said, somewhat cautiously, "I _am_ , however, concerned about what having to face that woman again might do to her. At the very least, I have no intention of allowing her to go in there alone. That's why I've asked Veld to wait before making a final decision on the matter."

"Wait for what, exactly?"

"For Reno," Tseng replied, the ghost of a smile turning up the corners of his mouth for a brief moment. "Medical is evaluating him today for a possible return to work. He'll almost certainly be restricted to light duty in the office... As such, I thought an interrogation might be an excellent way to start him off. Under Kai's direction, of course."

Remy looked up at him, surprised. "He's being cleared?" she asked, hopefully. She'd missed the redhead. They _all_ had. She'd gone to his apartment a number of times while he'd been laid up, but it just wasn't the same as having him in the office... as having things _finally_ get back to normal.

At the same time, though, a part of her dreaded his return... because she'd decided that once he was healed and back at work, she couldn't continue to pretend anymore. The thought of breaking things off with him while he was in the hospital had seemed outright unconscionable, and doing so while he was still bedridden at home hadn't felt any less cold-hearted. But now? Now he was better. He was healed. And... she needed to be honest with him.

"Dr. Ward didn't guarantee anything when I last spoke to her... but she was very optimistic. And _Reno_ will certainly do everything in his power to convince her he's ready. He's desperate to get out of the house and back to work," Tseng answered, oblivious to her private thoughts, "Particularly after Rude informed him about the new rookies."

Remy couldn't help the quiet laugh that escaped her lips. "I suppose that shouldn't surprise me. He _does_ seem fond of the ones we already have..."

"Mmm... I've seldom come across a Turk who was a more naturally gifted trainer..." Tseng opined.

"He'll... make an excellent Second in Command someday," Remy agreed.

Tseng looked away awkwardly for a moment, uncertain of how to respond, and cleared his throat.

"You know, then," he said at last, and the younger Turk snorted softly.

"Tseng, I think at this point just about _everyone_ knows. Except Reno himself, apparently."

"I... _had_ planned to discuss my intentions with you before it became common knowledge. It's just somehow never felt like the right time. I know how long you've desired a command role." He sighed quietly. "It seems I waited too long. I'm sorry."

Remy shook her head. She'd had quite a lot of time to think about things by now.

"I won't pretend I'm not disappointed. But... I've _always_ known that I was never in a good position for promotion," she responded. "And frankly, if you were to take command tomorrow, I feel that I would make a _far_ superior lieutenant. But that's not reality. The reality is that Veld isn't going anywhere for a long time, and when he _does_ eventually step down... Reno will be ready."

"For what it's worth... you _would_ make an exceptional second in command," the Turk lieutenant offered.

"Just not _your_ second in command," Remy noted, with a somewhat sad smile.

* * *

Reno flopped onto the ground, breathing heavily and trying to ignore the sharp stitch in his side, as sweat continued to drench his t-shirt. He stared upwards at the clouds drifting by above him and groaned before forcing himself to roll over and get up, kneeling on the soft grass. A water bottle suddenly appeared next to his right cheek, and he wordlessly reached for it, hurriedly downing a quarter of its contents and ignoring the quiet laughter that accompanied the drink.

It was Saturday morning... two days after being officially cleared by Ward, and two days _more_ before he would make his return to the office.

"I think you may be just a _bit_ out of practice..." Tseng chuckled. Reno glanced over at him, side-eye.

"Can't imagine _why_..." he snarked. He'd barely managed a lap and a half around the park behind Tseng's apartment... Three miles. His normal workout was five. Of course, considering this was the first time he'd run _anywhere_ in over a month, three miles really wasn't too shabby... even if he _did_ feel like Tseng might have to call an ambulance for him at any second right now. He had a long way to go to get back into fighting form, though.

His mentor offered him a hand, which he gratefully accepted, pulling himself to his feet again.

"Come on... let's take a break. Justinia _did_ tell you to _ease_ back into training, after all. There's no need to attempt a full workout the very first time you're allowed to exercise again. She won't be happy if you have to report an injury before you've even clocked in for your first day back."

"Boss, if I hurt myself before my first day back, there's no way in _hell_ I'm tellin' Ward about it. She'll skin me alive," Reno laughed. "Or _worse_ , put me right back on restriction for bein' such a dumbass."

They made their way over to a wooden bench that sat in the shade of a large maple tree, and Reno happily collapsed onto it. He sat there for a moment, sipping the cool water from the bottle and catching his breath. A moment later, he looked over at his mentor.

"So what's on the schedule for Monday, Boss?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice, "Filing? Data entry? Or my favorite... _transcription_?"

The senior Turk snorted softly before taking a drink from his own water bottle.

"You really _must_ have been desperate to get out of your apartment. First, you all but beg me to go running with you first thing on a Saturday morning... now you're requesting to handle our office's paperwork the moment you return?"

"I wasn't kiddin', boss... I was goin' _nuts_ cooped up like that. At this point, you could tell me to reorganize the whole Shiva-forsaken archive room 'n I'd do it with a smile."

"Hmm... I'll have to keep that in mind. The archive room _could_ use a good cleaning..." Tseng teased, "But actually, I had something a little less tedious in mind for you. We haven't had much success extracting any useful information from our Zenshou... _guest_... even after all this time. Veld wants to make one last attempt before we terminate her."

"H-he wants _me_ to do it?" the redhead sputtered, somewhat shocked. Not that he didn't know his way around an interrogation room by now... but if none of the more experienced interrogators on the team had had any luck, the the hell kinda chance did _he_ stand?

"Actually, Veld wants _Kai_ to handle the interview. _I_ want you to accompany her as backup."

Reno frowned slightly. He may have been out of the loop... but he wasn't _that_ out of the loop. Rude had filled him in on what had gone down between Kai and the Zenshou infiltrator – right around the time he'd finally gotten to the point that he was with it enough to notice that everyone on the team was coming to visit him... except her. When Rude had told him about the whole mess with her credentials, and how they'd ended up in the hands of the Zenshou in the first place, it hadn't been hard to figure out the reason for her continued absence.

In fact, he planned on that being the _first_ thing he addressed when he walked into the office on Monday.

"You... sure that's a good idea, Boss?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Honestly... no. That's why I'd like you to join her. To remind her _why_ we need that information and to keep her mind off of... other matters. To say that she was devastated when she learned the truth of her little fling's identity would be a gross understatement. Feel up to it?"

"Yeah... sure. Whatever ya need me to do, Boss..." Reno replied. "Uh... ya mind if I make a request, though?"

"Go right ahead."

"Can I talk to Kai before ya send us in? Alone? There's some shit her 'n me need ta get straight first. Like the fact that _she_ isn't the reason I got shot."

Tseng smiled slightly. "Hopefully _you_ will have better luck convincing her of that than I have..."

"Heh... so _other_ than helpin' interrogate the bitch that tried to kill me... what else ya got for me? Like... how many unfiled reports you guys got saved up for me to handle?"

His mentor laughed at the query and shook his head. "I'm sure there are more than enough to keep you at your desk for the foreseeable future. It seems as though there always _are_. But... I _do_ have other things to keep you occupied, and resuming your training regimen takes priority over paperwork for the time being. I would very much like to see you back in the field sooner rather than later."

"Yeah... You 'n me both, Boss," Reno said with a grin.

"Particularly given that we'll have new rookies soon," Tseng continued, "Adding three more people to our roster is going to be... a challenge. I have a feeling I'll be relying on you more than ever for awhile. I've never had to wrangle six at once before."

"So when the hell are you gonna tell me who ya ended up pickin'?"

"As it turns out, your top three selections matched up with _my_ top three selections... as well as two of Veld's. Assuming they all accept, we'll be taking on Victor Reese and Ryuunosuke Taiko, and I ultimately convinced Veld that Zephyr Latchley would be up to the task, as well."

The redhead blinked in surprise.

"Wait... seriously? You guys went with _all_ my recommendations?"

"As I stated... two out of the three were unanimous picks. We were _all_ quite confident in Taiko and Reese early on in the process," Tseng replied, with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "And you made some very convincing arguments in Latchley's favor. Enough to quell any misgivings _I_ may have initially had, and enough that with both of us behind her, Veld was on board with the choice, as well."

"Heh... so... I guess that means if I end up bein' wrong about her, I'm never hearin' the end of it, huh..." the redhead nervously laughed. Tseng smiled and shook his head.

"You were not wrong. Have a little confidence, Reno," he said, smirking slightly, "You're going to need it, after all. Six rookies are going to be quite the handful, even with the _both_ of us keeping them in line."

"... Guess I better hurry the fuck up 'n get back in shape, then," the younger Turk snickered.

* * *

Monday morning found Reno wide awake and anxious to get out the door before the sun had even risen. The quiet darkness of the early hour was a little disconcerting. Typically, if he was awake this early, it was only because he _had_ to be. Being up while it was still dark outside, of his own free will, was almost unheard of.

But he'd never wanted to go to work more than he did right now. He showered, dressed, ate breakfast... and then cleaned his living room, washed the dishes, and put his laundry away... Whatever it took to kill some time. Eventually, though, he ran out of things to do. It was barely six am.

With a frustrated groan, he flopped down onto the couch, glaring at the sun that was rising outside his window.

"Come _on_... Hurry up already!" he muttered. This was ridiculous. No wonder he didn't usually get up early. It was sheer torture. "Ah, fuck _this_. I'm goin' in _now_."

He could always burn off a little energy on the track or in the pool before he had to report to headquarters. It was certainly better than sitting around watching the clock, anyway. He grabbed his keys off the counter and headed for the door.

The streets were largely empty as he pulled out of the parking lot. Just a handful of early morning commuters, though he knew that wouldn't be the case for long. Still, by the time he reached the Shinra Building at the heart of the city, traffic was _still_ sparse compared to his normal drive in to work. The morning rush hour had yet to hit.

He wondered, vaguely, as he pulled into the parking deck, if he might have beaten Tseng to the office for once... and shortly thereafter discovered that, no... he had _not_. His mentor's custom sports car was already there, in its usual space. He laughed quietly as he pulled in next to it. _That_ figured.

Reno got out of his car and made his way over to the elevator, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for it to arrive from one of the upper floors. After what felt like an eternity, it finally chimed and the door wooshed open. He grinned as he stepped inside and pressed the button for the fifty-eighth floor, and moments later, was being whisked upwards.

He leaned against the back wall of the car and breathed a relieved sigh. It felt good to be back.

The elevator stopped at the nineteenth floor, and the doors opened with their familiar chime to let someone else on board. Nineteen was Legal... Apparently the company lawyers started their day just as early as his mentor tended to. He obligingly shuffled over a bit, to make sure he was out of his fellow-employee's way... only to come face to face with quite possibly the _last_ person he'd expected to run into first thing in the morning.

Rufus seemed just as surprised as the redhead was, and for a moment, he just stared, wordlessly, until the doors swept shut behind him and the elevator resumed its journey upwards.

"So... You've finally decided to start _earning_ your paycheck again instead of sitting around at home on the company dime all day, have you?" he greeted him, quickly recovering from their unexpected meeting.

"Trust me, it was no vacation, sir. I'da come back a _lot_ sooner, if the Doc had let me," Reno replied, grinning slightly, "Next time I almost get myself killed savin' your ass, I'm formally requestin' that I get to recover in Costa del Sol."

"Hmph... _next_ time, try and do it properly, and I may actually consider _granting_ said request. I was bruised for nearly a week from you pushing me to the floor," Rufus responded, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome," the redhead snickered.

"I _don't_ recall thanking you," the Shinra heir deadpanned. Reno simply smirked in response, as the elevator slowed to a stop on Fifty-eight and the door opened again. He started to step out, only to be momentarily blocked by the vice president.

"I'm... pleased that you've returned," he said, in a somewhat clipped, though genuinely sincere tone, before removing himself from the redhead's path.

"Careful, sir," Reno replied, as he strolled into the hallway, "Ya keep sayin' things like _that_ , I might start to think you actually like me or somethin'..."

Rufus snorted in contempt. "Get back to work, Slum Rat. You have seven weeks worth of absences to make up for," he sneered, as the doors closed again. Reno's grin widened in response, and he turned on his heel, purposefully striding towards Tseng's office.

"Mornin', Boss," he crowed loudly, poking his head into the room, and causing the senior Turk to nearly jump out of his skin, one hand instinctively reaching for his weapon before recognition dawned.

"For Levithan's _sake_ , Reno... are you _trying_ to get shot again?" he breathed, relaxing. The redhead snickered and stepped fully inside.

"Heh... consider it payback for all the times you've snuck up on _me_ over the years."

"What are you doing here already? I'd have thought you wouldn't have even rolled out of bed yet."

"Tch... I barely slept last night," Reno said, "All I could think about was finally comin' back. Figured I'd just get an early start, since my brain wasn't gonna let me sleep anyway. Got anything for me to do?"

Tseng chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "If you're really _that_ eager, I _do_ have some requisition forms that need to be turned in downstairs... but you may want to simply sit down and relax for a bit. As I recall, you wanted to speak to Kai privately before the day got started. I expect she'll be in shortly. She has a standing appointment early on Mondays and comes upstairs immediately after."

Reno shrugged and gladly sat himself down in one of the chairs in front of Tseng's desk.

"So... where are we at with the new rookies?"

"Now that selections have been made, it's just a matter of holding final evaluations. Then, assuming that nothing glaringly disqualifying comes to light at said evaluations, Veld will formally offer each of them a promotion to the Turks. They'll have one week to either accept or decline," he replied, and then glanced up at him. "Incidentally... keep your Wednesday afternoon schedule open. You'll be joining us to observe."

The redhead blinked in surprise. "Uh... 'kay, I guess," he replied, somewhat puzzled. "But why do ya want _me_ there? You already know what I think of 'em..."

Tseng sighed heavily and sat up slightly in the chair before leaning forward and steepling his fingertips in front of him.

"There's... something we're long overdue to discuss."

"... Am I already in trouble for somethin'? 'Cause that's the look you always give me when I'm in trouble..." Reno said, nervously.

Tseng snorted in laughter, the serious expression dropping from his face for a moment.

"No, you're not in trouble," he snickered, before quickly collecting himself, "But it _is_ a very serious matter, and I've been putting it off entirely too long. We... need to talk about your future."

"... Yeah, _that_ doesn't sound ominous at all..." Reno commented, warily. Tseng smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Well... I suppose it depends on how you look at it, honestly." He relaxed then, dropping his hands to the desktop. "Forgive me... I'm not trying to worry you. I've simply been struggling to find the right time for this conversation. I'm not entirely certain _this_ is it, but... as I said, I've delayed this far longer than is justified. You have a right to know, particularly since it seems that everyone _else_ already does."

"Know what?" he asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

"You asked me why your presence is required during the final evaluations," Tseng began, "It's... for the same reason your input was sought in their selection in the first place. And why I was so eager to involve you in training duties. _And_ in Sykes' Hell Week. They are things you're going to need to understand... so that, eventually, you'll be equipped to handle them yourself."

It took a very, _very_ long moment for his mentor's words to fully register... and even when they did, Reno still wasn't sure he'd heard him correctly.

"I-I... um... You're... sayin' that... Boss? What the hell are you sayin'?" he finally managed to get out, eyes widening more with each syllable.

"I'm saying that there is a long-standing tradition in the Turks. It's by no means a hard and fast rule, but it frequently tends to come about simply due to the nature of the relationship between a Second in Command and his First Rookie," Tseng replied, "I'm saying that... I intend for you to succeed me, Reno. As Second in Command of the Turks."

Reno felt his mouth go inexplicably dry when he attempted to respond. So much so that no words would form. A faint buzzing filled his ears, and for a brief moment, his mind went utterly blank. The next second, the full weight of what Tseng had just said seemed to hit him like a ton of bricks. Shock intermingled with sheer terror, confusion, and a desire to plead with the senior Turk to take it back, that he wasn't ready for _that_ much responsibility – that he could _never_ be ready – threatened to overwhelm him.

But somewhere underneath all of that was a burgeoning pride. Granted, it was largely being drowned out by everything _else_... but it was there. Tseng... thought highly enough of him that he wanted him to be his Second. _Him_.

"Reno?"

He blinked, shaking himself from his daze, and suddenly realized that Tseng had, at some point while the younger man was completely freaking the hell out, moved to his side and was gently massaging the pressure point on the back of his neck. Tseng chuckled softly.

"It's alright. I had much the same reaction when Veld told _me_ that I'd be in command one day."

Reno took a steadying breath, letting the sensation of Tseng's hand on his overly tense muscles calm him a bit.

"Y-you want _me_ to take over for _you_?" he finally squeaked. He shook his head. "No. No way... I can't. I'm not –"

"Ready?" Tseng said, smiling. "Of _course_ you're not ready. We've barely even begun your training. Reno, I don't expect you to take command this very second. I don't expect you to take command for several _years_ yet. But I can't continue to keep you in the dark about this. I have to prepare you for a very difficult role, and it would be nearly impossible, at least in the long term, for me to do so without telling you what that role is."

Reno swallow sharply, nodding in understanding.

"... That's... one _hell_ of a welcome back," he breathed.

Tseng laughed and took up residence in the chair beside him. "To be fair, I wasn't _planning_ on springing it on you quite like this. I thought I'd let you settle back into your daily routine a bit first... but I'm afraid your curiosity made it necessary. I was rather hoping you wouldn't start asking questions as soon as you returned to work. But... as you _did_ , continuing to hide it felt... disingenuous. You deserve better than that."

"So... wait," he said, as his brain finally caught up fully with the conversation, "You said everyone else already _knows_?!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I was as surprised by that as you seem to be. It would appear I wasn't quite as adept at hiding it from them as I was at hiding it from you. Remy informed me a short while ago that most of the others have known for some time now."

Reno shook his head and gave a somewhat feeble laugh. "Ya know... Rude kept tryin' to tell me... 'n I totally brushed it off. Thought he was nuts, 'cause why the hell would I even be in the running when you got Remy 'n Kai to pick from?" He glanced up at his mentor, frowning slightly. "Why _didn't_ you pick Remy insteada me?"

"It's... hard to put into words. I need someone with more than _just_ leadership ability. I need someone who can both act independently _and_ be an extension of myself, when necessary. Remy... could do the job. I have no doubt as to that. But while she may know the job better... you know _me_ better." He paused a moment and shook his head. "Veld and I have have always been very close... Since my first day as a Turk, he's been almost a second father to me. The thought of of having a Second who can't say the same... doesn't sit well with me."

Reno inhaled somewhat shakily as he processed that statement. It was a little hard to imagine Tseng _needing_ him for... well... much of anything, really. At least in so much as there wasn't someone else who could do the job just as well, if not better, than _he_ could.

"What if..." he began, and had to swallow sharply as his throat threatened to close up around the lump that had suddenly formed in it. "What if I fuck everything up? I'm not _you_ , Tseng... I dunno howto run things around here."

"Then you bring shame and dishonor upon me, the Turks, and everything we stand for," his mentor replied, solemnly, and Reno immediately went pale. Tseng smiled. "That was _intended_ to be a joke."

The redhead let out the breath he hadn't, until just then, realized he was holding.

"Your jokes are fuckin' terrible..." he replied, shuddering slightly. Tseng chuckled quietly.

"Duly noted." The Turk lieutenant leaned forward in his chair, and rested a hand on his protege's shoulder. "You will not fuck everything up." He snorted softly in laughter, "At least... no more than _I_ did when I was first promoted to Second. I have faith in you."

"Yeah... but..."

"Reno... you're far more capable than you tend to give yourself credit for. You always _have_ been. And you have always _excelled_ in the end, no matter how many mistakes it takes you to get there." He smirked slightly. "Except, perhaps, when it comes to materia. I'll admit... _that_ was a truly epic failure on your part."

Reno groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah... can we _not_ mention that again? Like... ever? That was probably one of the _dumbest_ things I ever did as a rookie... And considerin' all the dumb shit I did, that's sayin' something."

"I agree," Tseng chuckled, "But... you learned from the mistake. Just as you'll learn from _future_ mistakes, of which, if my own experience is anything to go by, there will be many. It doesn't mean you're ill-suited for the job. Just that you're inexperienced... and experience only comes with time."

Reno glanced up at the senior Turk and sighed.

"You're _sure_ about this?" he asked, hesitantly, "I mean... ya still have time to back out, here..."

"I'm sure about _you_ ," Tseng replied.

The redhead snorted softly. "Yeah, well... ya wouldn't be if you had any idea how completely freaked out I am right now."

His mentor smiled warmly, and gave the younger Turk's shoulder a gentle squeeze before getting to his feet and moving back behind his desk again. "Don't be ridiculous. I very nearly _fainted_ when Veld officially informed _me_ of my impending promotion, and _I_ was half-expecting it at the time," he snickered, but then glanced up at the sound of footsteps passing by his door out in the hallway. "I believe Kai has just returned... if you're done freaking out and still wish to speak with her."

Reno stood up somewhat unsteadily before collecting himself and managing a faint grin. "Heh... I'm still gonna go talk to her, but just for the record? I'm gonna be freakin' out for the rest of the damn _day_. Maybe all week."

~end chapter 54~


	55. Back to the Grind

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 55: Back to the Grind**

 **by Desha**

Kai sighed quietly as she waited for the coffee maker in the lounge to to finish brewing. She half wished she'd run across the street for some _real_ coffee after her appointment... because right now, all she really wanted to do was lock herself away in her office until it was time for the morning briefing. The discussion she'd had with her therapist had left her feeling more raw than usual. So much so that she hadn't even stopped to talk to Tseng like she normally would have.

And a large part of the reason for that was because she already knew what he was going to say. He _still_ insisted she wasn't to blame for what had happened to Reno. How he could _not_ blame her, she had no idea... and it was made that much worse by the knowledge that, had their positions been reversed, she knew from experience that she wouldn't have been so forgiving. She couldn't shake the feeling that she _deserved_ the guilt, even though everyone – her therapist included – kept informing her that she needed to let it go.

The coffeemaker gurgled loudly as the last of the water in its reservoir filtered through the grounds, and she poured some into a mug, adding sugar and – though she really didn't much care for the powdered crap everyone else seemed to tolerate – creamer to the dark liquid, turning it a murky, muddy brown.

"Hope ya saved me some..." a familiar voice addressed her, and she very nearly dropped the mug in surprise.

"Reno?!" she gasped, spinning to face him, the creamer still upended over the mug. What in Hades' name was he doing here _now_? Tseng had told them that he'd be back today, sure... but the redhead _never_ came in this early. She wasn't ready for this...

Some of the scaldingly hot coffee sloshed over the rim of the cup and made contact with her skin, and she flinched.

"Hey," the redhead replied, grinning slightly. Seven weeks. Seven weeks he'd been out, recovering... healing from injuries that she'd personally had a hand in inflicting. And she'd been going over what she was going to say to him the whole time he'd been gone. In fact, that had been one of the primary topics of her counseling session this morning and half the reason she felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide for the day... but now that he was here, standing in front of her... her mind had gone blank.

"Uh... Kai? I'm _pretty_ sure you're not s'posed to use that much..."

It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about, but finally, she glanced down at the rapidly expanding island of powdered creamer in her coffee cup. It was starting to spill over onto her hand.

" _Dammit..._ " Kai swore, turning back to the table to set the canister down, only to knock it against the edge and send it flying across the table top. It skidded along the entire length, leaving behind a white trail, and she futilely attempted to recapture it. _That_ , of course, only resulted in the coffee mug falling from her hand, and hitting the floor with a sharp crack, its contents puddling on the tile at her feet.

She froze, and stood silently among the carnage for a moment... and everything suddenly seemed like it was just too much to deal with. She'd had weeks to prepare for this moment, and somehow she still wasn't ready for it. Kai made a valiant effort to hold it back, but eventually a quiet sob escaped her lips. Tears quickly followed.

"Ah, crap..." she heard the redhead whisper. The next thing she knew she was locked tightly in his arms, her face burrowing into his chest. "H-hey... Come on. It's just coffee..."

She couldn't form any sort of coherent response, and the burning humiliation of the entire situation was only slightly offset by the knowledge that the office was still largely empty at this hour. There was so much she wanted to say to him. That she was happy beyond words that he was alive. That she was sorry for causing all of this. That she'd missed him and had spent the last seven weeks trying to work up the courage to go and see him.

Instead, all of the pent up frustration and horror and anger at herself came pouring out in an unintelligible deluge that seemed to go on and on, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. When it finally _did_ cease, she could only stand there, numbly, in his arms, thinking how idiotic she must look.

"... 'kay... Not _quite_ the welcome back I was expectin'..." Reno said when it at last quieted, sounding a little shaken himself.

"I'm so sorry..." Kai said, breathlessly, her face still buried in the fabric of his jacket, "It was my fault. Everything was my fault..."

Her arms wrapped around him tighter as the irrational fear that, if she let go of him, he'd somehow disappear surged to the forefront of her mind.

"Quit it, okay? Nothin' was your fault."

She pulled back enough to look up at him and frowned. "How can you say that? Did Tseng even _tell_ you what I did? Did he tell you _how_ she got on board?"

"Tch... Ya know somethin'? You're lucky I'm not as big as Rude. 'Cause if I thought I could actually pull off carryin' you over one shoulder all the way down to Thirty-two, I'd do the same thing to you he does to me when I say somethin' that stupid..." Reno replied, "Me gettin' shot _wasn't_ your fault. So quit sayin' it was."

"Reno..." Kai said, shaking her head. Obviously no one was keeping him up to date, "You don't understand..."

The younger Turk rolled his eyes. "Bullshit. I'm not an idiot. Heh... _most_ of the time, anyway. Rude told me all about what that Zenshou bitch pulled. She used you. Coulda happened to any of us. Ya know _I_ wouldagone to bed with her if she targeted me instead. Hell, I'm such a manwhore I'd probably have been a _way_ easier target than you... ya know... if I hadn't been spendin' all my free time hangin' out with either Tseng or the rookies while we were there."

"But it _wasn't_ you she decided to use. It was _me_. _You're_ the one who got caught in the crossfire."

"Heh... actually, it was Rufus that got caught in the crossfire. I'm the idiot that thought it was a good idea to push him _out_ of it," Reno snickered.

"It's just not that simple. I –" she began, only to be cut off.

"No... it kinda _is_ that simple. You trusted someone you shouldn't have. Then a lot of _other_ shit happened, and in the end, I have terrible luck and took a couple bullets 'cause Rufus is pain in the ass who doesn't know enough to run when someone points a gun at him 'n tells him to walk away. It was not. Your. Fault."

Kai dropped her gaze again. "I wish I could make myself believe that..."

"Yeah, well... I order you to believe it."

Kai shook her head. "Who suddenly gave _you_ command authority?"

"Boss did," he replied, smirking slightly. "Uh... sorta. Okay, so, really he mostly just sacred the shit outta me 'bout five minutes ago tellin' me he's been trainin' me to take over for him someday without lettin' me in on the joke, but... ya know... Gotta to get in some practice bossin' people around, right?"

Kai managed a soft laugh in spite of herself. "He finally told you, huh? You're not Second yet, Baby Turkling..." she sniffed, wiping a hand across her eyes.

"Good thing... 'cause if I were, I'd totally ban ya from callin' me that," he replied, grinning widely at her before his grin slowly morphed to a more serious expression. "Look, Kai... I mean it. I don't blame you for what happened. There was no way you coulda known who she was or what she was plannin', and even if there _had been_ 'n we'd stopped her, they'd've found some other way in. So quit blamin' _yourself_ for it."

"Easier said than done..."

"Yeah, I know," said Reno, "Just... ya know... when you start thinkin' about shit, try 'n remember I'm not mad at ya? … 'kay?"

"I'll try," Kai replied, taking a deep breath and clearing her throat as she tried to make herself a little more presentable. The younger Turk's grin promptly returned.

"I _am_ kinda pissed that you never came to visit me, though. You got any idea how fuckin' _boring_ it is when you can't do jack shit 'sides sittin' around on your ass for weeks on end?"

"Uh... _yeah_?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Did you forget how long I spent at Midgar General after that Shiva-forsaken zenene attacked me?"

"... Oh. Right," the redhead said, somewhat sheepishly. "Okay, yeah, now I feel like kind of an asshole for sayin' that..."

"I'm sorry," Kai sighed, "I _wanted_ to see you. I just... couldn't bring myself to face you. I was even dreading _today_ because I knew my time was up. You were coming back, and I was all out of excuses..."

"No more excuses. You're talkin' to me right now, so the worst of it's over... right? You're not gonna like... drop of the face of the planet tryin' to avoid me now that I'm back?"

"No," Kai responded with a faint smile. Reno breathed a heavy sigh or relief.

"Okay, good. In that case... I'm not quite done freakin' the hell out about this whole future Second in Command thing Tseng decided to throw at me soon as I walked into the office this mornin', so... I'm gonna go back to doin' that for awhile," he replied, and paused for a moment, before teasingly adding, "... and maybe freak-out puke a few times for good measure..."

* * *

When Rude walked into the office, it was noticeably quiet. For a brief moment, he thought he was somehow the first to arrive, and had to take a moment to check his watch to confirm that he hadn't mistakenly left early.

The reason for the empty hallways quickly became apparent, however. Everyone _else_ seemed to be holed up in their offices. Tseng's light was on, the door firmly closed... as was Kai's and Veld's. Remy seemed to be the only one _not_ locking herself away this morning, but her office was still dark and empty. Eventually, he stumbled upon all three rookies closeted in their shared office space, huddled together in a hushed meeting. Despite the apparent secretive nature of the gathering, however, they'd failed to shut the door all the way. He smirked silently when he heard whispers of various cake flavors, along with the name of a certain redhead, make their way out into the hall.

He shook his head in amusement and continued on towards his own office... only to stop short and turn around before he'd even rounded the corner. He hovered for a moment outside of the rookies' office before at last chuckling to himself and and peering inside.

"His favorite is chocolate," he stated, knowingly, causing all three of the younger Turks to yelp in surprise.

"What cake?!" Liam blurted out, wide-eyed, and the outburst was met with groans from his two compatriots. Rude snorted in laughter but said nothing more, before resuming course to his own office and leaving them to their not-a-cake planning.

He stepped inside several moments later and raised an eyebrow when he spotted the aforementioned redhead himself, seated at his desk, scanning through, what he assumed, were the morning company announcements.

"You're early," Rude said, pausing in front of the desk. Reno looked up from the screen.

"Heh... you have no idea, pal. I _almost_ beat Tseng in today."

Rude snickered. "That eager to get out of the house, huh?"

"Waitin' was pure torture. I couldn't take it anymore. Been here almost an hour now," he replied, and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "... 'course _now_ I s'pose I gotta deal with _you_ 'n your smug-as-fuck I told you so's for the rest of the day..."

The bald Turk grinned and took a seat on the edge of Reno's desk. "Oh yeah? What was I right about?"

Reno sighed and rolled his eyes. "Tseng... kinda... told me what direction my training's gonna start takin' from now on..."

Rude's grin widened. "And?"

" _And_ you already know _exactly_ what the fuck he told me, so quit playin' dumb," the redhead groused, "You were right, okay?"

"I told you so," Rude stated.

"Shut up."

The older Turk laughed softly and moved over to his own desk to take a look at the morning announcements, as well.

"So how's it feel?" he asked, logging into his computer.

"Terrifying," Reno replied, to which his friend gave a loud snort. "I'm serious! The Boss wants me to... _be_ the Boss. I mean, yeah, not like tomorrow or anything, but... _fuck_ , man. That's some scary shit right there."

Rude glanced over at him. "You could always turn it down, you know..."

Which, he knew, was so unlikely the odds of the redhead doing so were almost non-existent... but sometimes his friend needed a little nudge to think things through.

"Tch... no, I can't. Even if I wanted to back out... which, full disclosure, I don't think I do... Tseng's countin' on me. And... ya know... he _believes_ in me. I wanna do it. I _do_. I'm just scared of lettin' him down, that's all. 'Specially 'cause this time, if I let _him_ down, I let everyone on the _team_ down."

"You're cleared for training, right?" Rude asked, and Reno raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Yeah... 'long as I take it easy. Why?"

"Just wanted to check... In case we need to make a trip down to thirty-two later."

"Tch... that's your solution to _everything_ ," Reno snickered, "Reno's losin' his mind again? Toss 'im in the pool! That'll fix 'im!"

"Hey, whatever works," Rude shrugged.

"Asshole," the younger Turk laughed, " _Anyway_... if I start looking like I'm about to pass out from sheer terror at some point today, now ya know why. Don't go callin' Ward on me."

"Hmph... I'll keep that in mind. So what's on your agenda? I've got a few reports that need typing if you get bored..."

"Gee... thanks," Reno answered, dryly, "Boss said I'd probably be helpin' out with interrogatin' the Zenshou that tried to turn me into swiss cheese... but I don't have a definite assignment yet. Figure they'll give me specifics at the mornin' briefing. But on Wednesday I get to go watch the final evals for the new rookies... so... that'll be pretty cool. Assumin' the whole second in command thing doesn't put me back on medical leave after I have a nervous breakdown later today. You wanna do somethin' for lunch? Much as I missed this place, one thing I did _not_ miss was the crapateria."

"Can't."

"Why not? Got somethin' interesting goin' on?" the redhead prodded.

"Nope," Rude replied with a knowing grin. Reno narrowed his eyes at him.

"So what is it? You only start givin' me one word answers when you're keepin' a secret," he said, in an accusing tone. Rude chuckled and pointedly turned his attention back on his screen, and his friend rolled his eyes.

"Okay... who's plannin' the welcome back party?"

"Couldn't say." He wasn't _really_ spoiling the surprise. It was pretty standard, when a Turk was out for a significant amount of time due to injury, to welcome them back in some way. Usually with food. The redhead already would have been expecting _something_ to have been planned. In this case, it was Tseng who was doing the planning... _and_ , apparently, the rookies, who seemed to have taken it upon themselves to ensure that there'd be cake in addition to the pizza that was being delivered around noon.

"Oh, yeah... right. Can't my ass. You totally _can_. You just _won't_. Dick," Reno laughed, "Whatever... 'long as I'm not stuck eatin' the shit that passes for food downstairs, I'm happy."

"As long as there's food involved, _you're_ happy," Rude corrected him. "Had a chance to say hi to everyone yet?"

"Nah... Between Tseng dropping that bomb on me earlier, 'n then havin' to talk to Kai about... ya know... things... I only just had the chance to sit down right before you got here. Only other person I've even _seen_ so far today's Rufus." He grinned widely and added, "Believe it or not, I think he mighta missed me."

"I'll opt for _not_ ," Rude chuckled, only half-serious. Truth be told, he still didn't quite know what Rufus' actual opinion of the redhead was. Ninety percent of the time, he gave every appearance of positively hating the younger man's guts... and yet Reno was the _only_ Turk, aside from Tseng, the vice president specifically requested for his security details. It was a... weird... dynamic.

A sharp knock on the door brought the conversation to a halt a moment later.

"What?" Reno yelled at the door, grinning. It opened, and Remy stepped inside, a small box in one hand.

"Most people simply say 'come in'..." she said, disapprovingly, but smiled slightly and shook her head. "Welcome back." She strode over to Rude's desk and handed him the package. "This was just sent upstairs from IT. It says it's for you."

"Thanks," Rude replied, a little surprised... until he remember what it _was_ , and a wide grin spread over his face.

"Uh oh... Rude's got a new toy," Reno snickered. The bald Turk merely continued to grin as he opened the box and tipped its contents out into one hand.

"No... Rude's got a new _phone_ ," he corrected him, happily. It was the same model Reno'd upgraded to several months back. The kind with the built-in camera, upgraded email client, and water-resistant casing. Top of the line, the latest in handset technology. And it was all _his_.

He had to admit, he'd been more than a little envious of the device when his friend had been issued one. But his old phone had been perfectly functional and not in need of replacement. He just couldn't justify the request. That had changed late last week when it had slipped out of his pocket while chasing down a target in Sector Five. By the time he'd noticed it was missing, backtracking had proven useless. Either it had fallen into a pocket dimension and vanished from his reality... or, more likely, someone had picked it up before _he_ could. Either way, it was gone. He'd immediately – and admittedly somewhat gleefully – submitted a request for a remote security wipe and a shiny new replacement PHS.

He flipped it open and pointed the camera towards the redhead.

"Smile."

Reno obligingly flashed him a cheesy grin and he pressed the button to snap the photo.

"Heh... well, we know what Rude's gonna be doin' all day," he laughed. Remy rolled her eyes, but Rude was fairly certain he caught a faint laugh from her, as well.

* * *

"Welcome back, Sir!" a chorus called out as he walked into the briefing room, and Reno paused, momentarily stunned by the – clearly rehearsed – greeting. He smirked, and glanced over at Rude.

"Oh, great... they're startin' to merge into one rookie now," he joked, before making his way over to the trio. "I thought I told you guys to cut that shit out. It's like... _super_ creepy."

"Yes, sir..." all three of them replied in unison... before dissolving in to unabashed snickering and dropping the ruse.

"Tch... Cute. Hope you guys didn't get too used to slakin' off while I was gone."

" _Particularly_ since, as he is confined to light duty for the time being, the three of you will be almost exclusively under Reno's supervision for the next two weeks..." Tseng added, joining the conversation.

"Heh... what? Ya need a break or somethin', Boss?"

"I have three _new_ rookies to prepare for. It seems perfectly reasonable that, as you won't be in the field, I leave the existing ones to you for the time being," he replied, with a pointed look, before taking his seat near the front of the room. Perfectly reasonable. The "for a future second in command" was heavily implied, albeit unspoken. This really _was_ going to take some getting used to. Before, he'd simply _enjoyed_ training the rookies. Now training them was officially part of his _own_ training, and he wasn't sure how that was going to change things. Or if it even _should_. After all... Tseng had made no significant complaints about how he'd been handling things _before_ he'd told him the truth. And no recommendations for changes to make after.

Kai arrived next, followed closely by Veld, who quickly quieted the group.

"As I'm sure you've all noticed by now..." he began, "Reno is back... so I expect that the nice, quiet days we've had in the office while he was recovering will soon be coming to an end."

"I'll make sure of it, sir," the redhead replied, eliciting a number of hastily covered laughs from his compatriots.

"I'm sure you will," Veld said with an overly dramatic sigh, before turning his attention to the others, "Remy... I'm pulling you off of interrogation for today. I'd like you to check out a lead on our Zenshou problem with Rude. He'll fill you in on the specifics. Kai... you'll be taking over, with Reno as backup."

Reno glanced over at the senior Turk, watching her reaction to the orders, but if she had any misgivings about the reassignment, she didn't let on. She simply nodded.

"Petra and Liam will be training with Tseng for the morning... and then Reno will take over in the afternoon while Tseng heads to Junon to prep for final recruit evals. Sykes, I have a minor escort assignment for you. One of the junior executives from Urban Development is being sent out to survey the reactor at Fort Condor. He has clearance _only_ for the reactor itself. Keep him out of any of the other secure areas."

"Yes, sir," Sykes replied.

"And just to keep everyone in the loop... as you all know, we're going through the last of the formalities for recruiting three _additional_ rookies. Any who accept the position, and I have no reason to think any of them will turn it down, will be here two weeks from today," the Turk leader continued, "It bears mentioning that these new additions will finally bring our numbers up to a level comparable with what we had prior to the end of the Meaningless War... which is good news all around."

Reno nodded along with everyone else in the room. Veld was right... It _was_ good news. But it was a little painful, too. The vacancies the newbies were meant to fill only existed because so many had been killed. Reno had lost a lot of good friends in his short tenure as a Turk. And part of him loathed the fact that the conflict between Shinra and Wutai had been designated the "Meaningless War" by the public at large. Their deaths _hadn't_ been meaningless.

"Now for the _bad_ news," Veld continued, and gestured to Rude, motioning for him to take his place at the front of the room. Reno cocked his head to one side, curious. Rude hadn't _mentioned_ that he had anything interesting to share this morning... but that wasn't unusual. His friend didn't like to repeat himself. And if it was information meant for the entire team, the morning briefing was the only logical place to tell them.

The bald Turk cleared his throat and awkwardly joined the Turk leader.

"We've received some... _interesting_... information from Reactor Maintenance," he began. "They've been investigating the explosion at the Gongaga Reactor earlier this year. It _wasn't_ an accident."

"Sabotage?" Remy queried, sitting up in her chair, but Rude shook his head.

"Theft," Rude replied, "One of Scarlet's projects. A prototype that uses a recently discovered form of super-dense materia from the Corel Reactor. They're not sure if the explosion was meant to cover up the theft and failed to do so, or just to give the thieves a distraction and access to the area the prototype was stored in... but either way classified Shinra weapons technology is missing."

"Tch... and we _all_ know who's got a hard-on for classified Shinra weapons tech lately..." Reno muttered.

"Which makes getting some usable information out of our Zenshou prisoner all the more important," Tseng noted, grimly. Reno looked over at Kai again, but her only outward reaction to the discussion was a deepening frown.

"Indeed it does. That's all I have for most you this morning. Tseng? A word in private before you head to the training hall?" Veld finally said.

"Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant replied. Veld nodded.

"Dismissed," he said, and the sound of chairs being pushed back from the table as everyone got to their feet dragged him from his thoughts. Reno shook his head and followed suit, making his way over to Kai.

"You gonna be alright doin' this?" he asked, as the others filtered out of the room.

"Of course," Kai replied, just a little too enthusiastically. Reno had his doubts about her sincerity... but it wasn't like they could just ignore the order, and Kai knew that just as well as he did.

As such, a few short minutes later, they were on board the elevator, heading for the basement level. It had actually been awhile since he'd been down there, and the slightly eerie quiet of the tiled hallways caught him off guard for a moment. Hell, most of the time they just interrogated people upstairs, in headquarters. They had a whole room devoted to it. And if not there, then in whatever holding cell – of which the Shinra Building had a rather surprising number for an electric power company – they happened to be in.

If you got yourself dragged down to the basement, though... it was for more than just answering a question or two. Reno generally didn't like to think too hard about what went on down here... but at the same time, he knew that sometimes it was necessary. Sometimes information was desperately needed, and the person who had it wasn't planning on giving it up easily.

Sometimes... Turks did things that would turn most people's stomachs.

Kai was silent for entirety of the ride down, as well as the walk through the creepy as hell hallways that led to their little corner of the basement. When they finally stopped outside of the door, she hesitated, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Reno almost asked, again, if she was sure about this... but stopped himself before the words made it out. It didn't matter if she was sure. They were doing this whether they wanted to or not.

"So... what's the plan?" he asked, instead.

* * *

Tseng followed Veld back to his office, after sending Petra and Liam on ahead to the training hall. He reflexively closed the door behind him, and took a seat in front of Veld's desk. Before he could inquire as the the reason for the meeting, his mentor shook his head.

"It's nothing dire. I just wanted to catch you before you disappeared for the day. I have everything ready," he said, and Tseng relaxed.

"Ah..." he nodded, "You need my signature, then."

Veld, in response, handed him a pen and a sheet of paper. The younger Turk smiled slightly and accepted them, dutifully inscribing his name at the bottom.

"When do you plan to tell him?" Veld asked.

"Assuming I finish up in Junon at a reasonable hour, and make it back this afternoon, I'll tell him then. If not... then first thing tomorrow morning, with the official announcement to follow during the morning briefing."

"Always so eager to promote..." the Turk leader chuckled.

"No, sir... Just eager, once the decision had been made, to pass along the good news," Tseng replied, "There's... few things as satisfying as seeing a rookie promoted to full Turk status."

And Sykes had earned it. Since Hell Week, he'd taken great strides in his training, with special attention paid to the problem areas the evaluation had revealed. Tseng was quite proud of the young man.

Veld nodded in understanding, and leaned back in his chair. "Mmm... The end result of a job well done always _is_. I think that _may_ be the part I miss most about my old job."

"I suspect I'll miss it, as well, someday. Though I think Reno will likely come to enjoy it just as much as I do," Tseng mused, "I... have finally informed him of my intentions."

Veld's eyebrows shot upwards at the pronouncement.

"How did he take it?" he asked, with a knowing smirk that drew a soft laugh from Tseng.

"Largely as one might expect," Tseng snickered, "Abject horror, followed by disbelief, shock, and concerns that he wasn't ready for something so important, followed by a proclamation that my jokes are terrible."

"In all fairness, your jokes generally _are_ terrible," Veld said, teasingly.

"My humor is merely more... subtle... than most," the Turk lieutenant replied, straight-faced. "I'm sure he still has many, _many_ doubts. I know I did when you first told _me_. It will take him some time to truly get used to the idea, but I think he understands why I chose him over a more experienced Turk." He grinned faintly and shook his head. "And _eventually_ , I'm sure, he'll stop wondering if I've completely lost my mind for doing so."

~end chapter 55~


	56. First Day Back

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 56: First Day Back**

 **by Desha**

Kai wiped the spattered blood off of her cheek with the back of her hand, leaving a faint smear on her skin.

"Let's try this again," she said, darkly, "Who is paying the Zenshou to target Shinra property?"

The woman didn't answer her this time.

When they'd begun, the Zenshou had been arrogant, going so far as to laugh quietly when she saw them walk in and taunting the Turks for having to send in "replacements" and haughtily giving the redhead a once over before stating that she'd have to do a better job killing him next time. _That_ comment had earned her an immediate punch in the face and, Reno was fairly certain, a broken nose, from Kai.

And _then_ the knives had come out.

Reno had watched more than a few "enhanced" interrogations during his days as a Turk – some worse than others – but he'd never seen Kai so brutal before. It was as if every drop of anger and resentment she had towards the woman was being channeled into the beatings. And apparently Kai had anger and resentment to spare. Once, Reno had even had to step in and stop her when she kept it up after their subject had lost consciousness... he still wasn't sure if it had been from pain or from blood loss.

He'd been sorely tempted to stop the whole thing after that, in fact. He didn't give a cripshay's ass about the Zenshou woman after what she'd pulled, but he was more than slightly concerned about _Kai_. Ultimately, he'd done nothing more to intervene, however. He didn't like it... but orders were orders. And their orders were to interrogate the prisoner.

The diminutive Turk backhanded the woman, sending a spray of red from her still-bleeding nose across the far wall. It stood out starkly against the once-pristine white tiles.

"Answer me!" she commanded. The woman managed a somewhat feeble, yet still defiant glare, and kept stubbornly silent. Kai's eyes narrowed, and she turned towards Reno, "Give me your EMR."

"You sure you wanna –" he began to protest, knowing how dangerous using something like that on a person for more than a second or two could be. They needed her alive, after all. At _least_ until they broke her.

"Now," she added, the calm tone of her voice making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He handed the weapon over without another word. Kai turned back to their prisoner, and glowered at her. "You had your chance to do things the easy way. _Now_ we're going to do them the _hard_ way..."

* * *

By lunchtime, Reno was largely convinced that he never wanted to go down to the basement ever again, if he could avoid it. The fact that it was very unlikely that he could avoid it indefinitely was conveniently ignored for the time being. Kai was silent for quite some time after they'd finally emerged from the interrogation room, and had wordlessly handed him back his EMR.

She didn't speak at all until the elevator delivered them to Turk headquarters on the fifty-eighth floor.

"She's not going to tell us anything else," she stated, dully, "She'll die first. The fact that we got anything at all out of her is nothing short of a miracle."

"I mean... yeah, I've never seen someone hold out like that, but –"

Kai stopped short in her bid for Tseng's office. "Trust me. I've got _way_ more experience with this sort of thing than you do, Baby Turkling. We _won't_ get anything else. I don't know who trained her... but Remy was at this for over a month, and got _nothing_. We were at it for four hours and got _next_ to nothing, and what we _did_ get is useless." She shook her head. "I can make her bleed. I can make her hurt. I can torture her until her heart gives out. It won't do any good. She's already decided she's going to die, and she's taking any secrets she may have with her. There are some people even _I_ can't break."

"I would take her at her word, Reno," a familiar voice calmly stated, and Reno, much to his chagrin, let out a faint yelp of surprise.

"Goddammit, Tseng..." he muttered, turning to face his mentor, "Haven't you traumatized me _enough_ for one day? I'm _still_ freakin' out about this mornin', ya know..."

Tseng smiled slightly. "My apologies," he replied, before turning his attention on Kai, "So... that's your official opinion on the matter?"

"You want me to go back in, I'll go back in. You want me to keep going until her body gives out... frankly, after what she did to me and to Reno, I really don't think I'd lose any sleep over it for once. But in my opinion, it'd be a waste of time. She knows she's never leaving this building alive. She's just waiting for us to get off our asses and finish it." Kai huffed and shook her head. "Four hours, Tseng. Four _hours_ of the most effective techniques I know that don't involve bringing in someone the subject cares about and doing it all to _them_ instead. And that's on _top_ of everything Remy's already tried. All she said was... the next job won't fail, and honestly? I'm not so sure she even knows what the next job _is_. Or rather, was, given how long she's been in custody. If she knows who's pulling the strings on these thefts, she's not talking."

Tseng nodded.

"I see," he breathed, "I'll inform Veld. We'll see what he wants to do. Go and get something to eat... assuming you have much of an appetite after all that."

Kai snorted softly. "Hard pass," she replied, "If you need me, I'll be spending my lunch on the gauntlet... not in the cafeteria."

Tseng nodded and she walked away, heading towards the lounge.

"As for _you_..." his mentor continued, shifting his attention to the redhead, "Come with me, please."

Reno dutifully fell into step behind his mentor as he set off in the opposite direction as Kai, and, somewhat unexpectedly, _not_ towards his office.

"What's up, Boss?" Reno asked, curious.

"What did _you_ think of the interrogation subject?" he asked as they walked. Reno shrugged slightly.

"What's it matter? I mean... _Kai's_ kinda the expert here, not me."

Tseng paused and fixed his gaze on him.

"I'm not asking because I'm questioning her judgment," he said, patiently, "I'm asking because I want to know _your_ take on what you heard and saw in there." He smirked slightly and shook his head. "Get used to it, Reno. I'll be doing it considerably more often from now on."

The redhead blinked in surprise as he realized that the question wasn't just a request for information. It was an evaluation of sorts. He snorted faintly in self-deprecating laughter for not having expected this.

"I'll level with ya, Boss," he finally replied, "If Kai'd done any of that to me, I'da spilled every secret I've ever had to her about five minutes in. If she really _does_ know anything that might help us out, 'n _that_ didn't get her to talk... I'm findin' it _real_ hard to believe that anything will."

Tseng nodded and continued on down the hallway.

"... How the hell does someone... _not_ completely break down?" Reno asked, shuddering slightly.

"Given how long she's lasted... I suspect she's been heavily conditioned against physical pain. To a degree I'm not sure I've ever seen before, to be honest."

"Yeah, but... _how_?" he queried. It was pretty unbelievable, from his point of view. Reno generally considered himself to have a pretty high tolerance for pain... but no way in hell would he have lasted under torture like that. Not for hours at a time, anyway. The Zenshou had just... taken it. She'd passed out on more than one occasion, sure. She'd screamed in anguish multiple times. But, barring the initial posturing when they'd first walked in, and what was little more than a parting shot near the end of the session, she'd never actually _said_ anything. Reno was pretty sure he'd have been begging Kai to stop... or to kill him... the entire time, had their positions been reversed.

"There are any number of methods. Some use drugs. Some use implants that shut off nerve centers or stimulate the production of chemicals in the brain that dull the pain. Some simply... inflict pain upon themselves over the course of weeks, months... even years... or have others do so for them, until they learn to tolerate it," Tseng replied, "Given the length of her stay... I suspect the latter in her case. It would be far more reliable, long-term, than drugs or implants. It's a technique I myself have employed."

Reno came to an abrupt halt. "Boss?"

Tseng chuckled softly and turned back to look at his protege.

"I very seriously doubt my own self-conditioning could even begin to hold a candle to _hers_... but yes. When I was much younger, my pain tolerance was, frankly, somewhat pathetic. I chose to rectify that. It... was a useful, though admitted highly unpleasant, choice."

"... Am I gonna have to do that?" the redhead hesitantly asked. To his surprise, Tseng actually laughed.

"No," he stated, still chuckling, "Unless of course you _wish_ to prepare yourself for the possibility of being captured and tortured. I certainly wouldn't stop you, if it's truly something you're concerned about. But... I've seen you in pain. You already bear it better than most. Certainly better than I did at your age."

The redhead breathed a quiet sigh of relief and resumed following the Turk lieutenant around the corner.

"Am... I gonna have to learn to do what Kai does?" he asked after a moment, and Tseng reached for him, gently placing an arm around the younger Turk's shoulders.

"Perhaps. But not quite yet," Tseng replied, "You're... not ready for that. And you may never _be_ ready. It's not something every Turk is capable of."

Reno swallowed sharply, and wondered if he was one of those Turks who didn't have the stomach for torture. Watching was one thing. Actually being the one doing it, though? He really didn't know if he could do that to another person. Ever. And he wondered what that meant to his mentor. As if reading the younger man's thoughts, Tseng suddenly smiled.

"You don't need to be the team's foremost interrogator to be qualified as Second in Command. No Turk can _possibly_ be an expert at everything... nor do they _have_ to be. That's the whole reason we try to vary ourselves in terms of skill sets to begin with. So that where one Turk may fall short, another can seamlessly take over." He chuckled again. "You no more need to be an expert interrogator than you need to be an expert in materia-based combat. The skills you _do_ excel at are more than sufficient."

Reno snickered at the comment.

"Heh... good thing. 'Cause if I had to be a materia expert, I'd _really_ be screwed," he replied, prompting a quiet laugh from the senior Turk. Reno's attention suddenly snapped to their current location as he realized that they'd walked nearly all the way around the the fifty-eighth floor. They were standing in front of the lounge. "Uh... Boss?"

Tseng cast him a somewhat mischievous smirk.

"We weren't quite finished when you and Kai returned to headquarters. I needed to stall for time," he replied, ushering his protege through the door.

"Uhh..." the redhead began, only to be assaulted by a sudden flurry of what he belatedly recognized as confetti and colorful balloons raining from the ceiling.

"Surprise!" a chorus of voices cried out, "Welcome back!"

Reno grinned as he spotted a makeshift buffet of pizza boxes laid out on the table near the coffeemaker... as well as a large cake, emblazoned with "Welcome back, Reno!" written in bright red and orange icing. Sykes, being out of the city on assignment, and Veld were notably absent from the group, but everyone else – even Kai, whom he'd thought had taken off by now – grinned right back at him.

The redhead snickered and shook some of the confetti out of his hair. He really should have seen this coming. Rude had all but straight up told him they were planning something for lunchtime, and then there was the walk around the entire floor for a conversation that could just as easily have happened in Tseng's office – which they would have had to have walked past the lounge to reach if they hadn't gone the long way. Of _course_ Tseng had been stalling.

"Oh, thank, Ifrit. I was afraid I was gonna have to eat lunch downstairs my first day back," he teasingly laughed.

* * *

Reno stretched out languidly, his feet resting on top of the coffee table in front of the couch, one last slice of pizza in hand. The others had all returned to their own assignments. He was just doing a little... cleanup. After all, _someone_ had to finish off the food.

He glanced over at the mini-buffet line. Okay... maybe not _finish_ it. There was still half a sheetcake left, and honestly... if he ate much more right now, he was going to end up in a food coma all afternoon. Which _probably_ wouldn't be the the best look for him on his first day back on the job. The door to the lounge opened, and Tseng returned from wherever he'd disappeared to a short while ago.

"Should I have ordered more?" he asked, the ghost of a smile on his lips. Reno grinned as his mentor took a seat beside him on the couch.

"Nah... I think I'm good. Ya know... 'til dinner, anyway."

Tseng snorted quietly.

"Have you finished freaking out yet? I'm leaving for Junon shortly, and would hate to leave you in distress," he said, teasingly.

"Ha. Ha." Reno rolled his eyes and started in on the remnants of the crust. He swallowed the bite and smirked. "And no... I'm _not_ done. Food just calms me down."

Tseng nodded, chuckling. "I see. Well... in any event, Petra and Liam will meet you on the shooting range, and Sykes should be back in another hour or so to join the three of you in the training hall." He paused a moment, and fixed the younger Turk with a serious look, "Speaking of whom... I need to speak to you about the latter before I leave."

The redhead shoved the last bite of pizza into his mouth and sat up.

"Problem?" he asked.

"No... merely a courtesy," Tseng replied, "One that you are not to extend to _anyone_ else before the morning briefing tomorrow under any circumstances."

Reno's eyebrows shot up, and he was suddenly all ears. "What's goin' on?"

"I simply want to inform you that, as of tomorrow, we will have one _less_ rookie on the team. Sykes is being promoted."

A grin spread over the redhead's face.

" _Seriously_?" he said with a laugh, "Awesome! Hang on... how come I'm findin' out early?"

"Because if you are going to train for command, it only makes sense to keep you in the loop on certain command decisions," Tseng replied, "And also... _someone_ needs to plan the usual after hours celebration. I'll be gone the rest of the afternoon, and possibly overnight as well... and Veld is a bit tied up at the moment with the Board. The news that the Gongaga incident was the result of the Zenshou's actions has kept him quite thoroughly occupied with the executives all day."

"Count on me!" Reno enthusiastically replied.

"Just remember... no one is to know until tomorrow," Tseng cautioned him, and then pointedly looked him in the eye. "And keep the alcohol levels... moderate. We _all_ have to work the next day, and you and I in particular cannot afford to be hung over, as we'll be observing final evaluations."

Reno snickered loudly. "Heh... Okay, Boss..." he laughed, "I'll try 'n keep things, ya know... tame. Umm... but, ya _know_... Gonna be hard to find a venue on such short notice."

Tseng sighed, noting the obvious inflection in the younger man's voice.

"Yes, you may use my apartment. Provided you help clean up afterwards."

"Sweet! Don't worry, Boss... I got this," Reno said, with a wide grin. Tseng smiled and shook his head.

"In that case... I have flight to catch. And _you_ have rookies to supervise. I'll see you later."

* * *

"Ah, range training..." Reno said with a faint laugh as he located his two rookies just inside. They ignored him, however, in favor of watching the _other_ person presently utilizing the facility. The redhead snorted softly. "Well, what'd'ya know... the Brat's doin' somethin' useful for a change."

It was rare that he ran into the vice president in parts of the building – aside from headquarters, which he visited quite frequently – that were, by and large, the domain of the Turks... but at the same time, he was peripherally aware that Rufus _did_ make use of them on occasion. Today, it seemed, he'd decided to get in a little target practice.

"I didn't know the vice president could shoot..." said Liam, "He's... not bad."

Reno peered down the range at the target and shrugged. "Grouping still needs work," he commented, somewhat teasingly, "But at least he's hittin' the target."

Really, Liam was right. Rufus wasn't the _best_ shot, but he wasn't terrible, especially considering that he didn't practice anywhere close to the same amount as the Turks did. And at least he knew what he was _doing_ now. The redhead didn't generally have to worry about the brat waving a gun around recklessly and accidentally shooting someone these days. Apparently the first time had been enough to ingrain that lesson _firmly_ in Rufus' skull. He'd never done anything like that ever again – not while Reno was working with him, at any rate – and took weapons as a whole far more seriously. And all it had cost the Turk was a faint scar on his upper arm. Not a bad trade, really.

Now if he could just get the idiot to actually _carry_ a weapon on a regular basis, instead of leaving it behind in his room or his office, or anywhere else other than on his person. A part of it, Reno suspected, was that, while he did sometimes practice with handguns, Rufus' weapon of choice was the much heavier and more ungainly shotgun. And even though he'd had one custom made for himself a few years back, it was still a little awkward to cart around. Reno made a mental note to talk to Tseng about maybe refining the design a little more. Make it a little more easily concealed and comfortable to carry.

But that was a matter for another day. Right now, he had rookies who were scheduled for range practice.

 _They_ , however, seemed to be somewhat fascinated by the vice president, instead. Petra, in particular, was watching him closely, with a slightly awestruck and adoring expression on her face, and Reno couldn't help but roll his eyes. She _definitely_ still had a crush on the asshole.

"Heh... tongue back in your mouth, rookie," he snickered, nudging her, "We got training to get to. You wanna ogle the V.P., do it on your own time."

Petra blushed deeply, and Liam cast her a knowing grin. Reno took the opportunity, while the pair were gathering their ammunition and targets from the secure lockers, to make his way over to the lone executive, standing behind him, just off to one side. Rufus finished emptying his gun's current magazine, and set the pistol down on the shelf in front of him before turning to look at the younger man.

"Hmph... So, you really _are_ actually working. I thought for certain you'd merely be sitting in your office, gorging yourself on pizza all afternoon."

"Who told _you_ there was pizza?" Reno asked, grinning.

"Who do you think _paid_ for that obscene amount of food?" Rufus snorted, which only caused the redhead's smile to widen.

"Aww... you _do_ care..." he teased. He wasn't really _that_ surprised that Rufus had been the one to shell out for lunch... though he was vaguely shocked that he'd admitted to it so easily. Rufus pointedly rolled his eyes.

"You... saved my life. Nearly at the expense of your own," he said, somewhat hesitantly, "I'm... not ungrateful."

"Yeah, well... that's what you pay me for," Reno said, dismissively, before smirking slightly, "... 'Sides... You're only a stuck-up pain in the ass about ninety-nine percent of the time. The other one percent, I actually kinda like ya."

"Imagine my delight," Rufus deadpanned, "Was there something you wanted, or are you merely here to annoy me?"

"Just here to annoy you," the redhead replied, grinning. He nodded over his shoulder at the pair of rookies, " _And_ to make sure _they_ don't shoot anything they're not s'posed to. They're impressed, by the way."

"Is your ego really so frail that it depends upon the dubious awe of novices to survive?" Rufus quipped, turning back to the range and recalling his target sheet. It wasn't a bad grouping, Reno noted, and he vaguely wondered if the brat had made a habit of coming down here more often since their little misadventure in Wutai. He certainly wouldn't have blamed him if he had.

"Oh, not me. I meant they were impressed with _you_. You're gettin' to be _almost_ halfway competent with that."

Rufus looked back at him with an expression of surprise that was quickly masked.

"I... I hardly care about the opinions of your little underlings over there," he grumbled, though Reno was almost sure he detected the faintest hint of pink coloring the executive's face.

"Geez... take a compliment once in a while, will ya, sir?" Reno snickered, before turning with an off-handed wave. "Anyway... I gotta get back to work. Don't wanna leave the kids on their own with live ammo for _too_ long."

He made his way back over to Liam and Petra, who by then had each taken up residence in a lane, and were simply waiting for Reno to give them to okay to begin.

"Alright... let's see if you guys've been practicin' while I was gone," he declared.

* * *

By the end of the day, Reno was exhausted, but in a good way, for a change... not in the I've-been-sitting-around-on-my-ass-doing-nothing-for-hours-on-end way he'd felt stuck at home. How a person could end up _tired_ from sitting on the couch all day, he still didn't quite understand... but it was a phenomenon he'd become intimately acquainted with of late. Being exhausted for an actual _reason_ was a nice change of pace.

He leaned back in his chair, head tilted back, staring upwards at the ceiling at the end of the day.

Training had gone well. He'd even taken the opportunity to get in a little time on the range himself... and discovered that in addition to being out of shape from his long convalescence, he was also out of practice with his backup weapon. Rufus – who had stuck around for awhile to observe – had been all too quick to "helpfully" point that out to him. He'd shrugged it off. He couldn't exactly _argue_ it, after all. His target sheets looked like swiss cheese, his shots were so scattered. And besides... the brat _had_ been borderline nice to the rookies, commenting to Petra that "perhaps she ought to have been the one doing the instructing, given that she seemed to have far better aim than the Slum Rat".

He'd done moderately better in the training hall... but he definitely needed to spend some more time down there. It was amazing how much a person's skills could deteriorate after more than a month of disuse.

Something prodded him in the side.

"Ow," he deadpanned, not bothering to shift his gaze to his assailant. Rude snickered softly.

"Tired?" the bald Turk asked.

"I feel like I did after my first week as a rookie. Only with fewer bruises this time."

"And just think... tomorrow, you get to do it all over again," Rude teased. Reno calmly raised his left hand and flipped him off. "Come on... afternoon briefing's starting in a minute."

"Tell 'em I died," the redhead shot back.

" _Reno_..." his friend chided. Reno groaned and sat up.

"Alright, alright... I'm comin'..." he grunted, dragging himself from the chair. He grinned as he got to his feet. "Heh... well, I may be beat, but this is still better than sittin' on the couch all day."

He stretched his arms over his head, working out some of the knots that had formed in his shoulders, and trailed behind Rude as he exited their shared office.

"So how was _your_ day? Anything new on the Zenshou front?" he asked.

Rude shrugged. "Maybe. There's a rumor they may have something planned in the city soon. None of my contacts have any idea what, though. Remy and I have been going over my list of potential targets and making sure that the items on it are under surveillance and as secure as they possibility _can_ be... but without knowing specifically what they're interested in, or at least narrowing it down, it's a pretty wide net to cast."

"Tch... I know what _I'd_ be after," Reno said, offhandedly, and Rude paused, mid-stride.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The younger Turk looked at him incredulously.

"Come on, man... This is an _easy_ one. You gotta know what _I'd_ go after..." When Rude just silently stared him down, the redhead finally relented. "Tch... _Her_. If it was me, I'd be looking to get _her_ back."

Rude suddenly paled slightly, and hurriedly reversed course.

"Hey!" Reno called after him, "Where the hell are ya goin'? We got a meeting!"

"To double security on our prisoner!" Rude called back, before vanishing around the corner.

Reno snorted softly. There was plenty of security downstairs... but far be it from him to tell Rude he was being paranoid. Ifrit knew _he_ had his own share of _that_. He shrugged and continued on to the briefing room on his own, quickly taking a seat next to Remy and noting that – save his paranoid partner, and Tseng, who was still in Junon – he was the last to arrive.

"Where's Rude?" Veld inquired.

"Addin' more security to watch our guest downstairs," he replied, "I... uh... mighta pointed out that _she'd_ make a pretty tempting target if the Zenshou are lookin' to pull somethin' in Midgar."

Veld nodded. "I'll make this brief, then. There's not much in the way of updates this afternoon, anyway. Of paramount importance is that the Executive Board was not at all pleased with the results of the Reactor Maintenance Department's Gongaga investigation. The Company will be implementing additional security procedures at all reactor sites, to be overseen by Junon Base Security. They're already mobilizing, and we may be called in to assist at some point."

If Junon security was heading things, Reno mused, that would likely mean that Viridia was going to have her hands full for awhile. He smirked slightly to himself. No wonder Tseng hadn't tried too hard to make it back to town tonight...

"On a less dire note... we're obviously going to have to find some space for our new rookies. I thought I'd spare you all the surprise and tell you now. I'll be assigning them to Sato and Saya's old office."

Reno sighed softly to himself, and did his best to push his objections to the back of his mind. He knew perfectly well that it was the best place to put them and there was absolutely no reason _not_ to, but... it just felt wrong. Just like it had when the earlier batch of rookies had moved into Luca's old office. He had a feeling the others felt the same way... but, like him, refrained from voicing it. It was necessary. They couldn't just leave a perfectly good office vacant indefinitely. It just felt like... like the final vestiges of their lost friends were being stripped away. That last little bit of them in the office would soon be gone. It was sad, in a way... but they had to move on.

"Besides that, Tseng will be in Junon overnight. Apparently preparations for final evals took a bit longer than expected. He'll be back first thing in the morning," Veld continued, "So... if no one has anything else to bring to the team's attention... ?"

Neither Remy nor Kai said anything. Reno grinned jokingly.

"I'd just like to point out that there's still half a cake in the lounge..." he stated, "And it _literally_ has my name on it, so... hands off."

Veld snorted an indulgent laugh.

"Dismissed," he said, with a roll of his eyes. The others stood, and Reno quickly followed their lead, heading out into the hallway. True to his word, Veld had kept the meeting short, which left him with a little time to kill before he could take off for the day. That in mind, he opted to check in on the rookies one more time before he left.

Before he could do so, however, he found his path blocked by Remy.

"Hey," he greeted her, grinning widely. She'd been off with Rude most of the day, so he hadn't really seen much of her... and he was _particularly_ glad to see her _now_ , because when she caught up to him at the end of the day, it was _usually_ to quietly commandeer him for the evening. Tired as he was... it had been _weeks_ since he'd last gotten laid. There was no way in hell he'd be turning her down tonight.

"Dinner?" she asked, after furtively checking to make sure no one had stuck around to overhear. The redhead's grin widened noticeably.

"Absolutely," he replied. Remy nodded and continued on to her office, presumably to finish up any remaining tasks left on her list. Reno, meanwhile, resumed his course towards the rookies. It had been a long day. He was sore. He was tired. He was still _kinda_ freaked out about the whole future second in command thing.

It was good to be back.

* * *

Remy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as she gazed out at the city skyline from her balcony. A cool breeze whipped past her, an early warning of the impending change in seasons as they edged closer to autumn, and she reflexively pulled her robe tighter around her body. She glanced over her shoulder, into the darkness of her bedroom. The remaining occupant of her bed hadn't yet stirred, and she was glad.

She'd meant to break things off tonight.

Instead, she'd given in to desire and let the redhead seduce her again. Not that it had really taken much effort on his part. He was... so _hard_ to resist. She could still smell him on her skin, and the scent was intoxicating. She wanted him, even now... even after she'd already had him.

And that was why this had to end.

He was becoming almost an addiction, and the more she partook, the more danger she was in of losing her objectivity. She loved him, dearly. He was sweet and kind and affectionate almost to a fault. How could she not? But she wasn't _in_ love with him. Not yet. It had to end before that changed, because if she let that happen, there would be no going back.

The more fanciful part of her wondered if it would _really_ be so terrible... so detrimental... to simply let go and allow herself to fall for Reno completely. Her more realistic side, however, was screaming at her to think logically. Reno had been very clear from the beginning. He didn't want a significant other or a commitment or a partnership. He wanted someone to satisfy his physical needs without any messy emotions getting in the way. And _she_ didn't want to take on the massive risk that came with falling in love with a comrade in arms.

It had to end. As charming and beautiful and sexy as he was... it had to end, before she couldn't bring herself to end it at all.

She resolved to do just that... but in the morning. Remy stepped back inside and silently slid the balcony doors shut. She slipped back into bed with the slumbering redhead, and wrapped her arms around him. Reno woke a moment later, his eyes fluttering open. He grinned at her in the darkness.

"Still in the mood, huh?" he teased. Remy smiled slightly and leaned in closer, claiming his lips with her own. "Heh... I'll take that as a yes."

Maybe this, too, was a mistake. But if this was going to be her last night with him, she was going to make the most of it.

~end chapter 56~


	57. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 57: Breaking Up is Hard to Do**

 **by Desha**

Reno woke to the sound of running water, and it took him several seconds to recognize it as Remy's shower. He yawned and rolled over, eyes falling on the clock on the bedside table... and groaned. It was five in the morning.

He snorted softly in laughter and rolled back the other way, cocooning himself again and burrowing deeper into the covers. If she wanted to get up before the damn sun, that was her business. He was perfectly happy to stay in bed until the last possible second – or at least until she booted him _out_ of said bed and informed him that he'd be late for work if he didn't get up.

He wasn't exactly surprised he was still tired, either. Remy had been _insatiable_ last night. Not that he was complaining. Apparently _he_ wasn't the only one who'd missed their little get-togethers... and after seven weeks of involuntary celibacy, he'd been more than happy to step up to the challenge. He grinned slightly at the thought of cramming seven weeks worth of sex into one night... which was, admittedly, a little bit of an exaggeration, but at the moment, that's more or less what it felt liked he'd done... and he was pretty sure he could have gone again if she'd wanted him to. It was almost too bad they had to work today.

A few minutes later, he heard the water turn off. Reno sighed and poked his head out from under the blanket. He supposed that was his cue to get his ass out of bed and get cleaned up so he could run home and change into fresh clothes before he was due at the office.

He yawned again and grudgingly started the process of untangling himself from the covers. A short while later, he made his way out of the bedroom just in time to see Remy emerging from the bathroom, toweling her hair dry.

"Mornin'..." he said, grinning widely, "Leave me any hot water?"

Remy rolled her eyes. "There's _plenty_..." she replied with a slight smile.

"Wanna come check? Just to make sure?"

"I've already _had_ a shower, Reno..." the senior Turk answered, shaking her head. The redhead shrugged.

"Just thought I'd offer..." he smirked, "Ya know... in case ya somehow _didn't_ get enough of me last night."

"Go," she ordered, pointing to the bathroom door. He flashed her another grin and did as he was told... feeling her eyes still hungrily roving over him for the entirety of the short walk.

* * *

Remy breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. It was tempting. So _very_ tempting. Last night had been... quite possibly the most incredible night she'd ever had with the redhead. The thought of it being the last time was heartbreaking. So much so that she'd almost given in and accepted the offer to join him in the shower.

But it only would have postponed the inevitable. She'd made up her mind, and she wasn't going to back out simply because her body still craved his touch after a long night of lovemaking. Remy sighed and cinched her robe tighter before making her way into the kitchen and turning on the coffeemaker. She had to do this now. If she didn't, she was all but certain she'd talk herself out of it, and then she'd have to start all over again.

It was several nerve-wracking minutes before Reno emerged, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel.

"Just gonna grab my clothes 'n head out..." he called over his shoulder, before poking his head back out of the room, eyeing the coffee pot from across the room, "Uh... Unless ya maybe made enough for me, too?"

Remy wordlessly retrieved a second mug from the cabinet and filled it, setting it on the table for him, and taking a seat.

"You're awesome, Remy... Be right back," he grinned. Remy closed her eyes and bit back a groan. _Why_ did he have to be so adorably sweet? She took a steadying breath, and waited. And then got to her feet, again.

Sugar. He liked sugar. Remy hurriedly snatched the little jar of it from the counter, and set it on the table next to his mug, along with a spoon. She resumed her seat, staring down into her own coffee, and remained like that until he finally strolled out of her bedroom, dressed in yesterday's clothes, his hair still damp and loose from its usual ponytail.

Why in Leviathan's name was she so nervous about this? They had, from the start, mutually agreed that this wasn't a relationship. No expectations. No commitments. If she wanted to break it off, she was perfectly within her rights to do so any time she wanted to. She wanted to believe it was because she didn't want to hurt him... but ultimately, she was forced to admit that it was because _she'd_ be hurt if he wasn't.

He meant something to her. That was the whole reason for ending things with the redhead. But, she couldn't help but think that it would sting if it turned out that she meant nothing to _him_ after all this time. And she felt incredibly selfish for thinking that way, particularly since it would be better for them both if her burgeoning feelings weren't reciprocated.

Reno laughed softly to himself as he dumped a distinctly unhealthy amount of sugar into his coffee, and happily took a long sip of the overly-sweetened beverage.

"Heh... After last night, I got a feelin' I'm gonna need a lot moreof this if I'm gonna be good for much of anything today," he snickered, teasingly.

Remy exhaled, and slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

"Reno... we need to talk."

The younger Turk paused, blinking in surprise at the serious note in her voice.

"Uh oh..." he replied, frowning slightly, "What'd I do?"

* * *

Tseng set the helicopter down neatly on top of the Shinra Building. It was still early... but his tasks in Junon were long since done, and Viridia, along with a rather large number of her subordinates, had shipped out just over an hour ago, en route to Gongaga. They'd be dealing with the clean up of the destroyed reactor and the town... and investigating further into the explosion itself, now that Shinra knew it was no accident. She'd very kindly offered him her quarters for a couple more hours... but with her leaving and his own tasks already done, there was little reason to linger in Junon. He'd opted to return home... even if it _was_ a bit early to be walking into the office.

As he stepped aboard the elevator, he suddenly realized that he was rather intensely looking forward to today. After all, it wasn't _every_ day he had the opportunity to tell a rookie he was being promoted. That, combined with a lovely evening spent with Viridia, the excitement of the upcoming arrival of three _new_ rookies, as well as Reno's recent and long-awaited return, had placed him in an undeniably pleasant mood. It was shaping up to be a good week.

The elevator slowed to a halt and chimed on the sixty-sixth floor, and Tseng briefly cursed himself for getting too complacent. The executive offices. He sighed, hoping that Heidegger hadn't suddenly decided to arrive early, as well. If anything could ruin his almost chipper outlook on the morning, it would be the General Affairs Department head. As the doors slid open, however, the Turk lieutenant breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tseng," Rufus greeted him, a note of surprise in his voice. " _You're_ rather early this morning. Even by _your_ standards..."

"I'm just back from Junon, sir. I would have _preferred_ to stop at home first, before coming into the office... but I'm afraid my neighborhood is notably lacking in helipads. Parking would have been... difficult."

Rufus cocked an eyebrow at the joke. "And in an unusually good mood, as well, I see..." he commented.

The Turk chuckled softly, smiling.

"One of my rookie Turks is being promoted today. I'm very much looking forward to telling him." He paused for a moment, eyeing the vice president curiously. "But just what brings _you_ in so early?"

Rufus sighed and pressed the button for nineteen.

"I'm _not_ in early. I never left last night. It's this Ramuh-forsaken PR mess with the Gongaga reactor. _Someone_ leaked details of the theft to the public yesterday. I've been fielding calls from the accursed press for hours, in between attempting to get some idea of our liability here from Legal. Scarlet and that damned project of hers may have opened us up to a rather _hefty_ negligence lawsuit, all because she didn't think conducting _weapons research_ in a reactor might require a few more precautions than one of her purpose-built labs." He shook his head and shifted the stack of folders he was holding to his other arm. "Incidentally... we'll likely be sending a legal representative to Gongaga shortly. They'll require security. I doubt the remaining residents will be particularly happy to see us. They're _already_ threatening to refuse us further access to the reactor site."

"On what grounds?" Tseng asked, making a mental note to mention the escort request to Veld as soon as he arrived.

"Shinra Company doesn't actually own the land. Only the facility... and, as the facility is more or less _gone_ , legally, we're rather limited in our rights."

"Shinra doesn't own the land they built the reactor on?" the Turk lieutenant repeated, shocked. Rufus snorted in irritated laughter.

"It was Father's first reactor project. Mistakes were made," he replied, dryly, "Unfortunately, they're coming back to bite us. We _may_ not be allowed to rebuild... and while we could certainly take the land by force, I think the Company has had _enough_ negative publicity of late. Father agrees. The Gongaga reactor will likely end up being a total loss."

"That's unfortunate," Tseng frowned.

"Very," Rufus agreed.

The elevator arrived at the fifty-eighth floor, and Tseng stepped out into headquarters, allowing Rufus to continue on, down to the legal department.

"Should you need to take a short break from everything later... I doubt anyone would come looking for you in my office," Tseng said before the doors slid shut again.

"I might very well take you up on the offer," Rufus responded as they closed.

* * *

"You didn't do _anything_ ," Remy said, shaking her head.

"... Then why are you lookin' at me like you're about to say somethin' I'm not gonna like hearin'?" the redhead asked, cautiously, his coffee utterly forgotten for the moment. In the back of his mind, he was already going through the possibilities. She didn't seem... _angry_. She looked more worried than anything else, honestly.

His eyes widened slightly as the most obvious one occurred to him, and he swallowed sharply.

"Uhhh... you're not... ya know... like... pregnant. Right?" he asked, nervously. He was _always_ careful about that. That last thing he wanted to do was get some poor girl knocked up. But... mistakes _did_ happen. It was always possible that he could've slipped up.

"W-what? No!" Remy hurriedly said, shaking her head vigorously in denial, "No! Nothing like that!"

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief and sank down in the chair.

"Fuck's _sake_ , Remy.." he groaned, "Don't scare a guy like that..." He ran a hand though his hair, silently willing his heart to stop pounding frantically in his chest. One thing he knew for certain... he was even _less_ cut out to be a father than he was to be a husband. The thought of accidentally ending up as one was nothing short of terrifying...

" _That's_ the first conclusion you jump to?" Remy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Tch... we've been sleepin' together for... how long now? Then suddenly ya hit me with a 'we have to talk'?" he defensively replied, "What the hell would _you_ be thinkin'?"

Remy rolled her eyes. "Well... I'm not," she stated, definitively, "But we _do_ need to talk." She paused for a moment, as though searching for the right words. Finally, she looked up at him. "I..." Remy sighed and dropped her gaze again. "I can't... do this anymore."

Reno blinked in surprise. _That_ was certainly the last thing he'd expected her to say.

"So... you're dumpin' me?" he asked... somewhat teasingly, since this whole arrangement had been made on the basis of it not _actually_ being anything more than a convenient fuck. A flicker of sadness flashed though Remy's eyes, and he quickly realized that _that_ was not the right response. "Remy... come on. What's goin' on? I mean... if you don't wanna hook up anymore, I'm okay with that... but... I'd kinda like to know _why_. Sure seemed like you were enjoyin' yourself last night. And if I did somethin' wrong –"

"You _didn't_ do anything wrong," Remy repeated, "That's... kind of the problem."

The redhead stared back at her in utter confusion. "... Okay. I'm lost."

She cast him a pained look and shifted her gaze down at her hands, which were folded in front of her on the table.

"Reno... you've been nothing but sweet and caring and attentive the entire time we've been... whatever it is we are. I've... honestly never had a lover like you, and you're right. I've enjoyed every moment of it."

"So why mess with a good thing?" he asked, still thoroughly mystified. She looked up at him again, and he could see the resolve in her expression now.

"Because it's _too_ good." Remy pushed her chair back and got to her feet, slowly pacing her apartment's little dining area. "I told you from the start... I was only looking for a physical relationship."

"I'm not _askin'_ ya for anything more than that..." Reno replied, shaking his head, still not understanding.

"I _know_. The problem is... it's not just physical for _me_ anymore."

The younger Turk sat for a moment in stunned silence at the admission. Sure... Remy'd really started showing him a side of herself he hadn't been acquainted with prior to the whole friends with benefits thing, but he hadn't realized...

Remy finally stopped pacing and resumed her seat at the table. "Our lives are inherently dangerous," she said, "Either one of us could just... end up not coming home one day. You almost _didn't_ come home, not that long ago. I can't... I _won't_ let myself fall in love with a fellow Turk. Because I've seen what can happen to the person left behind. And I know it's _completely_ selfish and self-serving on my part, but I won't risk subjecting myself to that kind of pain."

"Y-you're... in love with me?" Reno stammered, and Remy smiled faintly.

"No. I _do_ love you... but as a friend and as a fellow Turk and as a part of my family..." she replied, and then gave him a somewhat sad look. "But... I can see it going farther than that all too easily if this continues. That's not what I want... and I know it's not what _you_ want, either."

"So... last night was, what? One last fling for old times' sake?" he asked.

"Something like that," she admitted, "I'm sorry, Reno."

"Nothin' to be sorry _for_ ," he said with a slight grin, "Told ya... no strings attached. It was fun while it lasted. Heh... I _am_ gonna miss this, though. You're fuckin' amazing, Remy."

"You're... not so bad yourself," she replied, with a faintly amused half smile.

He suddenly frowned and glanced over at her. "Look... I kinda figured this probably wasn't gonna be a long-term thing, anyway, but... it's not gonna be weird between us now, is it? 'Cause I mean... I'm fine with you not wantin' to shack up with me anymore, but I'd be _seriously_ upset if it fucked up us bein' friends. 'Cause... ya know... you matter to me."

Remy shook her head. "I would never want things to be awkward just because we're not... doing _this_ anymore. No one knows about our little arrangement, so no one will be asking uncomfortable questions. We'll... just go back to the way things were before."

"Can we maybe still hang out sometimes?" Reno queried, uncertainly, "Without the sex, of course. I _do_ like doin' _other_ stuff with you, ya know..."

Remy looked away for a moment, and the redhead felt his stomach sink. _That_ was never a promising response.

"I... don't think that would be a good idea. Not right now, anyway," Remy softly replied.

And there it was. He was losing a friend over this. His devastation must have shown on his face, because Remy stood up and walked around the table to him, one hand gently cupping his cheek.

"I just... need some distance for awhile. Not forever. Just... until you're not so much of a temptation anymore."

Reno dropped his gaze, and focused his attention on his half-finished cup of coffee. He really didn't know what to say to that. On one hand, Remy wasn't _completely_ writing him off... but "until he wasn't so much of a temptation" was awfully subjective. When the hell would _that_ be? A couple weeks? A month? Significantly longer? He swallowed sharply against the annoyingly persistent lump in his throat.

"Reno... I'm so sorry. I didn't _want_ to hurt you. Especially not like this. But there's just no other way," she said, quietly.

"I should probably go," the redhead replied, hurriedly getting to his feet. He was peripherally aware of the senior Turk calling something after him, but ignored it in favor of a hasty retreat.

* * *

The announcement of Sykes' promotion that morning had been met with shocked disbelief from the former rookie and excited congratulations from everyone else.

By mid-afternoon, the the entire team was was in the mood for a party. Well... mostly. For Reno, his enthusiasm had somewhat been tempered by the memory of his conversation with Remy earlier that morning. He really _did_ like her. Maybe more than he'd realized, in fact. The reality of her ending things with him had hurt, particularly since she'd been so insistent that it was nothing that _he_ had done that had caused it.

The worst part of it, though, was the fact that she didn't even want to be around him outside of work for awhile. He was disappointed about losing a lover... but losing a _friend_ – even if only temporarily – was so much worse. But... it didn't look like there was a whole hell of a lot he could do about it.

Following Tseng's announcement, Reno had made one of his own... telling everyone to head straight over to the Turk lieutenant's apartment immediately after work to celebrate their newly minted Turk.

Presently, he and Rude were sacrificing their lunch break to do a little shopping for said celebration.

"So... I was thinkin' burgers," the redhead offered as they made their way towards the meat section at the back of the grocery store, "I'll even help out on the grill."

Rude eyed him incredulously.

"We're supposed to be celebrating a promotion. Not trying to put the whole team in the hospital with food poisoning," he joked. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Come _on_ , Rude. When are you finally gonna let that go?" he sighed.

"When the nightmares finally stop," he shot back, grinning teasingly, which, Reno suspected, was meant to draw a laugh. Unfortunately, he just wasn't in the mood. Rude frowned and paused in his bid for the meats.

"... Okay. What's up with you today?" he demanded, "You've been in a weird mood all morning."

The redhead mentally cringed. He hadn't realized he'd been _that_ obvious. He'd just had a lot on his mind.

"It's... nothin'," he replied with a shake of his head, and attempted to resume his earlier course... only to be pointedly blocked by Rude and the shopping cart.

"Uh huh..." the older Turk replied, folding his arms over his chest and staring him down through dark lenses. Reno rolled his eyes. He knew that look all too well. It was the one that usually preceded an unplanned trip to the company pool.

"Don't even think about it..." he warned.

"Too late. And you know I'll do a lot more than just think about it. Spill."

"Tch... _Fine_. I got dumped, okay?" he muttered, annoyed. Rude raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Since when were you even seeing someone?" he asked, slightly shocked.

"... I... wasn't. I mean... I _was_. Kinda." He groaned and ran scrubbed his hands over his face. Finally, he sighed in frustration. "Ugh... Hang on, lemme just start at the beginning."

Rude cocked his head to one side, but said nothing, waiting for the redhead to continue. Reno, meanwhile, was mentally editing his story to exclude any details that might lead back to Remy.

"So... me 'n this chick have been hookin' up for awhile now. Ya know... totally casual. Just in it for the sex. Thing is... she was gettin' to be a pretty good friend, _too_. I mean, we were _already_ friends before all that, but we were gettin' to be _better_ friends after we started sleepin' together. Then this mornin' she tells me that we're done 'cause she's gettin' a little _too_ into me... which I'm fine with, 'cause it was never s'posed to be about anything more than the occasional fuck, but _then_ she tells me that she doesn't wanna even hang out as friends for awhile 'cause I'm apparently too much of a temptation for her." He sighed and shook his head. "I'm okay with not gettin' laid... but, it's kinda lookin' like I mighta fucked up a pretty cool friendship all 'cause I was thinkin' with my dick instead of my brain."

"... Ouch," Rude breathed.

"Yeah."

Both Turks were silent for several moments, standing in, what Reno belatedly realized was the condiment aisle.

"I think you're right. Burgers _do_ sound pretty good," Rude suddenly said, grabbing a jar of pickles and setting it in the cart. Reno smiled gratefully at the purposefully abrupt change in subject.

"Okay... Burgers it is, then" the redhead quickly acknowledged, as they continued on, "And I'll run the grill."

Rude stopped short a second time in the middle of the aisle. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come on... Why not?"

"Remind me... which of us set a kitchen on fire making pancakes?"

"Okay, okay," Reno with a soft laugh, "Ya don't have to bring _that_ up. Again."

The bald Turk flashed him a smile and placed an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in tight against his side for a moment. "If you promise to stay away from anything that might burst into flames, _maybe_ I'll let you make the salad."

Reno snorted softly and elbowed his way behind the cart, taking over pushing it while his friend started piling things into it. It wasn't long before their shopping cart was fully loaded with everything from ground beef to scallions.

And it _also_ wasn't long before the redhead was feeling a little less depressed over the whole Remy thing. For the moment, anyway. Rude _always_ seemed to know how to cheer him up.

Reno made a quick detour while Rude was debating whether he'd have time to bake fresh rolls or not, and returned shortly with two cases of beer.

"Not bartending tonight?" Rude asked.

"Eh... I _would_... but Tseng told me to take it easy on the booze since we all gotta show up at work in the mornin'. 'Sides... Sykes doesn't usually go for the hard stuff anyway, 'n it's _his_ party. We done here?"

Rude nodded. "Think so. We should have everything I need. I'm doing stuffed burgers, Caesar salad, and grilled summer squash... and I'm making banana cream pie for dessert."

" _Stuffed_ burgers?" Reno parroted, curious, "Stuffed with _what_ , exactly?"

"Two options to pick from. Wild mushrooms and blue cheese, or cheddar and bacon," he replied with a grin. The redhead laughed.

"You really don't do _simple_ meals, do ya, pal? Lemme guess. You're makin' your own hamburger buns, too..." he snickered.

Rude shrugged. "It's not really all that _hard_ , you know. Just takes a little more time. And, more importantly, it's worth it." He laughed softly, himself, "But no... I decided against making fresh rolls. I'd need to start almost an hour earlier to pull _that_ off and still be able to serve on time. Come on... let's get this paid for."

* * *

Liam poked at the suspiciously grayish meat on his plate. It was allegedly a pork cutlet... but beneath the soggy breading, it looked like anything _but_ actual pork.

"I'm not eating this..." he finally said, shaking his head.

"I _told_ you to get the soup instead," Sykes snickered, "It's just as awful, but at least it doesn't look like it's been sitting the the back of the freezer for six years."

Petra giggled softly. "You two need to start bringing lunch from home, like I do," she opined, "Just because the cafeteria is free for employees doesn't mean your saving anything by eating here. Especially if it hops off the plate and kills you... which... _that_ thing just might."

Liam snorted in laughter and nudged his plate away from him. And then thought better of it and pointedly stabbed his fork though the center of the cutlet... just in case it got any ideas.

"Well, at least _dinner's_ going to be good. I heard Rude talking to Reno before we came downstairs. He's going to cook for us tonight. They're out shopping right now," said Sykes.

"Oh, I _love_ Rude's cooking!" Petra exclaimed, "I wonder what we're having?"

"Whatever it is, I hope there's dessert," Liam said, grinning, "Rude makes the _best_ desserts."

The others murmured in agreement and the conversation trailed off briefly as they continued their lunch. Liam was the first to pipe up again.

"So... you're going to tell us what they do at the afternoon briefing... right Sykes?" he teasingly asked. It had been an ongoing joke between the three of them for some time now, wondering just what it was that the senior Turks got up to when they weren't around. Now, one of them was finally in a position to find out for sure.

"Heh... if you're expectin' him to give ya all the gory details 'bout our secret afternoon orgies, you're gonna be sorely disappointed. We're swearin' him to secrecy..." a familiar voice joked, and the trio turned their attention on the Turk currently making their way towards the table. Reno grinned and dropped into the seat across from Petra. Liam choked on the sip of milk he'd just taken, trying to force down the mouthful... only to fail epically as, instead, it shot out of his nose, spraying halfway across the table.

"Ew!" Petra groaned. Sykes and the redhead, meanwhile, both cracked up.

"Ugh..." Liam moaned, groping for a napkin, "Seriously... Why _me_?"

"Oh, man..." Reno snickered, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "That was fuckin' classic..."

"I thought you were shopping for the party, sir," Petra commented, doing her best to ignore the pool of milk. Reno shrugged.

"Shopping's done. Rude's takin' care of gettin' it over to Tseng's place, 'n I headed back here so I wouldn't be late meetin' you two rookies for sparring practice. _And_ 'cause I haven't had lunch yet," he replied, and then turned his gaze on Liam's abandoned plate, "You gonna eat that?"

"All yours, sir..." he replied. The senior Turk grinned and grabbed the fork that was sticking out of the top of the cutlet, bringing the mystery meat to his mouth and biting off a large chunk of it.

"So how's it feel, Sykes?" Reno asked, glancing over at the freshly-promoted Turk.

"Good," he replied, grinning back at him, "Kind of... completely terrifying, but good."

"Yeah, that sounds about right..." the redhead sniggered, taking another bite.

"What was it like for you when _you_ were promoted, sir?" Petra asked.

"Me? Heh... it was straight up stunned disbelief when the Boss told me I wasn't a rookie anymore. Actually got promoted same time Rude did. It was right before the war ended." He suddenly laughed. "Hell, I was so shocked... I _almost_ don't remember any of what Tseng even said to me. Just... that he was proud of me. The promotion was cool 'n all, but... hearin' _that_ was best feelin' in the world."

Sykes grinned back at him. "Bet _your_ party was pretty epic..."

Reno shook his head. "Nah... I didn't have a party. Boss took me out to dinner at the Silver Swan, though."

"W-wait... you didn't get a party to celebrate your promotion?" Liam stammered.

"He voluntarily _declined_ a party," Tseng's voice interrupted, joining the small gathering seemingly from nowhere, and circling around behind his protege. He rested a hand on the younger Turk's shoulder. "He said it should be Rude's day and he didn't want to make him share the spotlight. He wouldn't even allow me to _tell_ anyone until the following week, and by then we had our hands rather full with the war ending. There was simply no _time_ for a second celebration."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Come on, Boss... quit makin' it sound like it was some kinda big deal. I just wanted Rude to get the attention he deserved."

Tseng snorted softly. "And yet you _still_ occasionally wonder why I take such pride you..." he commented, before turning his attention on the pair of rookies. "I'll be joining you for your afternoon training. Sykes, I realize _you_ were scheduled to accompany Remy for the afternoon, but there's a last minute courier run to Fort Condor I need you to handle. If you've finished your lunch, I can fill you in on the details."

"Yes, sir," Sykes replied, getting to his feet. Tseng nodded, and escorted him off, heading, Liam presumed, back to headquarters. Reno grinned as they left.

"So... which one of you wants to be paired with _me_ , 'n which one's stuck gettin' their ass handed to 'em by Tseng?" he jokingly asked. Liam glanced over at Petra.

"Dibs on Reno..." he quickly said, and at his fellow Turk's curious expression, he shrugged. "What? He's still on medical restriction. I _might_ actually have a shot at taking him down for once."

"Heh... ya think _so_ ,huh, rookie?" the senior Turk replied with a smirk.

* * *

Liam... did _not_ have a shot at taking Reno down.

And Petra had been only too happy to remind him of that, repeatedly, during the ride over to Tseng's apartment after work. He took the gentle ribbing in stride... after all, he'd kind of deserved it. Medical restriction or not, Reno hadn't pulled any punches, and their sparring match had ended with the rookie face down on the floor, his cheek pressed firmly into the practice mats, while the redhead held him in place with a knee in his back until he cried uncle.

The trio weren't the first to arrive at the party. The two rookies, and the _former_ rookie, were greeted at the door by the aforementioned redhead, whose eyes immediately zeroed in on Liam, fixing him with a teasingly smug grin before stepping back and granting them access.

"Mushrooms 'n blue cheese or cheddar 'n bacon?" he asked, as they made their way inside.

"For... what?" Liam asked.

"On your burgers. Or... _in_ your burgers, actually. Rude's doin' fancy ones. And how many do ya want? I'm havin' one of each, personally. And probably whatever's leftover later."

"Mushrooms. Just one," Petra replied, giggling at the redhead's jubilant mood.

"Bacon, _definitely_. Two of them, please," Sykes said, "I'm _starved_."

"They _both_ sound good... One of each for me," Liam added.

"Hey, Rude! Two more mushroom 'n three more bacon!" Reno called over his shoulder towards the kitchen.

"Got it," the reply came from the other room.

"Heh... come on in 'n make yourselves comfy," the senior Turk said, ushering them into the living room. "Kai 'n Remy are out on the back patio 'n Tseng's... around here _somewhere_. Now that you guys are here, we're just waitin' on Veld."

As if on cue, Tseng emerged from the kitchen, beers in hand. "As it would seem you've already had your orders taken, may I offer you a drink?" he chuckled, holding the bottles out to them.

"Thank you, sir," Sykes, replied, grinning happily.

"Could... I just have a glass of water, please?" Liam somewhat hesitantly queried, triggering hastily covered laughter from his friends... and not so hastily covered laughter from Reno and Tseng.

"Well... 'least the kid learned his lesson..." the redhead snickered, turning to his mentor.

* * *

Reno leaned casually against the door frame that led to the kitchen, watching the trio as they happily congratulated Sykes on his promotion – yet _again_ – and offered of a toast. The three of them reminded him a little of they way he and Rude and Cissnei had been together... and he hoped that _they_ would never have to deal with the loss of one of their little circle the way he and Rude had.

But that was a threat that would _always_ loom over them. Some days, it was easier to ignore than others. Today, for Reno at least, it was next to impossible to avoid thinking about how much his life had changed in such a relatively short span of time. One rookie was already moving up in rank, and Petra wouldn't be _that_ far behind. _He'd_ found out that Tseng wanted to train him as his successor. And then there was Remy, who had rather abruptly reminded him how easy it was for a friendship to be forever altered. In her case, all he could really do was sit back and let her sort things out for herself in her own time... and _hope_ that eventually he got back what he'd lost. And all of _that_ had happened just this week!

"Hey," Rude prodded from the kitchen, interrupting his quiet self-reflection, "You're supposed to be making that salad."

Reno snickered and pulled his gaze away from the trio, drifting back over to the counter.

"Still thinking about your friend?" Rude asked.

"Yeah, kinda... but I'll be fine," he said with a shrug, "Shit happens, right? Sucks, but... I'll get over it."

Rude nodded and headed back outside to tend to the grill, and the redhead wandered over to the counter where the various ingredients for the salad had been laid out for him.

He _would_ get over it. Eventually. But for right now, he was okay with feeling a little sorry for himself over what had happened with Remy.

~end chapter 57~


	58. Final Evaluation

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 58: Final Evaluation**

 **by Desha**

"Reno?"

"Mmph... go'way," the redhead muttered. There was no way in _hell_ it was time to get up yet. He felt like he'd just fallen sleep. He heard a quiet chuckle from somewhere near the foot of his bed, and without warning, his blanket was suddenly whisked away, exposing him to the painfully bright light of the overhead lamp.

"This seems somehow familiar..." Tseng snickered, folding the blanket over one arm and smirking at the younger Turk. Reno groaned and sat up in bed.

"Ugh... Tell me about it," he groused, and glanced over at the window on the far side of the room. It was no longer dark outside, but the sun was still in the process of waking up itself. "Still gettin' up at the fuckin' ass-crack of dawn, huh, Boss?

"Our new recruits will be up just as early to catch their flight to Junon. I thought it only fair we do the same in solidarity," he replied, and then smiled. "But yes, as it happens, I _do_ still make a habit of getting up at the 'ass-crack of dawn'. Come on. Breakfast is ready."

Reno stretched and dragged himself to his feet. It had been a somewhat last minute decision to spend the night at Tseng's place, but he was glad he'd done so. Like his mentor had said... the new recruits were leaving early. Hell, they were probably already on their way by now. And since he and Tseng would be traveling together anyway – they'd be catching a supply transport, along with Veld, departing from Sector 8 in a short while – it had just made sense to stick around after the party... instead of going home, only to have the senior Turk have to drive across town to pick him up six hours later.

Tseng tossed him his clothes... which, he noted, were still warm from the dryer.

"Tch... ya did my laundry, too?" he snickered.

"It seemed preferable to you showing up to the evaluations in the same uniform from yesterday. You know how I detest wrinkles..." his mentor teased, before withdrawing from the room to let him dress.

"You _do_ know it's _still_ the same uniform... right, Boss?" he called after him, "Unless I've somehow been _seriously_ misunderstandin' how washing machines work all these years..."

The only response he received was a snort of laughter from the hallway. The redhead hurried into his newly clean clothes, and made his way out to the kitchen... and couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight that greeted him.

Oatmeal. Toast. Fruit. Tea.

Getting Tseng to vary his morning routine would have been like pulling teeth. From a surly nibelwolf. His mentor was already happily eating while scanning the headlines in the morning paper. A virtually identical spread sat waiting for Reno, the only aberration being the cup of coffee and bowl of sugar in place of the tea. The redhead smiled slightly and took a seat, immediately reaching for said sugar and applying it liberally to the coffee.

He still kind of missed this sometimes. Breakfast with Tseng was familiar and comforting in a way that he couldn't quite put into words. It was an old routine that he'd long since left by the wayside when he'd moved out of his mentor's guest room, but he fell back into it so easily on the rare occasions he ended up here in the early morning that, in some ways, it was like he'd never left at all.

"So what are these evals gonna be like, anyway?" he asked, dousing his toast in blackberry preserves and taking a bite.

"Similar to what we observed at the recruit training facility... with a few extra surprises thrown in for good measure. There will be a course they'll need to run. It will consist of physical obstacles as well as... a few more more subtle challenges," Tseng said with a knowing smile.

"So why not just do it here in Midgar, then? Why haul everybody clear over to Junon for an obstacle course?" Reno queried, furrowing his brow.

"To keep them on their toes. They're _used_ to doing this sort of thing here in Midgar. Throwing them into an unfamiliar environment lets us see how quickly they can adapt. None of them were actually _told_ where they were being taken this morning. They were merely given a time and place to report, and found themselves on a helicopter."

Reno grinned and took a sip of his coffee. "Ya know... I always _knew_ you were a sadist at heart, Tseng," he teased. Tseng chuckled, but didn't bother disagreeing. "I s'pose you're not gonna tell me about any of these 'surprises' ahead of time, either?"

"Of course not. What would be the fun in that?" his mentor responded, not looking up from the paper... though Reno caught the hint of a smirk on his lips. The younger Turk shook his head.

"Man... it's hard to believe we're gonna have _three_ newbies on the team... I don't know how I'm gonna keep up!" he jokingly mused. Tseng gave a soft snort of a laugh and raised his eyes to meet the redhead's.

"Somehow I very seriously doubt _you_ ,of all people, will have any great difficulty with that. Inherent hatred of mornings aside, you always seem to have energy to spare. It was all _I_ could do to keep up with _you_ as a rookie, at times. Particularly if someone made the mistake of feeding you sugar without my knowledge."

"Oh... so _that's_ why donuts were special occasion only breakfasts while I was livin' with you..." Reno snickered. "And here I just thought you didn't want me gettin' fat..."

"Hmph... Yet _another_ problem I suspect will never be an issue for you..." Tseng returned. He folded the paper and set it aside before picking up his tea and calmly taking a sip. "Meanwhile, _I_ will be working off that extra slice of banana cream pie I was coerced into enjoying last night for the rest of the week."

"Ah, come on, Boss... Admit it. Rude's desserts are worth a few extra laps around the track."

"Just finish your breakfast. We're leaving in fifteen minutes," the Turk lieutenant ordered with a slight roll of his eyes. Reno was only too happy to comply.

* * *

The redhead inhaled deeply as he stepped out onto the tarmac in Junon, and was met with the surprisingly not entirely disagreeable scent of the ocean, jet fuel, and diesel exhaust – though its appeal may have been simply been due to the fact that it was the first time he'd been out of the city since his convalescence.

"Oh, great. _You're_ back. Now I have to double security on the female barracks..." a familiar voice greeted him, and the redhead turned just in time to see an equally familiar figure striding towards him. She paused in front of him, resting her hands on her hips and gave him a brief once over, before switching to a warmer, more friendly tone. "It's good to see you back on your feet again, Reno."

"Viridia?" Tseng queried in obvious confusion, as he, too, exited their transport. The security officer smiled and shook her head.

"We got halfway to Gongaga yesterday and Command ordered us to turn around. Something about a land dispute."

"Ah," Tseng said with a nod, "I see. Rufus _did_ mention some legal issues regarding the site after I returned to Midgar. Apparently, the company only has usage rights to the area, not ownership. It would appear he was unable to reach a compromise..."

"Bet the execs are just thrilled about _that_ ," the younger Turk commented.

"Do us _all_ a favor, and don't mention the the members of the Board today," Veld groused as he followed his own protege out onto the tarmac. "I'd prefer not to think about just how much time I've wasted this week listening to Heidegger rant about what an abject failure the Turks are for not preventing the theft. Of a weapon we were unaware even existed and were told nothing _about_."

"Heh... _so_... about those evaluations..." the redhead obligingly changed the subject.

"This way," Tseng chuckled, leading the group off towards a far corner of the base. As they walked, he and Veld quickly became engrossed in their own discussion of the matter at hand, and Viridia dropped back to fall into step beside Reno.

"Feeling better?" she asked, with a warm smile.

"Now that I'm not stuck in bed anymore? A _million_ times better."

Viridia laughed softly. "Tseng _said_ you were starting to climb the walls after being sidelined so long."

"If I never gotta go through _that_ again, it'll be too soon..." the redhead agreed with a derisive snort.

"I think your poor mentor would agree. He was worried sick about you for awhile there. Anyway... I'm glad you're okay. Tseng told me it was the Zenshou that were responsible for your injuries. And that they wanted the Highwind?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah... 'n Rufus walked his ass right into the middle of 'em tryin' to steal it," he said, rolling his eyes,"So naturally _I_ was the one who got stuck havin' to save said ass..."

Viridia snickered quietly, shaking her head. "You should be proud of that. Not many people would have the courage to jump in front of a bullet for someone. Especially someone who openly can't stand them."

"Aw, Rufus doesn't _really_ hate me," the redhead replied, and then grinned, "'Least not until I start gettin' on his nerves. _Then_ , all bets are off."

The Junon security officer raised a disbelieving eyebrow in response. "He _regularly_ refers to you as 'the Slum Rat'. Or at least he has every time _I've_ seen you in his company. In fact, I don't think I've ever _once_ heard him use your actual name."

"Tch... yeah, and I call him the Brat most of the time. And not _just_ behind his back," Reno said, sniggering, "Look... we're not exactly what you'd call _friends_ , 'n yeah, we get into it sometimes. But... Rufus isn't _all_ bad. I actually _like_ the little shit, weird as it sounds."

Viridia laughed. "You're a real glutton for punishment, aren't you?"

The redhead replied with a wide grin, but any further response had to be put on hold as the group arrived in front of a large hanger. Off-Limits signs had been placed at intervals around the perimeter of the building, and the windows embedded in the overhead doors had been blacked out.

"This an obstacle course or an interrogation unit?" Reno jokingly asked, as Tseng and Veld came to a halt in front of the smaller side door.

"A bit of both, actually," the Turk leader responded. "We've been keeping our finalists waiting in here for quite some time now, to keep them on edge. It's going to be a very challenging morning for them. Mentally _and_ physically."

Reno blinked in surprise. No one had ever told him that final evals were so hard... though he'd never really asked much about the whole recruitment process until recently. He'd gotten a basic run-down from Luca a very long time ago... but then had just pushed it to the back of his mind, and was more than a little shocked to find out that it was this intense.

And he had to admit, if only to himself... that he wasn't sure _he_ would've made the cut. He was who he was today largely because Tseng had come along and guided him and nurtured him every step of the way. Without that... would he still have had what it took to be a Turk?

Veld ushered them inside, and Reno's surprise was compounded when Viridia accompanied them. He glanced back at her.

"Thinking 'about joinin' up or somethin'?" he teased. The security officer chuckled.

"Oh, no... as much as Veld would love to finally succeed in recruiting me, I'm just here as a representative of base security."

"Hmph... _and_ because she enjoys watching us torment our new rookies," Tseng interjected, a somewhat playful note in his voice. Viridia flashed him a smile before accompanying Veld up a narrow flight of stairs that led... well, Reno wasn't quite certain, as a series of metal panels had been erected along the entire width of the building, creating a small buffer zone between the entrance and the rest of the hanger. Tseng, too, turned to go up, only to be held up by his protege.

"Hey... Boss? Can I ask ya somethin'?"

Tseng paused in his bid for the stairs and cocked his head slightly to one side.

"Of course."

"... How come you didn't just... ya know... stick _me_ in the recruitment program back when you found me?"

"Because, frankly, you were ill-suited for it," he replied, and the redhead felt his stomach twist uncomfortably at the words. Tseng smiled slightly. "And by that, I _certainly_ don't mean anything against you. But you were very young, very stubborn, and very... shall we say... undisciplined? The program is excellent... but it simply can't always provide the individual attention someone like you would have needed. Putting you there would have been too great a risk. You _may_ have done exceptionally well. But you just as easily may have washed out. I knew that if I truly wanted you to succeed, I would have to take matters into my own hands. And I very _much_ wanted you to succeed."

"So in other words, you didn't think I'd be able to make the cut without someone holdin' my hand," Reno said with a somewhat bitter sigh. Not that he could blame him. _He_ was kind of thinking the same thing at the moment, after all. But Tseng shook his head.

"Reno... I never had any doubts as to your ability. The simple truth is that every Turk is different. Some learn best through intense study and rigid training. Others need a slightly more... understanding... instructor and thrive upon being thrown headlong into a situation and being expected to sink or swim. You're very much of the latter variety, and there's nothing wrong with that. I simply did what I felt was best for _you_ rather than attempting to force you into a mold you wouldn't fit," Tseng replied.

Reno dropped his gaze slightly and gave a faint laugh.

"Ya know, Boss... I'm _still_ not quite sure what it was you saw in me back then. But I'm never gonna stop bein' grateful that you saw it."

"I saw someone I was instinctively certain was destined to be one of us," the senior Turk said, "Now... let's not keep everyone waiting. Those recruits are likely getting rather anxious by now and I'd hate to be accused of sadism twice before lunchtime."

The redhead snorted in soft laughter and hurried after his mentor as he started up the stairs. At the top, he found himself on a platform that spanned the building from wall to wall, and then turned at each corner forming a path around the entire interior like a wide catwalk. The other three sides were open to the area below, but where he was now standing, a mostly-transparent screen had been suspended from the ceiling, the bottom edge anchored to the platform so that it masked their presence from the space beneath them.

"The screen and the lighting largely block us from view," Tseng said quietly, "At best, all they'll be able to see is our silhouettes. They _can_ ,however, hear us if we're loud enough, so I would advise keeping commentary at a fairly low volume. Sound tends to carry in here."

Reno nodded, and and followed him over to a small table that had been set up for them. It reminded him a lot of the little observation deck at the recruitment center... and that, he realized, was almost certainly on purpose. It was the same principle. Observe while minimizing distraction.

Beyond the screen was... well, to be honest, it looked a little like a giant maze. Fenced off paths, leading to an open space, leading to yet more fenced off paths, leading to the next open space. Some walls were solid and blocked the recruits view of the corridors ahead of them... others were just tall chainlink fencing that could be clearly seen through. Some were fully enclosed while others remained open at the top.

He looked a little closer and noticed that the odd little open spaces were far from empty, as well. Some contained doors – which he suspected were locked – while others held obstacles clearly designed to slow the recruits down.

Reno took a seat beside his mentor and noted that Veld had spread out the three recruits' personnel files in front of them. There were any number of notes that had been written in margins of the pages, and the redhead easily recognized Tseng's neat, fluid script, as well as the Turk leader's cramped and somewhat blocky printing among them.

"The object," Tseng explained to him, noting his scrutiny of the space, "is to simply find their way through. It's... _possible_... to complete the course individually, but far easier to do so as a group. Both approaches have their own merits. On one hand, we greatly value the ability to work and prevail with a team. On the other... there will inevitably times when a Turk has no other _choice_ but to rely exclusively on their own skills. We're not especially interested in who finishes first, but rather _how_ they go about it." He smirked slightly. "They, of course, were not explicitly told that. In fact, they were given no instructions at all, beyond 'reach the goal by whatever means necessary'."

"Heh... whatever means necessary, huh?" Reno mused, eyeing the course. He had a _few_ ideas on how _he'd_ do it already. Though to be fair, he had the distinct advantage of a bird's eye view. From the ground, the thing was probably a hell of a lot more intimidating.

"Anything goes, provided it doesn't injure another recruit," Tseng confirmed. " _Sato_ came rather dangerously close to violating that rule, as a matter of fact, though his solution was admittedly very effective... and resulted in a course record that has yet to be beaten."

"As well as muchmore _thorough_ contraband screening procedures for all Turk recruits coming onto base for evaluation purposes," Viridia added with a grimace.

Reno snickered loudly at the mention of the late Turk. It didn't take much effort to imagine how Sato would have gotten through to the goal.

"Well... are we ready?" Veld asked, glancing over at the rest of the group.

"Yes, sir, I believe we are," Tseng answered and Reno leaned forward in his seat, eager to see how this was going to play out. The Turk leader reached for a microphone in the center of the table.

"Recruits. Take your marks."

* * *

"Breathe... Breathe... _Breathe_..."

"You breathe any harder, you're gonna to pass out, kiddo," Victor snickered as his nervous compatriot paced by him yet again. She'd been walking their little waiting room in circles for at _least_ twenty minutes now, growing gradually more and more tense with each circuit. Zephyr paused and wrung her hands.

"I can't help it! I'm just so _nervous_! We've been here for _hours_..." she lamented.

"We've been here for an hour and fifty-two minutes," Ryuunosuke corrected her, from his position on the floor. He'd been sitting calmly in the corner for just as long as Zephyr had been pacing. "And what were you expecting? Of _course_ they're making us wait. The longer we wait, the more the tension of the situation affects us. The more the tension affects _us_ , the more it affects our performance. They're clearly interested in seeing how we react under pressure."

"Ah, lay off her, Ryu. She's got reason to be nervous. We _all_ do. Whether we're in or out is riding on this... whatever the hell _this_ ends up being."

He may have had reason to be... but Victor Reese was _not_ nervous. He didn't really _get_ nervous. Not after five years of handling explosives and munitions on board the Calypso, one of Shinra's airships. Not after the war. And _certainly_ not after over a year in the Turks' recruitment program.

"My _name_ is Ryuunosuke. Not Ryu."

"You're _name_ is five goddamned syllables long. Nobody's gonna actually call you that," Victor teased the younger man. Ryu merely rolled his eyes and went back to his quiet contemplation of their current situation.

In truth, he was well aware of that. Virtually no one outside of his immediate family ever bothered to use his full name. But it was the principle of the thing, for Leviathan's sake. They could at _least_ refrain from nicknaming him until he granted them leave to do so... and thus far he had _not_. They still had to _earn_ that privilege.

At the moment, however, it was inconsequential. He had more important things to focus on than social niceties. Specifically, reaching the goal... a task made that much more difficult by the fact that he had absolutely no idea where said goal was, or what lay between him and it. He suspected an obstacle course of some sort, naturally... but likely far more challenging than anything they'd faced thus far in training. Their instructions had been so minimal it was nearly laughable. "Reach the goal by any means necessary." The only stipulation was that their methods could not harm their comrades... which, frankly, gave them quite considerably more leeway than they _normally_ had during evaluations.

"How in the Nine _Hells_ can you guys be so _calm_?!" Zephyr squeaked, and Victor couldn't help but laugh softly. Her voice always seemed to get higher and higher the more worked up she got. Kid almost sounded like she was on helium at this point.

She still had no idea what she was even _doing_ here. How _she_ had somehow managed to eek out enough attention or goodwill to be granted access to a final evaluation. A real shot at making it into the Turks. If she screwed this up... there was no _way_ she'd ever get another. Hell, after the whole flooding the training center thing, she'd half expected to be out on her ass. Instead, she was in... Junon? She still wasn't quite sure where they'd been taken earlier that morning, but Victor had seemed absolutely _convinced_ it was Junon, and, she supposed, if any of them would recognize the place, it'd be him. He'd spent a good four years at the military installation before coming to Midgar to take his chances joining the Turks. So yeah... instead, she was in Junon, on the verge of hyperventilating because in the very near future she'd be demonstrating her abilities to the _head_ of the Turks... for a chance at becoming one herself.

"Ugggh... I _never_ should've eaten breakfast this morning..." Zephyr groaned as her stomach did a nervous flip. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and resumed her pacing. Movement helped to distract her when she was nervous... which made her something of a chronic fidget these days, because she had a _lot_ to be nervous about.

"And _I_ , apparently, should have brought earplugs to drown out the constant whining," Ryu said, growing vaguely annoyed by the youngest of their number's distress. Victor stood up slightly from his slouched position against the wall.

" _Seriously_ , man... Take it easy on the kid, will ya? She can't help it if she's a little freaked out. And I know this is just as big a deal to _you_ as it is to the rest of us." He smirked slightly. "Even if you _are_ too cool to actually admit it. We're all on the same team, here. Or at least we're _hoping_ to be."

Ryu glared and folded his arms across his chest, irritated at being called out, but finally sighed and shook his head. "You're right. I apologize, Zephyr."

Zephyr managed an awkward smile in response. "That's okay."

Victor settled back against the wall, satisfied that peace had been restored. The peace, however, wasn't to last.

"Recruits. Take your marks," a voice boomed over the intercom speaker in the corner, and Zephyr squealed in fright, eyes going wide as they locked onto the source.

"Sounds like we're on..." Victor commented, straightening up and heading for the door. Ryu and Zephyr quickly joined him.

* * *

The sharp shriek of terror that accompanied Veld's command was clearly audible from the Turks' vantage point.

"Sounds like Latchley's a little jumpy this mornin'..." Reno snickered.

"It's to be expected," Tseng replied, though the younger Turk distinctly saw a smile briefly flit across his lips.

" _Sadist_..." Viridia said in a loud whisper, apparently having noticed it, too. The redhead grinned and was about to remark on Tseng being accused of such twice now in spite of his efforts to avoid it... but his attention was redirected to the floor where, at the far end, a section of the wall was sliding out of the way, revealing the three recruits at the entrance to the maze.

For a moment they simply stood there – whether in confusion, devastation, or denial, Reno wasn't sure – but it didn't take them long to orient themselves. There was a brief, muted discussion between the three of them, and then Reese and Latchley headed off together down the left path, the first of several that had solid walls and provided no view outside of the immediate vicinity. Taiko, meanwhile, headed right, into a forest of chainlink fencing, and Reno could tell that much of his focus was on what lay ahead of him, farther down the path.

He grinned slightly and leaned forward for a better view. _That_ was going to cost him if he wasn't careful. By the looks of things, Tseng had laid a trap not too far along that particular route. And indeed, mere seconds later, Taiko walked right into it. A hidden snare tightened around his ankle and dragged him upwards, leaving him dangling upside down a few feet above the floor. The recruit erupted into a plethora of Wutaiian swear words that the redhead was, by now, at least _passingly_ familiar with.

"Should've been paying more attention," Veld commented, shaking his head.

"Heh... he _was_ , sir," Reno snickered, "Just... ya know... not to the right part of the course."

A moment later Latchley's head popped up, peering over one of the walls. Reno turned towards the sudden movement, and saw that Reese had hoisted his smaller comrade onto his shoulders, apparently in an effort to find out what was going on with their fellow recruit. Latchley wasted no time in spotting the trapped Taiko and pointing out his general direction to her partner.

"Hold on, Ryu! We're coming!" Latchley called out. Taiko, however had already pulled himself upright and was working on loosening the loop around his ankle.

"Ugh... No. I'm fine. Keep going... we have too much ground to cover to start backtracking already!" he shouted back.

"Ah... good. They seem to have resisted the temptation to compete against one another," said Veld, "It sounds like they've split up in an effort to more efficiently find the correct path."

"Hey, Boss? What would happen if they _did_ try 'n beat each other to the goal?" the redhead asked, curious. As far as he was aware, the final evaluation was mostly just a formality. They were _already_ in... unless something went _truly_ off the rails at the eval... so it wasn't like there was going to be a "winner" or anything. But since it wasn't a competition, _making_ it one kind of went against the spirit of the exercise.

"Then their initial training would be directed _heavily_ toward team-building," Tseng explained, "Our training covers a large number of areas by necessity... far too much to make each recruit an expert in any given area before they're promoted. The final evaluation, among other things, gives us a better grasp of the best starting point in that vast array of skills for a new Turk, just as Hell Week helps us locate weaknesses that need to be shorn up."

"Makes sense..." Reno said, turning his attention back to the action below. By then, Taiko had managed to release himself from the snare... but Reese and Latchley had disappeared from view. Tseng must have noticed him scanning the area, and gently nudged him, pointing toward a large corner sector that had been completely walled in, including panels covering the top.

Reno raised an eyebrow wondering just what was inside...

* * *

"... Something tells me that this was _bad_ idea," Zephyr said quietly. She had no idea why she was practically whispering. Maybe it was the growing darkness as they moved farther from the entry point to this weird little box. Or maybe it was because it felt like the walls were closing in with every step she took. Whatever it was, she didn't like it.

"Just keep going, kiddo," Victor replied, urging her forward. "If there's a way in, there's a way out. Just gotta find it."

It quickly became apparent, however, that the closeness of the walls _wasn't_ just her imagination... a realization that came to her with a loud _thwack_ and a sharp stab of pain in her scalp as she smacked her head against the ceiling.

"Ow!" she grunted, rubbing the minor injury, "Victor... are you sure about this? It's getting pretty tight. I mean... _I'm_ okay, but if this gets much smaller, I don't think you're going to fit!"

By then, the walls were _barely_ shoulder-width apart, and they'd taken several twists and turns. The whole thing was like a maze within a maze. One that was gradually shrinking. Their only light was what managed to seep through the cracks between the ceiling panels. Zephyr was having to feel her way along the path.

She stopped short, and Victor only _just_ managed to avoid bumping into her.

"Ugh... it splits off again," she groaned, "Left or straight?"

"Hmm..."

"Victor?"

"I'm thinking..." he replied. She wished he'd think a little faster. Small spaces had never been one of her favorite things. In fact, she kind of hated them.

"I _really_ don't like this..."

"Then let's get the hell out of here. You go left, I'll keep going straight. Like Ryu said at the start... we'll find the way faster if we split up."

"Great..." she breathed. Split up. Again. She have much rather stuck together. But Victor had a point. They could cover more ground if they separated, and the more ground they covered, the sooner they'd stumble across the right direction. She turned to her left and started down the narrow corridor.

"Hey, hang on..." Victor called out, and she jerked to a halt. A faint light suddenly flared from the direction of his voice, and when she looked back, Zephyr could see his face in the somewhat eerie glow of a tiny lightbulb. He grinned at her, holding up a keychain shaped like a tonberry. The light emanated from its lantern. "Won it at that little street fair awhile back. Thought it'd make a nice little good luck charm."

He left the light on and set it on the ground at intersection where they'd parted ways.

"This way, we know where we split up. One of us finds a way out, give a yell. All the other has to do is make their way back here and take the other path."

"Okay," Zephyr nodded, "Let's do this."

* * *

"They get lost in there or somethin'?" Reno asked. Reese and Latchley had been out of sight for several minutes now. Taiko, meanwhile had made his way into one of the rooms, where he was struggling to pick the lock on the door that would let him continue on. Well... _one_ of them. There were three to choose from.

"Quite possibly," Veld chuckled. "That's what we call the roach motel. Recruits check in... only the best check out."

Tseng snorted softly. "I really don't see the purpose in giving the obstacles such ridiculous names, sir..." he said, and then turned back to the redhead, "It's a secondary maze. And the corridors get progressively smaller, allowing for unexpected twists and turns, resulting in a rather deceptively difficult challenge."

"It was Tseng's favorite as a recruit," Veld added, "He has _one_ of the best completion times on record."

"I had _the_ best completion time. Until _Kai_ had to run it for _her_ final evaluation," the Wutaiian Turk grumbled.

"And he's not still bitter about _that_ at all," Viridia teased, laughing softly.

"I'm not _bitter_. Merely... irritated," the Turk lieutenant huffed.

"Mmmhmm... and remind me. How _long_ have you been 'irritated' over it?" she countered, prompting a quiet laugh from the redhead as Tseng scoffed in response.

"Zephyr! It's this way!" a voice from below called out, and Reno's eyes were drawn once again to the obstacle course, where an arm poked out of a narrow slit in the side of the box, groping blindly as the recruit tried to extract himself.

"Oh, look... Reese has found the exit," Tseng said dryly, pointedly ignoring the continued goading.

"Ahhh!" a shout erupted from the far side of the course.

"Taiko seems to still be having some trouble," Veld chuckled. Reno snorted loudly as he redirected his attention... to the young man who was, once again, suspended by his ankle in a snare trap.

"How many of those things did you _set_ , Boss?" he grinned, and his mentor smirked.

"Six. Some more well hidden than others."

* * *

"Zephyr! It's this way!" Victor's voice called out from somewhere in the darkness, and Zephyr gave a relieved sigh.

"Thank _Titan_..." she breathed. She'd been having no luck at all on her end. In fact, she was half convinced she must have been going in circles. The only proof she had that she _wasn't_ was the fact that she was no longer able to walk upright in the corridor. The ceiling was now so low that she was practically bent over double to fit.

"I'm coming!" she called back. The recruit quickly reversed course, carefully following the mental map she'd been making of her route. Twelve steps, then turn left. Six steps, then a right. Eight steps and another left. Soon enough the faint glow of Victor's keychain was visible at the end of the corridor. She grinned as she approached it, and snapped it up, before turning down in the direction her fellow recruit had taken.

"Ahhh!"

She paused momentarily. That had been Ryu's voice.

"Victor? What's going on? Can you see?" she asked, grunting as she had to turn sideways to slip around a corner. Apparently _this_ route shrank in the opposite manner as the one she'd taken. Instead of the ceiling getting lower, the corridors got narrower.

"No... but if I had to guess, I'd say Ryu got caught by something again. Hurry up. I'm going to need your help getting out of here."

Zephyr quickened her pace, and soon found herself having to sidestep her way along the space. She shuddered faintly. She _definitely_ didn't like this... but she had to keep going, even though it just kept getting narrower and narrower. It wasn't long before she was quite literally sandwiched between the walls.

Just as she began to wonder how much tighter it could _possibly_ get, she stumbled out into large void. Light poured in from a narrow slit in the wall, and she grinned as she spotted Victor waiting for her next to it.

"Oh, thank Titan... I thought we'd _never_ get out of here..." she greeted him, with a nervous laugh.

"We're not out yet. And _I_ can't get through here," said Victor, "There's a lever or something outside, but it's just out of reach. I'm guessing it opens this up."

"On it," Zephyr replied, before wedging herself into the slot. It was a tight squeeze... and it took some effort to wriggle through... but a short time later, she popped loose and stumbled towards the large switch on the wall, pulling it downward. The slot widened, releasing her compatriot.

"Good job, kiddo," Victor said, grinning back at her, "Now... Let's see if we can catch up to Ryu."

* * *

"So how do ya get outta there if you can't fit through the hole 'n no one's around to throw the switch?" Reno asked, curious, "Thought you said you didn't _need_ to work together to reach the goal."

"There's more than one correct path through it if you're creative enough," Veld replied, somewhat vaguely, "And there's certainly no rule against _making_ one yourself."

"Which it would appear _Taiko_ is attempting to do..." Tseng added. The young man had, once again, extracted himself from the snare... and then used the trap to climb up onto the top of the fencing. He was presently perched atop one of the covered paths, surveying the area.

"A good approach," Veld commented, "Having a view from above makes things considerably easier." He smirked slightly. "And bypasses those doors that were giving him so much difficulty..."

The recruit seemed to have decided upon a new route by then, as he hurried off in the general direction of the large open area at the far end of the course. There was nothing in the space besides a large banner that read "GOAL"... but he wouldn't be able to get in from above. There was only one entry point, and all around it, the tops of the paths were closed off. He might make _some_ progress from his current vantage point, but not much.

Reese and Latchley, meanwhile had found themselves a whole _new_ problem in the form of a thick forest of wires. A loud yelp from Latchely caused Reno to raise an eyebrow.

"They're electrified," Tseng stated, noting the questioning look.

" _Geez_ , Boss... you really _are_ a sadist," he snickered. The senior Turk rolled his eyes and ignored the laughter from the far end of the table.

"It's not strong enough to injure. It's just a bit... unpleasant. If they're careful and take their time, rather than rushing through, it's entirely possible to avoid being shocked altogether."

A second yelp from Latchely, followed by a loud grunt from Reese, echoed up from the floor.

"Sounds like they're rushin'..." Reno noted.

* * *

Whomever had designed this course had thought of everything, Ryu mused as he made his way over the top of part of the maze. The goal was clearly inaccessible from above... but moreover, only limited progress could be made at all like this. In fact, his options were _so_ limited, he was all but certain that this was expected behavior.

He could hear his comrades somewhat pained cries from the other side of the room, and glanced back over his shoulder briefly. They were still making their way through the wires. Ryu shook his head. He may have avoided that particular trap, but he was no better off than they were at the moment. In fact, the route _they'd_ chosen, from what he could tell, anyway, seemed to lead directly _to_ the goal, rather than branching off into Leviathan only knew how many deadends the way his did. The obstacles would certainly slow them down considerably, but they would largely avoid having to backtrack.

That thought in mind, he altered his own strategy. Initially, his plan had been to cover as much ground as possible and once the correct path was located, regroup. It now looked as though they were _all_ on a path that would eventually lead to the goal. Thus, it only made sense to regroup now and work together the rest of the way on the more direct route. Ryu quickly made his way towards them, balancing carefully on the tops of the walls, and finally dropping down just on the other side of the wires.

"Ow!" Latchley winced as she slowly worked her way through. Ryu cautiously reached out and lightly touched one of the wires... receiving a faint electrical shock as he did so... and smirked.

Oh, yes... whomever had designed this course really _had_ thought of everything. He settled back and patiently waited for the pair to reach him.

"Figures you'd take the easy way..." Victor grunted, ducking beneath one of the wires and finally stepping out of the electric minefield. Ryu smiled faintly.

"I prefer to work smarter. Not harder. Speaking of, we're almost there. From what I could tell, there's only one, or perhaps two, more obstacles between us and the goal."

"For real?" Latchley asked, looking up at him as she, too, emerged from the wires. " _Please_ tell me you're not just saying that..."

Ryu nodded. "It's just up ahead. This way."

He started down the path to their left, followed closely by his fellow recruits. He hadn't, however, taken into account that the obstacles he's spotted from above might not have been the _only_ things that lay between them and their ultimate destination.

A – by now all-too-familiar – click sounded near his feet, and the next thing he knew, he was being yanked violently upwards by his left ankle as his world inverted itself.

"Oh for _Leviathan's_ sake!" he shrieked in frustration. This was ridiculous...

* * *

Reno had to bite down _hard_ on his lower lip to stop himself from laughing. Three in row. Taiko either had _terrible_ luck, or he desperately needed to spend some time with Kai learning about snare traps and how to spot them.

"That _has_ to be some sort of record," Viridia chuckled as they watched him dangle, swinging from the rope.

"I have to admit... I'm a little shocked he's managed to step in every one he's come upon thus far..." Tseng noted.

"It's 'cause he's too focused on tryin' to look ahead," Reno replied, "He's plannin' out what he's gonna do at the next obstacle, but he's ignorin' what's right in front of him. Gotta remember to take _both_ into account."

"Mmm... that sounds like something _you_ would be rather well-suited to instruct him in, considering that strategy is one of your specialties," Veld opined. Tseng, meanwhile was making another note on Ryuunosuke Taiko's personnel file.

Reno blinked in surprise, but said nothing. He was used to hearing that sort of thing from Tseng... but Veld seldom made such comments. At least not to _him_. To be honest, he'd never _really_ felt like he'd earned the man's full confidence. Sure... he wasn't constantly on the Turk leader's shitlist like he had been for most of his time as a rookie, but he'd always kind of assumed that, at least on some level, Veld still thought of him as a bit too immature and undisciplined. That he still had something to prove.

But then... maybe Reno had it wrong. After all, Tseng was training him as the future Second in Command. If the commander had any objections to that, he surely would have said so a long time ago. Veld was nothing if not blunt. Hell, one of the first things the man had ever said to Reno was that he didn't have anywhere near the confidence in him that Tseng did...

 _That_ ,at least,had certainly changed over the years.

* * *

Ryu silently fumed at his own stupidity as his teammates helped him out of the snare. Three times. Three _times_ he'd fallen for the same Leviathan-be-damned trap. That couldn't _possibly_ reflect well on him. The Turk Commander had to be questioning why he was even _here_ at this point.

"You okay?" Victor asked, once he was finally right-side up again.

"Nothing injured but my pride," the younger man sighed, shaking his head.

"Um... maybe we should take things a little slower? There's no time limit, after all," Latchley somewhat hesitantly suggested.

"Kid's got a point," Victor agreed.

It was true. There was no _established_ time frame in which to complete the course. But Ryu knew with absolute certainty that their time was being tracked. It had to be. It was an evaluation, after all, and speed was definitely something to be evaluated. Still, though... making idiotic errors in his rush to achieve an impressive time was _at_ _least_ as detrimental as being viewed as too slow.

"You may be right," he acknowledged. Victor nodded and started down the corridor again, Ryu and Zephyr falling into step behind him. Several twists and turns led them into another open area. This one was surrounded by chainlink, with a still more fencing over the top... and Ryu groaned as he immediately realized that he'd made yet another mistake.

What had earlier looked, by all accounts, like an opening from up above was a fake. There were two upright posts, just as there were at every opening... but the center was closed off. They'd simply been inserted into the middle of the fence to look like an exit from a distance.

"Wonderful..." he muttered, looking around for another route. There _had_ to be one, after all. Surely they wouldn't have made an almost completely linear path this long that was ultimately just another dead end... would they? Had he been on the correct route all along and cut over only to wind up trapped?

"So... Now what?" Zephyr asked.

"Guess we backtrack and try again... There _was_ another branch right before that maze box," Victor said, glancing towards the field of electrified wires with distaste. Ryu shook his head.

"I think we should go _up_. We'll cut back over to the path _I_ was originally on. It's not as straightforward, and will take some additional trial and error, but it's better than backtracking nearly to the beginning of the course and hoping we stumble upon something we missed the first time through."

Zephyr, meanwhile, was pacing the perimeter of the dead end "room". She definitely didn't want to go back through all of that. Especially not the dark, creepy, claustrophobia-inducing maze box. But what if Ryu was wrong about the other path? They'd be right back in the same mess the were in right now.

She groaned softly in defeat. This whole thing was a disaster! She was going to fail the eval. She was going to fail it and get dropkicked right out of the recruitment program, she just _knew_ it. Zephyr sighed and paused in front of the faux-doorway snaking her fingers through the holes in the chainlink.

They were _so close_. She could literally _see_ the goal from here. It was barely twenty feet away from them. Mocking them.

"Ugh... this _sucks_!" she lamented, turning her back to the fencing and letting her body sag against it... and nearly fell over as the fencing suddenly gave way with a loud rattle. She blinked and staggered upright. "Um... guys?"

The conversation the other two had been engaged in abruptly ceased as she gave the chainlink a hard shake. It moved easily in her grasp. None of the other walls they'd encountered had done _that_.

"... It's not anchored," Victor said, a distinct note of shock in his voice. A wide grin spread over his face. "Nice _job_ , kiddo..."

He strode over to the suspect section of fencing and pulled, lifting it several inches off the floor.

"Can you get through?" he asked. Zephyr dropped to the floor, and crawled through the new opening. Ryu wasn't far behind. Once they were safely on the other side, they took over for Victor, holding it up so that he could squeeze under as well.

The rest of the course was a cake walk. The goal was just steps away, and Ryu hurried to reach it. Around one corner, then another, and finally, there it was. He smiled victoriously as he moved to cover the last remaining distance... only to be abruptly pulled to a sudden halt by a strong pair of arms seizing him by the shoulders and Zephyr's voice shouting "STOP!"

"What are you two _doing_? We're here... we _made_ it!" he demanded, irritated by their sudden intervention. Victor kept a tight grip on his while Zephyr rolled her eyes and stepped out in front of him... and triggered the snare he hadn't noticed in his zeal to cross the finish line.

Ryu blinked in shock.

"... How many of those Leviathan-be-damned things _are_ there in here?!"

Victor sniggered loudly and finally released him.

"I don't know, but it can't possibly look good if you manage to step in _all_ of them..." he replied, grinning as he nudged him forward towards the goal.

The three of them stepped into the final room, and just as they did so, the back wall of the course itself opened up, revealing another small space beyond. Four people were standing there, waiting for them.

One, he recognized as the security officer that had initially met them upon arrival and escorted them from their transport earlier that morning. Two of the others, he realized, he also knew. Tseng, the Turks' second in command, and the redhead they'd briefly met when the pair had come to the recruitment center to observe a few months ago. His name eluded Ryu at the moment, but he remembered that he'd been introduced as Tseng's "personal protege".

Which meant that the other man must be –

"Well done. My name is Veld Crimea, Commander of the Turks. I believe you will have already met my lieutenant, Tseng, as well as Reno and the ever helpful Lieutenant Commander Nacelle. You'll be hearing from us by Friday with the results of your evaluation. For now, however, you have a transport home to catch."

"If you'll all just follow me," the security officer said, gesturing towards another door. The three recruits glanced at one another, and silently did as they'd been told, each of them mentally groaning as they realized that it was going to be another two _days_ before they found out whether or not they'd be promoted.

* * *

"You're really gonna make 'em wait, huh?" Reno asked, once the recruits had been led away by Viridia. Veld smiled.

"Patience is a virtue," he replied.

"And yet _I'm_ the one who's been accused a grand total of three times today of being the sadist..." Tseng chuckled. The redhead grinned.

"So... what now? We goin' home right away? 'Cause, I mean, it's gettin' close to lunch time, and there's a pretty nice little cafe down in Lower Junon..."

Veld glanced over at his protege and gave a feigned sigh. "Doesn't he ever think of _anything_ besides food?"

"No, sir... Not in my experience," Tseng teasingly replied.

"Tch... come on, Boss. You know that's not true," Reno snorted... and then smirked. "I _also_ think about sex."

"Ah, yes... how could I forget?" the senior Turk said dryly, rolling his eyes in response. "But now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind paying a brief visit to Lower Junon before we return to Midgar. I have a feeling I know exactly the cafe you're referring to..." 

"I agree... _however_..." Veld said, a somewhat mischievous look on his face as he not so subtly eyed the redhead. "You're going to have to _earn_ your lunch today."

"... Sir?" Reno hesitantly queried, glancing curiously between the two men.

"I think we have time for one _more_ person to give the course a try... don't you, Tseng?"

Tseng smirked slightly, and Reno quickly realized that this had been planned. He groaned and folded his arms over his chest.

" _Seriously_?"

~end chapter 58~


	59. Escape Plan

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 59: Escape Plan**

 **by Desha**

The remainder of the week had been a busy one. Following his unexpected trip through the final evaluation course – which, Reno had been pleased to say he'd done pretty damned well on – he and Tseng had returned to Midgar. Veld had remained behind in Junon to attend to matters relating to the theft in Gongaga at Heidegger's personal "request" and wouldn't return until Friday afternoon.

… Which had left things back at the office in a little bit of a disarray, since Tseng had been forced to take over for him in the interim, and Reno, in turn, had had to pick up where they'd left off with the rookies without his mentor. It had been hectic... but they'd managed.

In fact, it wasn't _until_ Veld was due to return that Tseng finally had a moment to take a break from managing the plethora of assignments that had come in since the discovery of the weapons theft. Reno found him shortly before lunch, waiting for him in his and Rude's office.

"Boss? Somethin' up?" he asked, a little surprised to see the senior Turk seated at his desk.

"No," Tseng replied, sounding somewhat put-upon. Reno's eyebrows shot upwards.

"So... what are you doin' _here_ then?"

"Hiding, quite frankly," Tseng replied, in an irritated tone, "Heidegger has been to my office no less than four times this morning, inquiring as to whether or not Veld has returned from Junon yet. The commander is due back in about twenty minutes, incidentally. After our illustrious department head's latestvisit, I thought it prudent to make myself scarce until then, before I said something I'd almost certainly regret."

Reno snickered quietly.

"Man, he really _must_ be makin' a pain in the ass of himself if _you're_ about to lose it on him..."

"The man has _somehow_ gotten it into his head that we should have prevented the theft outright. No amount of logic seems to be able to persuade him that we're not Leviathan-be-damned psychics, and that if we don't _know_ about an asset, we have no ability to protect it." He groaned softly and pressed his fingers against his temples, slowly massaging them. "The sheer ludicrousness of his rants is enough to give me a migraine. I'm honestly not sure how Veld hasn't simply _shot_ him yet."

Tseng sighed and shook his head before continuing. "He picked the worst _possible_ time to decide he wants to micro-manage us, as well," he ground out, "I have three rookies I should be preparing to onboard. Instead, I'm juggling Veld's workload as well as my own, and relying upon _you_ to handle Petra and Liam entirely on account, while Veld is forced to oversee some ridiculous Gongaga task force that can't even _go_ to Gongaga until Rufus clears it with the landowners. He's doing this out of pure spite, you realize... The explosion and the theft were PR disasters. The president is less than happy about them and has decided to blame Heidegger. Heidegger, in turn, has opted to throw the Turks under the proverbial bus... which quite honestly makes _me_ supremely angry, and there's absolutely nothing I can do about it!"

The redhead blinked in surprise. "Fuck... he really _is_ gettin' under your skin."

"Yes, he is. Hence my decision to make a strategic withdrawal from my _own_ office for a short while and hide in _yours_."

"Anything I can do to help?" Reno offered, but Tseng shook his head.

"Your continued willingness to take over training duties for me is _already_ immensely helpful. Though if you _do_ happen to have some spare time..."

"If there's somethin' else I can do, just name it, Boss..."

"Would you mind filling out the necessary forms to requisition a PHS for each of our new rookies? I realize we won't need them for another week, but I'd prefer to have them on hand ahead of time. There's apparently been some turnover in the IT department, as well as some... minor sabotage... by a disgruntled employee. Requests are going to be a bit slower than usual until it's sorted out. I'd also suggest hand-delivering said forms. Otherwise, Leviathan only knows what pile they'll end up in down there right now."

"Sure thing," Reno replied, but paused, "Uh... What kinda 'minor sabotage'?"

Tseng snorted softly. "My knowledge is largely secondhand at the moment, as building security is in charge of handling such matters and, thanks to Heidegger's constant harassment, I haven't had the time to request an update from their office... but apparently the assistant to the head of the IT department was displeased with his most recent performance review and decided to seek employment elsewhere. As a parting gift to the Company, he infected part of the network with some sort of virus... which has rendered a number of file servers in Advertising completely unusable... and disappeared."

"Tch... sounds like IT's havin' almost as good a week as _we_ are..."

" _They_ don't have self-important board member breathing down their necks every few minutes... so in my opinion, their own difficulties cannot _possibly_ compare."

Reno shook his head and walked around his desk, grabbing Tseng by the arm.

"Come on, Boss... I think _you_ need to get outta the office for a little while," he said with a soft laugh, "It's lunchtime, anyway. Let's go grab somethin' at that place you like..." He grinned widely, and added, "Before we, ya know... end up re-living my Hell Week, with _you_ on the receivin' end of Heidegger's wrath."

Tseng grudgingly allowed his protege to pull him to his feet, and snorted softly.

"At the moment, I'd _almost_ like to see him _try_ raising a hand to me. It would give me all the excuse I needed..." he grumbled.

The redhead eyed his mentor in amusement. It wasn't often he saw the man so thoroughly riled. Tseng generally went out of his way to keep his temper well in check, even at the worst of times. Apparently even _Tseng's_ near-legendary self control was no match for General Affairs Department head's endless meddling.

"... Uh... Let's take the stairs while we're at it," Reno snickered, "Somethin' tells me we don't wanna find out what would happen if you ended up in an elevator with him right now..."

* * *

Tseng closed his eyes and inhaled deeply the earthy aroma of one of his favorite teas, letting the familiar scent unfray his nerves a bit. He was grateful to his protege for all but dragging him out of the building. Reno had been absolutely right. He'd needed a break. Heidegger had _truly_ been wearing on his last nerve.

When he opened his eyes again a moment later, he found the redhead eyeing him with what could only be described as barely contained mirth. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the younger Turk.

"I _still_ don't get the whole tea thing," Reno laughed. Tseng smiled and a faint chuckle escaped his lips.

"I suppose it's more habit than anything else, at this point. When I was little, tea was my mother's cure for nearly everything. It didn't matter if I was ill or merely upset about something. She would inevitably appear with a pot of tea. I find it... comforting."

"Mom liked to sing to _me_ to make me feel better. There's not a lot I remember about her real clearly anymore... but I don't think I could forget her voice if I tried."

Tseng glanced over at the younger man in surprise.

"I... think that may be the first time I've ever heard you speak of her, outside of your annual visit to Sector 2..."

Reno dropped his gaze for a moment, looking a little awkward.

"Yeah. I know," he said, quietly. He breathed a heavy sigh, and looked up again. "I just... kinda figured it might be time to start movin' on. 'Cause... I don't wanna just forget her, ya know? And that's what's gonna happen if I keep lettin' it."

The senior Turk smiled and took a sip from his cup, savoring the subtle flavor for a moment. He knew _exactly_ how hard that must be for the redhead. His mother's death was a deeply painful childhood trauma. One he did _not_ like to think about, much less openly discuss. Unfortunately, that made thinking about _her_ somewhat problematic, because eventually, every train of thought led back to that single event.

"I take it you've been working towards that?" he said, knowingly. He doubted very much that _this_ would be the first attempt he'd made at opening up.

"Yeah... Rude's kinda been helpin' me out for awhile now. It's gettin'... easier," Reno gave a somewhat strained laugh. "I can only do it for so long, though..."

"I understand," Tseng said, gently, recognizing the comment for what it really was; a request to change the subject. "It might interest you to know that Veld has, as of this morning, extended an official offer of promotion to each of our new rookies. Ryuunosuke didn't bother taking advantage of the week he was given to consider it. He accepted immediately. I've not yet heard whether the others have given Veld an answer, as well."

"Heh... what? No more last names, now that we're makin' it official?" the redhead teasingly asked.

"He's going to be one of us. There's no longer a need for such formality," Tseng shrugged, "It's... simply always been that way. Recruits are recruits. Turks are family." He smirked slightly. "Speaking of whom... you and I need to sit down together on Monday to work out their first week's itinerary. There are any number of things that we, unfortunately, can't do ahead of time. They'll need credentials, equipment... and of course, there's the building tour. And it will _all_ need to be scheduled around our regular duties."

Reno's eyes widened at that.

"Can I come with you when ya give 'em the tour? Please?!"

The Turk lieutenant laughed softly. "You get excited over the strangest of things..."

"I just really like the idea of showin' off all the cool stuff we got access to..." the redhead grinned in reply. "So? Can I?"

"If you wish," said Tseng.

"Sweet!"

Before Tseng could respond further to his protege's enthusiasm, however, their quiet lunch was interrupted by his PHS. He glanced at the caller ID, frowning slightly when he saw that it was Remy.

"Tseng here," he answered.

" _Sir! We have situation!"_

* * *

Reno had to grab hold of the door handle to stop himself from being thrown towards the center console as Tseng rounded the corner without so much as taking his foot off the accelerator. As the vehicle straightened out he groped blindly for the seatbelt, desperately dragging it across his body and clicking it into place.

Just in time, too, as another sharp turn loomed.

"Ya know... I'm startin' to understand why Rufus put the damn five-point restraints in this thing, Boss..." he commented, just before the next corner all but slammed him into the door, even _with_ the seatbelt in place. Tseng smirked slightly but didn't take his eyes off of the road.

"Be ready," he said, "We'll cut them off on the bridge."

The "situation" Remy had notified them about had turned out to be exactly what Reno had only half-seriously warned Rude of earlier in the week. The Zenshou's rumored operation in Midgar? It had indeed been to retrieve their captured comrade... and even with the extra security put in place to keep an eye on her, the Zenshou had _somehow_ slipped in unnoticed.

He had a feeling that Rude was going to be anything but happy about it... but at the moment, Reno didn't have time to worry about his friend's feelings. He was too busy trying not to be hurled straight out of Tseng's car.

The Zenshou might have made it _into_ the building undetected, but they hadn't made it out quite so easily. Remy had managed – _barely_ – to attach a tracking device to their getaway vehicle... right before they'd come dangerously close to running her off of an overpass.

Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to follow them any farther. Their little maneuver had left her vehicle bottomed out and stranded on a median over in Sector Two. Veld was still en route from Junon. Rude was meeting with a contact down in the slums. Kai and Sykes were both out of the city on escort assignments. Thus, it had been left up to Tseng and Reno to pick up the pursuit... which they had done about six blocks ago.

Another death-defying turn rocketed them out directly into the path of the vehicle they'd been chasing since somewhere over in Sector Three. Tseng had effectively circled _around_ them, taking the long way and miraculously coming out ahead of his target. The sleek black sports car screeched to a halt in the middle of the road, blocking the oncoming vehicle. Having no other options but to t-bone them, it, too, squealed to a stop. The two Turks climbed out, guns already drawn and leveled at their quarry, and approached the other car.

As they did so, the doors on either side opened and two of the vehicle's occupants stepped calmly into the cool afternoon air. A light rain had begun to fall at some point during the chase, but it was ignored, for the moment, by all present.

"I would _strongly_ suggest surrendering," Tseng stated, with more than a hint of malice in his voice. While his attention was focused on the pair, however, Reno's eyes were trained on what he could see of the backseat of the car... or, rather more accurately, what he _couldn't_ see.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. But _you_ would be wise to lower your weapons," the man who'd climbed out of the passenger side replied, not intimidated in the least by the two Turks presently aiming loaded weapons at him. The redhead's eyes widened. This, he realized, was just a little too reminiscent of his very _first_ encounter with the Zenshou... in the middle of a snow storm on the Great Glacier.

The Ifrit-be-damned backseat was empty, save for their recently rescued prisoner.

"Crap. _Tseng_... we're missin' one..." he said, his voice pitched for his mentor's ears only. There had been four people in that car when he and Tseng had taken off after them. He was sure of it... particularly since one of the backseat passengers had been shooting at them at the time. And there had _still_ been four people when he and Tseng had lost sight of them as they'd broken off to flank the getaway car. Which meant that they were now a Zenshou short. Thunder crackled in the distance, warning of the impending storm that was headed their way... and, perhaps more ominously, warning of the danger Reno was all too certain they now faced.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and the all-to-familiar sensation of someone watching him from behind settled over him. He instinctively turned... only to have his world sent spinning as a brutal strike from a fist sent pain spiking through the side of his head, leaving him dazed and off-balance. The next thing he knew, he was being held tightly against a much larger individual's chest, a thick arm are pressing against his throat, choking him.

"Reno!" Tseng shouted, retraining his weapon on the new threat. The redhead's vision darkened as the pressure against his throat increased, cutting his airway off entirely. His hands clawed futily at the arm that restrained him. He was forcibly dragged in a wide arc around his mentor as the man rejoined his friends. Tseng's gun arm never wavered. He kept it pointed directly at the younger Turk's captor.

"Let him go..." Tseng said, a dangerous note in his voice.

"You have choice to make," the Zenshou who'd addressed them just moments ago informed him. "You can continue this attempt to stop us, and try to retrieve your _former_ prisoner. Or you can lower your weapon... and I _won't_ order my colleague over there to snap your subordinate's neck."

The pressure on Reno's throat eased slightly, allowing him to finally take a full, gasping breath. The reprieve was short-lived, however as the grip on him changed, and his head was roughly twisted to one side, dangerously close to the limit to which his neck could accommodate. He could just barely see Tseng out of the corner of his eye, gun still pointed at the man who held him.

"Tell me... do you think you can kill him _before_ he kills your compatriot?" the apparent leader of the little group queried. "Are you willing to risk trying?"

After a long moment, Tseng grudgingly lowered his weapon. The sharp tension on the redhead's neck eased, but the man still didn't release him. Instead, his fingers coiled harshly into the young Turk's hair, yanking his head back so that his gaze was trained on Tseng. Reno growled low in his throat and tried to break the hold... but it was like struggling against a brick wall. The son of a bitch was easily the size of Sykes, and as strong as both he and Rude combined. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Good. Now set it on the ground and kick it over here," the Zenshou continued, pausing for a brief moment in apparent thought, before adding with a malicious smile, "Your backup weapon as well. You look like the type to carry one."

The Wutaiian Turk glowered but silently did as he'd been ordered, setting his gun on the pavement and then reaching slowly for the smaller backup firearm strapped to his ankle. It joined his primary weapon on the ground and he angrily kicked both of them over to the thief.

"Now let him go," Tseng demanded.

"Of course. We're not in the business of murder... unless of course someone is foolish enough to get between us and our merchandise," the man said, smiling coldly. "But... _just_ in case you're still entertaining the notion of continuing this pursuit..."

He nodded to the one still holding Reno captive, and the redhead unexpectedly found himself being flung to one side. Pain lanced through his skull, and all he knew after that was darkness. 

* * *

He couldn't have reacted in time, even if he'd expected it. One moment Reno was being held prisoner... the next, he was being slammed, face-first, into the railing along the side of the bridge. Blood gushed from his nose, and the young redhead went limp in his captor's hands, out cold. A moment later, the Zenshou giant effortlessly lifted him by the back of his jacket and tossed him over the railing like a rag doll.

"No!" Tseng hissed, his stomach dropping at the sight. A splash from below told him the drop had been a long, but survivable one, and he ran to the edge, peering over into the dark water of the drainage canal several meters down. His protege remained unmoving, drifting slowly along with the current. He swore under his breath and hesitated just long enough to glare back at the Zenshou leader.

"This isn't over," he declared, definitively, and then hoisted himself onto the metal guard rail... and jumped.

He was already in mid-air when he realized that something was wrong. Pushing off from the edge, he'd felt a pop followed by a near blinding pain in his right ankle. For a moment, he'd half-thought he'd been shot... but _that_ was a pain he was familiar with. This felt more like the time he'd torn a muscle behind his knee during training... only about a hundred times worse. He hit the water awkwardly, in what would probably have been best described as halfway to a bellyflop. The impact forced the air from his lungs, and he received a face full or water that drove itself into his sinuses, causing him to gag, as he emerged coughing and sputtering.

His chest ached as he hurried to find his bearings. It took him several seconds to locate Reno, and by the time he did, the distance between them had increased dramatically. He knew in that moment that he had no time right now to worry about whatever injury he'd just sustained. The redhead was still unconscious, hurt, and quickly being pulled deeper into the city's drainage system.

Having no other alternative, he started to swim, doing his best to ignore the pain in his leg and his chest. It took far longer than it should have to reach the younger Turk, but finally... _finally_... his fingertips closed around the sleeve of his jacket and Tseng was able to pull Reno towards him. By then, every breath he pulled in bordered on excruciating, likely as a result of hitting the water in such an ungainly position. He wouldn't be surprised if an x-ray revealed a rib fracture or two.

But he'd have to worry about that later. Right now, he had more immediate problems. With great effort, he managed to get the two of them over to the side of the drainage channel, breathing heavily from the exertion as he clawed his way back onto dry land, while trying – and largely failing – to continue ignoring the pain he was in. He dragged Reno's limp form up behind him and laid him out on the ground, shaking him roughly.

"Reno!" he prodded, but his protege remained unresponsive. By then, the storm that had only been threatening previously was raging in earnest and the skies were being lit up every few moments by flashes of lightning. He pressed his fingers against the redhead's neck and tried to find a pulse, but his own heart was hammering so wildly at that point that he couldn't have told the difference between Reno's and his own, anyway. At last, Tseng leaned down, positioning his ear close to the redhead's mouth, listening for any sign of breathing... and to his relief, he heard it.

"Thank Leviathan..." he breathed. He'd come dangerously close to losing him once to those damned Zenshou. He was _not_ going to let it happen a second time.

His hand went to his pocket, searching for his PHS, to call for help... only to find it missing, likely lost during his impromptu swim. He patted Reno down, in an attempt to locate _his_ phone, and came up only with the shattered remnants of the device in his breast pocket. Apparently, _it_ hadn't survived the encounter with the Zenshou. The realization led to still more under the breath swearing on the Turk lieutenant's part. He was going to have to handle this on his own.

He could wait until Reno came to... which, in fairness, would likely be the sensible choice, he noted to himself, as he attempted to flex his damaged ankle and found it quite thoroughly immobile. That was almost _certainly_ an Achilles tendon injury. A similar injury had befallen Kai years ago... though in her case, she'd only torn the muscle. Tseng had felt a very distinct _pop_ before the pain had started. He had a feeling it was slightly more serious than a minor tear.

The alternative was to limp his way back to his car – assuming he could even _stand_ – and return for Reno in the vehicle. Though driving a manual transmission car would be... _difficult_... with only one working foot.

That left only the third option. Reno didn't weight _much_. It... wouldn't exactly be the most dignified method of conveyance, but he was relatively certain he could eventually drag both the redhead _and_ himself back to the bridge. It wasn't _that_ far, and sitting around, soaking wet, in the now-driving rain was doing neither of them any good.

In the end he opted for the choice that would ultimately get them both to safety sooner. Hopefully. Gathering the unconscious Turk up and slinging him over his back was a less than pleasant experience. His abused ribs ardently protested even the smallest of movements at that point, and it took quite a lot of pushing, and pulling, and rearranging before he was confident that he could manage to move without dropping him.

And then he'd started to crawl… The journey _itself_ took him nearly ten minutes.

By the time he'd reached his destination, he was exhausted, and the redhead was slowly coming around. Tseng groaned faintly and propped the younger Turk up against the side of his car, joining him a moment later and letting his eyes close. Tseng didn't want to move another inch... but he knew his rest would be a short one. He couldn't sit there indefinitely. They _both_ needed medical attention.

But at least, for the moment, they were not in any danger. The Zenshou were long gone.

The Turk lieutenant groaned softly as he realized that he was going to have to explain in the near future – and prayed that he would be doing so to Veld and not to Heidegger – that the sum total of their mission was the loss of one very valuable prisoner, two injured Turks, one drowned PHS, and one more in several pieces. _Not_ an outcome anyone was going to be pleased with.

"... Ow."

The Turk lieutenant tiredly turned his head to his right. Reno was gingerly prodding what was most likely a broken nose as he tried to sort out what in the Nine Hells had just happened.

"I wholeheartedly concur with that sentiment," Tseng deadpanned, coughing slightly.

"So... did we win?" Reno asked. Tseng closed his eyes again and let his head thump back against the car.

"If I wasn't quite certain a few of my ribs are fractured I'd be sorely tempted to laugh at such a preposterous question..." Tseng replied.

"Yeah. That's kinda what I figured..." The redhead staggered to his feet, looking around, before finally glancing down at his sodden – and by now somewhat bloody, as his nose was still bleeding fairly heavily – clothing. "The fuck'd I miss?"

"Our Zenshou friends thought you might enjoy a swim in the drainage ditch. I was given the choice of leaving you to drown and trying my luck against them, three on one... or jumping in after you. I opted for the latter," the Wutaiian Turk replied, grimacing as he attempted to get up and utterly failed. "Though I'm not sure I fared much better against the drainage ditch. I'm going to need some assistance. My ankle is... not in the best of condition after that."

Reno reached down and helped him to his feet. Or, rather, his foot, as only one was willing to support his weight at the moment.

"Come on, Boss... Think _you_ might need to pay a little visit to the Doc even more that _I_ do, for once..."

"Hmph... before or after I inform Veld of this debacle? It might be more efficient to simply wait, rather than bother Justinia twice in one day."

Reno grinned slightly. "That fall knock a sense of humor into ya or something?" he teased, helping his mentor limp to the passenger side door. "Seriously, though, Tseng... you look like hell, and I'm guessin' I probably don't look much better. Let's get the fuck outta here."

Tseng gripped the redhead's shoulder and carefully lowered himself into the waiting seat. Reno circled around and climbed behind the wheel, starting the engine, and the Turk lieutenant sighed. As he reached over to shift into gear, the redhead suddenly laughed.

"And what, may I ask, is it that you find so amusing about our current situation?" the Turk lieutenant queried, one eyebrow rising in annoyed curiosity. Reno shook his head.

"Nothin' really... just that the _last_ time I was behind the wheel of your car, I was getting' arrested for takin' it out for a joyride without tellin' ya about it. Never thought you'd actually let me drive it again."

Tseng closed his eyes. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. _Don't_ expect it to become a regular occurrence. Now, drive... _before_ I come to my senses and insist making the attempt myself."

* * *

There was a sharp snap and a near-blinding stab of pain as Dr. Ward realigned the break.

" _OWWW!_ "

She ignored the shout, and Reno groaned as she continued prodding the injured area around his nose. Even with the local anesthetic, that had fucking _hurt_.

"I know 'tis none too pleasant, my little headache... but it's got ta be done," she clucked, shaking her head, "I _knew_ it was hoping fer too much ta think yeh'd make it an entire two weeks before yeh turned up in my medical suite. Since when does light duty include high speed car chases and street fights, then?"

"Hey, _I_ was havin' a nice, calm lunch with the Boss 'n taking it easy like a good little Turk who obeys medical advice," Reno protested. "I wasn't _planning_ on gettin' called up to recapture an escaped prisoner, ya know..."

"Mmhmm..." the doctor responded in a tone that plainly said she thought otherwise, as she applied a splint to his broken nose and taped it in place, "There yeh are. Good as new."

Reno's fingers found their way to his face, cautiously exploring the injury, and he winced.

"Well, now, don't go _poking_ at it, fer Titan's sake. What part of ' _broken_ ' was I unclear about?" she chastised him, gently pulling his hand away from his face and setting it firmly in his lap. "Yeh'll be fine. But yeh'll want ta get some ice on that soon as possible fer the swelling. I'd suggest sleeping sitting up fer the next few nights, too. Nothing else fer it but time 'n anti-inflammatory painkillers. Yer still on medical restriction fer another week anyway... 'long as yeh don't have any complications, I don't think we'll need ta change that."

"Thank _Ifrit_..." Reno sighed in relief, hopping down from the table. "How 'bout the Boss?"

"I've already shipped him off ta Midgar General. But I expect he'll be _joinin'_ yeh on restricted duty soon enough," she replied, "If it's a full rupture of the Achilles tendon, as I suspect, I'd be willing ta bet he'll be in surgery before the day's out, and on crutches fer a good bit after."

" _Great_..." the redhead muttered, "Fuckin' Zenshou assholes... They couldn't've picked a worse time to pull this shit if they _tried_."

" _Language!_ " Ward snapped, annoyed, and Reno cringed.

"Sorry," he sheepishly responded, "Seriously, though! We're busy upstairs... _and_ we got three new rookies comin' in soon that Tseng's s'posed to be gettin'... ya know... acclimated, or whatever ya wanna call it... plus we got two _other_ rookies that need supervisin'... 'n Heidegger keeps draggin' Veld off to do Shiva only knows what... plus the –" He had to stop and physically bite down on his tongue to stop himself from swearing again. "– Ifrit-forsaken Zenshou keep pullin' things like this."

He sighed heavily and leaned back against the edge of the exam table.

"It's just... we were _already_ stretched kinda thin lately, with _me_ bein' out for so long, 'n now Tseng's probably gonna be sidelined for awhile, 'n _I'm_ s'posed to be learnin' how to do _his_ job... 'cause he wants me to do it for real someday."

Doctor Ward chuckled softly.

"Finally got around ta telling yeh, did he?" she replied, smiling. Reno blinked.

"Wait... _You_ knew about it, too? For Shiva's sake, did _everyone in the Company_ know before I did?!"

His wide-eyed exasperation drew a genuine laugh from the aging doctor, and she turned away for a moment to retrieve a red sucker from the jar on the counter, which she calmly pressed into his hand.

"Well, I can't speak fer the _whole_ of Shinra Company... but _I've_ certainly had my suspicions fer quite awhile now," she teasingly replied, "Now... yeh take that treat 'n yeh get yerself back ta work. A broken nose isn't enough ta justify sending yeh home early, 'n it sounds like yer going ta be needed. I'll give yeh a ring when I hear back about yer that mentor 'o yers."

"Thanks, Doc..."

"And fer _Titan's_ sake... _try_ not ta end up back in here _again_ before yer next appointment. In a _week_."

"Heh... I try not to make promises I can't keep Doc..." he replied with a faint laugh. Ward threw her arms up in exasperation before finally shooing him out of her domain.

By the time he returned to Turks' headquarters, Veld was back in the office... and looking decidedly pissed off.

"Reno! My office, _now_!" he demanded before the redhead had even fully stepped out of the elevator. Reno resisted the almost overpowering urge to groan out loud, instead only doing so mentally, and wordlessly followed the Turk leader into his office.

The sight that greeted him was _not_ a pleasant one.

"Well?! Explain yourself!" Heidegger bellowed before either Turk could say anything. Reno visibly flinched at the tone. It was a little too close to the one the executive had used the time he'd had the younger Turk by the throat during Hell Week.

"Uhh..." the redhead stammered, caught off-guard by the sudden interrogation.

"What happened?" Veld interjected, "How did our prisoner escape, and where is she now?"

"I'm... not entirely sure on the how part, sir..." he hesitantly replied, "Me 'n Tseng were out of the office when Remy called 'n told us what was goin' on. They were already halfway across town before we even knew there was a problem. We caught up to 'em, got 'em stopped, 'n tried to take 'em into custody... but we were outnumbered 'n one of 'em managed to get around behind us." He mentally cringed before continuing. "The one that flanked us... he, uh... grabbed _me_ 'n used me as a hostage. Tseng didn't have any other choice, sir. It was either let 'em go, or let 'em snap my neck."

"He _should_ have let them snap your Hades-be-damned _neck_!" Heidegger thundered, before turning on Veld. "What are you going to do about this?!"

"I already have our head of intelligence trying to track them down, and we're watching all points of exit from the city, sir. We –"

" _Not_ good enough! I want them captured and made an example of, and I want it done _now_!," he growled, and then rounded on Reno again, "And I want _this_ worthless excuse for a Turk and his equally worthless superior disciplined severely for allowing them to slip through their fingers!"

The redhead ground his teeth, forcibly clamping down on the response he _wanted_ to give that demand. Thankfully, Heidegger opted to stomp out of the office without giving either man time to respond, and Reno could have sworn he actually felt the floor shake with each angry footstep. The redhead hardly dared breath until the executive had viciously slammed the door behind him, lest he end up saying something that'd he'd end up paying for later. Veld took a seat at his desk and sighed in irritation.

"I'm sorry for that. He demanded a first hand account and I was notified that Tseng is presently at the hospital. I'm afraid I had no choice but to summon you instead. What _exactly_ happened out there?"

Reno shook his head, still angry at the obnoxious executive's self-important posturing. "Like I said... we were outnumbered. Tseng cut 'em off on a bridge over in Three, but they musta stopped just long enough to let their muscle outta the backseat while we were flankin' 'em. We didn't realize it until it was too late. Asshole came around behind us 'n grabbed me 'n then the guy that seemed to be in charge of shit made Tseng surrender his weapon. Then the fucker chucked me into the drainage channel, so Tseng had to haul my ass out before I drowned. That's how _he_ got hurt, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I was kinda unconscious at the time, sir... My face had an unexpected encounter with a metal railing."

Veld snorted softly. "That would certainly explain the current _state_ of your face, then... What about Tseng? Are his injuries serious? I'm afraid I didn't have time to get specifics from Medical before Heidegger showed up."

"The Doc said somethin' about an... uh-key-leez tendon... or somethin' like that? All I know is that his ankle was fucked up pretty bad 'n I wouldn't be real surprised if he cracked a rib or three, the way he was movin' when I finally came to. Doc said he'd probably be getting' surgery for the tendon thing 'n she'd call me when she had an update."

"Alright. I'll check in with her myself, as well. I assume you mean Dr. Ward?" he queried, and Reno nodded, "And _please_ for the love of Odin tell me she hasn't sidelined you again. Tseng will obviously be out for the remainder of the day at the very least and _someone_ needs to manage the rookies' training schedule."

"Nah, I'm still good for light duty, sir. I'll take care of 'em... uh... right after I go find some ice and swallow about half a bottle of aspirin."

Veld groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Of course... what am I even thinking, keeping you here? Go and see to your _own_ injuries."

"Yes, sir..."

* * *

Tseng glared in annoyance at his elevated, and thoroughly immobilized foot. He was scheduled for surgery first thing in the morning, provided the swelling had been reduced to more manageable levels by then. He'd been informed that he'd been in a cast for several weeks afterwards until the tendon healed.

Because _of course_ he would. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do than to hobble around on crutches for the next few weeks. He _certainly_ didn't have any new rookies he had to get situated, or a successor to train, or murderous thieves to track down...

He scowled slightly and wondered when his internal monologue had developed such a tendency towards sarcasm. Probably, he mused, right about the time he'd appropriated, and essentially adopted, an _equally_ sarcastic little redhead from the Slums.

"Well... _you_ look utterly thrilled to be here."

The Turk lieutenant snapped out of his brief reverie and turned his attention to the door, managing a slight smile as he spotted his mentor striding into the room.

"As always," he sighed, "Did you have any luck locating the Zenshou?"

Veld made his way over to the bed and took a seat.

"Afraid not. They've either slunk out of the city undetected, or they've gone to ground somewhere. Rude has put out a few feelers for information with his network, but it's largely a waiting game at this point," he replied. He smirked and gave a quiet little laugh. "I'm also under direct orders from Heidegger to discipline you severely for failing to recapture the prisoner and add her three cohorts to our guest list. So... consider yourself severely disciplined."

"I'm not sure I'll ever truly recover from so terrible a reprimand, sir," Tseng obligingly deadpanned, "Is Reno alright? Justinia didn't put him back on mandatory leave, did she?"

"No. He has a broken nose, but seems to have otherwise walked away without a scratch on him. There's been no changes to his status, and he was back to supervising your rookies as soon as Heidegger finished screaming at us," Veld chuckled.

Tseng scowled in response. "Reno has been in recovery for over a _month_ after saving the vice president's life... One would think that pompous, arrogant sack of lard could get over himself long enough to at least _acknowledge_ that."

"Mmm... I think he was too busy calling the pair of you worthless excuses for Turks to recall your protege's most recent heroics," Veld commented, rolling his eyes slightly. He shook his head. "Don't let it get to you. I'll deal with our department head. _You_ focus on healing."

"Yes, sir."

Veld smiled warmly and leaned closer, brushing a stray lock of hair away from the younger Turk's face.

"So... a ruptured Achilles tendon, eh? I can't imagine _that_ was an especially pleasant sensation..."

"Hmph... no, sir, it wasn't. Nor was bellyflopping into a small river," he muttered in reply, "It wasn'texactly the most _graceful_ of rescues. At least Reno wasn't conscious to actually witness it. I doubt I'd ever live it down if he had been."

Veld snorted in laughter and gently squeezed his protege's shoulder.

"What matters is that you _did_ rescue him. I'd much rather have all of my Turks return home at the end of the day than come up short in favor of capturing a Zenshou or two. I'd _prefer_ if they came home with all of their limbs in tact, as well... but I suppose beggars can't be choosers." He paused for a moment and frowned slightly. "Speaking of the Zenshou, however... as much as I hate to agree with Heidegger on _anything_... we need to put a stop to this. The thefts and _attempted_ thefts are bad enough, but _now_ they're waltzing into Company headquarters right under our noses. We've been much too reactionary to this situation. I'm sending Remy and Rude to Wutai to do a little proactive reconnaissance. They're leaving tonight... and I'm sending Reno home with _you_ as soon as you're out of surgery tomorrow to ensure that you're fit for duty come Monday morning."

Tseng raised an eyebrow in something of a challenge to that statement, and Veld laughed.

"Alright... fine. He _told_ me he was going to tend to you over the weekend. I made it an order just in case you attempted to turn down the help. Injured or not, you have a lot to prepare for and only one more week to do so. Victor Reese accepted his promotion this afternoon. We're only waiting on Latchley now. You're going to need him."

The younger Turk snorted, half in irritation and half in amusement.

"So long as he doesn't attempt to _cook_ for me, as well... I honestly wouldn't mind the company, sir," he chuckled.

~end chapter 59~


	60. Not as Easy as You Thought

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 60: Not as Easy as You Thought**

 **by Desha**

"Yeh haven't been released yet," Justina Ward noted, arms crossed over her chest as she stood in the doorway.

"You could very easily remedy that for me," Tseng replied. He glowered in irritation at the cast that encased the lower half of his right leg, starting just below the knee. He paused in his efforts to leave just long enough to gesture to it with his one free hand. "And was _this_ really necessary?"

"Only if yeh want ta be able ta walk again at some point," Ward shot back. She clucked her tongue and stepped farther into the room. "Fer Titan's sake, yer barely four hours out of surgery... and it's Saturday, besides. Can't yeh just take it easy fer once in yer life?"

"Doc... have you _met_ the Boss?" a teasing voice snickered from out in the hallway. Reno poked his head into the room. "Car's waitin' any time you're ready."

"Fine," Ward snapped, clearly annoyed, "Sometimes I truly don't know why I even bother talking ta yeh. Yeh never listen, anyway." She turned her glare on Reno. "Neither _one_ of yeh."

The redhead blinked and backpedaled slightly. "Whoa... what'd _I_ do?"

"You've opted to assist me in my escape," Tseng replied with a smirk at the aging physician, reaching for the crutches that rested against the wall, "I'm guessing that's _more_ than enough to earn the good doctor's ire."

"Yeh'd best watch yer tone, Tseng... I can _always_ put yeh on full medical leave, yeh know."

The Turk lieutenant sighed and shook his head. "I promise you, Justinia... I _will_ get some rest. At _home_ , where rest is actually possible. Reno is staying for a day or two to make sure I'm comfortable, and I have _more_ than enough paperwork to keep me firmly rooted to the couch until Monday."

Justinia narrowed her eyes at the senior Turk.

"Yeh park yer behind on that couch and yeh _stay_ there, then." Her gaze swept back over to the redhead. "And _yeh_ make sure of it."

"Yes, ma'am..." Reno hurriedly replied, and Tseng couldn't help but smile faintly at the younger man's quick agreement on that stipulation. There weren't many people capable of intimidating a Turk. But no Turk in their right mind wanted to be on Dr. Justinia Ward's bad side. Not even her favorite patient.

Ward was still scowling, but turned on her heel and marched out of the room.

"Go on, then. I'll see ta yer release forms..." she grudgingly called back over her shoulder.

"You know she's gonna make you regret this, right, Boss?" Reno snickered. "Last time _I_ didn't do what she told me, she was waitin' for me in my office with a fuckin' tetanus shot."

"That's because she orderedyou to come down to Medical _for_ a tetanus shot after you cut your arm down in the slums, and you ignored her for three days," Tseng pointed out.

"Tch... semantics. Point is she hunted me down 'n stuck me in the ass with a gigantic needle 'cause I didn't do what she told me to," Reno grumbled, "Seriously, boss... the only thing _worse_ than gettin' a shot is gettin' one in the ass."

"To be fair, your arm was a bit of a mess at the time..."

"I've got two of 'em. She did it on purpose," Reno deadpanned. Tseng chuckled and leaned on the crutches.

"Point taken. In that case, let's go before she changes her mind, shall we?"

The pair made their way to the nearest elevator and rode it down to the hospital's main lobby, and then made the short walk to the parking lot... where Tseng was a little surprised to see his _own_ car waiting for them.

"I don't recall giving you permission to pick me up in _my_ car..." the Wutaiian Turk said in an annoyed tone. Reno merely grinned.

"Well, I mean... I still had the keys after yesterday. And if I _hadn't_ brought it, it woulda been sittin' at the office all weekend. I figured you'd want it home."

"And I'm sure it had absolutely nothing to do with having the opportunity to drive it without the threat of immediate evisceration when I found out hanging over you," Tseng shot back, though he couldn't quite contain the tiny laugh that escaped his lips. To be far... he _was_ a little relieved at not having to go and retrieve the vehicle himself, particularly since it would have been quite some time before he was able to. And by now, the redhead knew better than to take any further liberties by joyriding.

"Heh... even if you _were_ gonna kill me, I'm pretty sure I could outrun you right now, Boss."

"I'm a very patient man, Reno," Tseng shot back, teasingly, "I can wait."

* * *

It wasn't long before Tseng found himself on his living room couch – exactly as promised – with his injured leg propped up on a pillow and the television remote within easy reach. At the moment, however, his attention was less focused on the mid-afternoon news report, and more on the lengthy schedule in front of him. It was going to be a rather interesting time, introducing three new rookies to the team, the facilities, and the general way they did things around Turk headquarters when, at the moment, he couldn't even manage a flight of stairs.

He sighed quietly and realized that he was going to have to impose upon Reno far more than he'd initially planned on... which, in and of itself, was certainly not the worst thing he could have imagined, as the rookies themselves were a part of his protege's training regime now. But at the same time, he didn't want to run the young man ragged, given that he was only _just_ back from a long convalescence and not even approved for full field duty yet... though he likely _would_ be by the time the rookies reported for their first day.

Still... Tseng would be reduced to an almost exclusively supervisory role for the time being, meaning that any physical interaction with their newest teammates would be in Reno's hands. He was a bit disappointed to be missing out.

And then, or course, there was the nagging fact that he'd let the Leviathan-be-damned Zenshou best them. He should have been paying more attention... should have realized that one of them had slipped away. Renohad spotted the absence _far_ faster than he had... and though it hadn't been quite fast enough, Tseng couldn't help but think that he, himself, had been unduly sloppy during the operation.

And it had almost cost him Reno. Again. That he was safe and... _relatively_ sound... was far more attributable to sheer luck than anything else. If the bridge had been a little higher, or if Tseng had been a little slower in reaching him...

Tseng shook his head, and forcibly pushed the what-ifs from his mind. It was far too easy to fall into the conflicting mindset of wanting his protege to succeed as a Turk, and wanting him to remain safe. They couldn't always do both in their line of work. The important part, as Veld had pointed out to him yesterday, was that both he _and_ Reno had made it home alive.

The front door opened just then, and the aforementioned redhead stepped inside, arms laden with several take-out bags. Tseng raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Just how many people do you intend to feed?" he queried, eyeing the containers.

"Relax, Boss... It's not _all_ lunch. Wu Long's had a special on those little meat dumpling things, 'n that shit tastes good hot _or_ cold. Figured we could have 'em for dinner if you didn't wanna order pizza. And I mighta also got donuts. Ya know... for breakfast. Since I was out, anyway."

Tseng snorted softly in laughter.

"Something tells me those donuts won't even make it until dinnertime," he chuckled, noting the faint dusting of what was most likely powdered sugar on the younger man's t-shirt.

"... I only ate two on the way back," the redhead replied, somewhat shiftily. Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine... and one while I was waitin' in line for the rest of the food."

The senior Turk snickered and reached for his crutches, while Reno turned and headed for the kitchen with his haul of foodstuffs. By the time he'd managed to hobble his way in as well, the redhead was already unpacking their lunch and setting it out on the table. Tseng lowered himself into his usual chair, wincing slightly as his battered ribs protested the change in position.

"After we eat, I'd like your input on the schedules for the rookies," he said, offhandedly.

"Heh... no problem, Boss. I'm all yours 'til Monday," Reno replied, grinning. "And... ya know... pretty much any time after that, too. Just tell my what ya need me to do, 'n it'll get done."

"I'm beginning to think a month in bed has left you in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. I don't think I've ever seen you so thoroughly dedicated to the prospect of handling the more tedious parts of my job," Tseng said, with a quiet laugh.

The redhead merely shrugged. "We got rookies comin'. I'm excited. Sides... helping' you out while you're recoverin' from saving my ass again's the _least_ I can do," he said, and then his grin widened teasingly, " _And_ it meant I got to drive your car again to spring ya from the hospital."

"Ah... I _knew_ there must be a reason you were so eager to volunteer as a nursemaid..." he returned, smiling warmly.

* * *

It was late... and he _should_ have been asleep, but between the constant ache in his ribcage, and the itching that sporadically crept over his skin beneath the cast on his leg, sleep had stubbornly remained just out of reach for hours now. He debated summoning Reno to bring him the painkillers Justinia had prescribed for him. The pain wasn't _really_ bad enough to justify them, but they would almost certainly knock him out for awhile.

In the end however, he thought better of the idea. First and foremost, because the redhead was most likely sound asleep himself by now... and also because a little insomnia was not a valid reason to dose oneself with prescription narcotics. He was, however, going to have to do _something_ to try and get some sleep... and after a moment's deliberation, came to the decision to fall back on his usual cure for a sleepless night. Chamomile, and a good book.

That thought in mind, he groped for the crutches he'd stashed beside the bed and hauled himself upright. He made his way down the hallway as silently as he could... after all, it took next to nothing to wake the younger Turk presently residing in his guest room, and there was no need to disturb him.

As he passed by the room, he paused in surprise, finding the door still open and the bed very clearly unoccupied. The whereabouts of his houseguest soon came to light, however. He spotted a small lump in the darkness curled up at the far end of the couch in the living room. Closer inspection quickly revealed it to be the missing redhead.

Tseng frowned slightly and hobbled towards him. Had he been in any condition to do so, he might have moved the young man somewhere a bit more comfortable. Or... at least attempted it. It was rare that he could manhandle the redhead without disturbing his sleep long enough to accomplish much more than tucking a pillow beneath his head and covering him with a blanket. Which, in and of itself, was a great improvement over his rookie days, when the slightest movement or touch would violently jar the young Turk from slumber.

As things stood, however, there was little point in waking him just to tell him to go to bed. He shook his head and turned to make his way into the kitchen... only to see Reno stir slightly out of the corner of his eye.

"... Boss?" a sleepy voice queried, and Tseng sighed. So much for not disturbing him.

"Go back to sleep, Reno. I'm just after some tea."

The redhead yawned and sat up, stretching his arms over his head for a moment.

"I'll get it," he replied. Before the senior Turk could protest, Reno was already on his feet and scurrying into the kitchen. Tseng snorted in amusement and followed at a much more sedate pace.

"Reno... you're here to _help_ me. Not to wait on me like a servant. I'm quite capable of boiling water myself."

"Come on, Tseng... Just gimme this, will ya? You bend over backwards for me every time _I'm_ laid up."

"Ah..." the Wutaiian smirked, knowingly, "So _that's_ why you were camped out in the living room rather than utilizing the perfectly serviceable bed in my guest room. You _wanted_ me to end up waking you if I needed something."

"You slept on _my_ couch when I had the flu last year..." the redhead pointed out as he filled the kettle with water and lit the burner beneath it.

"That's because the alternative would have been the floor," Tseng chuckled. "You live in little more than a closet. And given that you were somewhat delirious with fever for awhile, I could hardly abandon you and simply go home for the night."

"Okay... yeah," he acknowledged, "But... can't you let me do this anyway?"

"Why is it so important that you put yourself out for my sake?" Tseng asked... though he already had an idea. Reno shrugged.

"... 'Cause you would. Tch... you _have_. And I know you're gonna say I don't owe ya for all the times you've been there. But I do. And even if I _didn't_... you're family. Hell, cheesy as this is gonna sound... you're the closest thing I'm ever gonna have to a dad. So... ya know... just let me have this, okay?"

Tseng smiled faintly. Sometimes, with as much as Reno had grown and changed over the years, it was easy to forget that his life prior to the Turks had been more than a bit... lacking. It had left him with a deep-seated need to protect the people he cared about. The younger man had lost everything when he was just a child... and had rebuilt his life, piece by agonizing piece. It was no wonder he held onto everything he'd gained so tenaciously.

"Chamomile and just a splash of milk. _No_ sugar. I'm trying to fall asleep... not spend the remainder of the night wide awake," he replied, with little seriousness, before turning and making his way back out into the living room, and easing himself down on to the couch.

It wasn't long before the redhead was carrying a steaming cup of freshly brewed tea out to him. Tseng graciously accepted it, and motioned for him to join him on the couch.

"You didn't make yourself any?" he teasingly asked. Reno snorted in laughter.

"Sorry, Boss... that's _one_ habit of yours that's _never_ gonna rub off on me," he snickered, and then yawned widely.

"Go to bed, Reno," Tseng gently chastised him, "The _actual_ bed. Not the end of the couch. Honestly... you had the entire thing to stretch out on, and I find you practically tied in a knot at one end."

"Heh... yeah. I... still kinda have a tendency do that when I'm worried 'bout somethin'," he sheepishly admitted.

"There's no need to worry about _me_ ," the senior Turk stated, "An injured ankle is hardly life-threatening."

"I know... I just..." the redhead awkwardly began, before trailing off.

"And my injury wasn't your _fault_ , either," Tseng added, recognizing the guilt-laden tone the younger man had slipped into. "At least no more so than _your_ broken nose was mine. After all... if I'd noticed our missing Zenshou sooner, we never would have been in that situation to begin with."

"Yeah, but..."

"Assignments go wrong sometimes. There's nothing that can be done about it after the fact. One can only learn from the mistake and try not to make it a second time," Tseng said, setting his tea aside for the moment, and placing a hand on his protege's back. He smiled faintly, and added, " _I_ , for one, will be paying far more attention to the back seats of cars from here on out..."

Reno snickered quietly in response, and Tseng let his hand languidly stroke the length of his protege's spine, up and down in a gentle, repetitive motion. It was something he'd discovered – during the young Turk's aforementioned illness about a year ago, in fact – tended to soothe the redhead. Reno let his eyes drift shut, enjoying the attention. After a moment he roused himself just enough to turn his gaze on his mentor for a moment.

"Heh... Ya know why I like that, don't ya?" he murmured sleepily.

"No, actually," Tseng replied, with a soft note of curiosity.

"Mom used to do that..." the redhead answered, the hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Usually when she wanted me to go the fuck to sleep..."

* * *

It took him until Wednesday to get his replacement PHS. Apparently the IT department was still having some issues. But even so, by Wednesday afternoon, Reno had fallen into a rhythm. Wake up early. Pick Tseng up – in his _own_ car, rather than the sweet as fuck sports car he'd fleetingly been permitted to drive. Office. Morning workout in either the gym or the pool. And then, on with his day... wherein he was basically at his mentor's beck and call until it was time to head home.

And weirdly enough, he was enjoying it.

Okay, sure, he wasn't going to miss the whole dragging his ass out of bed early thing once Tseng was recovered enough... or stubborn enough... to drive again, but the rest of it, he was kind of having fun with. He was even _starting_ to think that maybe... just _maybe_... he'd been freaking out over nothing when Tseng had told him he was going to be the next second in command. He was more or less doing it _now_ , and it wasn't _that_ hard.

Well... it wasn't exactly _easy_ ,either. But it was a far cry from the insurmountable nightmare he'd briefly envisioned. Maybe he really _could_ do this, after all.

Not that he was suddenly running things around the office, of course. Tseng was still handling all the desk jobs. _He_ was just taking care of the physical stuff his mentor had been barred from for the time being, and serving as his Tseng's runner whenever there was an errand that needed to be seen to. It seemed to be working out for them both. Things were running smoothly, preparations for the new rookies were coming along, and while they didn't yet have a solid lead on the Zenshou, Remy and Rude – who were still in Wutai – had reported back that they were making significant progress in tracking them down.

"Reno," Veld called out to him, peering out of Tseng's office as the redhead was returning from dropping off a handful of requisition forms downstairs, "Join us, please."

The redhead slipped inside, shutting the door behind him, and found Tseng seated just where he'd left him a short while ago, looking somewhat perturbed.

"... Somethin' up?" Reno asked.

"We've learned how the Zenshou gained access to the building," Tseng replied, "Our disgruntled IT assistant seems to have given them a little help."

"And _you_ have an appointment with Medical. Now. I've asked Dr. Ward to reevaluate you for field duty a few days early."

"Uhhh... I'm guessin' that means I'm bein' sent to make an example of the asshole?" Reno surmised.

"You guess correctly," Veld replied, "... With one caveat, but we'll go over that when and if you're cleared. Get downstairs. The doctor is expecting you."

"Yes, sir," Reno said, blinking in surprise. He cast one final glance over at Tseng, who was still watching him with a rather odd expression, and then reversed course out the door, heading back towards the elevators.

 _Something_ was going on. He wasn't sure what, but this was more than a simple termination. It had to be. Why the hell else would Veld be rushing to get his field status restored? Particularly when Kai could have just as easily handled the job. Or Sykes, for that matter. And why had Tseng been so obviously uneasy about the whole thing? Just what was this "one caveat" Veld had mentioned?

Reno huffed, annoyed, as the elevator doors closed and the car started its journey down to the ninth floor. He supposed he'd just have to wait until the Doc cleared him to find out.

* * *

"Is this really necessary, sir?" Tseng asked, after the redhead had dashed off to his unexpected appointment with Justinia.

"You think he can't handle a simple locate and terminate assignment?"

Tseng glared at his mentor. "You know perfectly well why I'm concerned."

Veld took a seat across from the younger Turk. "Yes. I do. And _you_ know that, if he's going to be your successor, you can't shield him from the less pleasant parts of the job indefinitely. It needs to be done. It's long past time, really. And as you're sidelined, it only makes sense that the responsibility for doing it should fall to Reno."

"I know, sir... I just –"

"You want to protect him," Veld calmly acknowledged, "You don't need to explain. It was no easier for me to let _you_ come to understand what being Second in Command really means. But it's a heavy responsibility you're asking him to bear, and the sooner he begins to experience the more difficult parts of the job, the sooner he'll be able to accept them."

"Yes, sir," Tseng sighed.

"How are your preparations for the new rookies coming?" the Turk leader queried, and Tseng couldn't help but smirk.

"Ignoring the fact that you're not so subtly changing the subject on me... they're coming along quite well. Reno and I have worked out a _reasonably_ coherent itinerary for their introduction to the team, and scheduled as many of the necessities as possible," he replied, "Incidentally... has Latchley officially accepted yet? I can't push through the paperwork for her credentials until she does."

Veld frowned. "No... she hasn't. And frankly I'm a little surprised, considering how quickly the others did so. But... she has until Friday. I wouldn't start worrying just yet. Some recruits prefer to take their time with a decision like this... just to be sure they're absolutely certain it's a commitment they want to make."

Tseng nodded in understanding.

"I'm also supposed to tell you that you're invited to dinner tonight... Esme is supremely annoyed that she hasn't had the opportunity to fuss over you since she heard about your injury, and Felicia seems to have emerged from her overcrowded social calendar long enough to wonder where you've been hiding yourself."

The Wutaiian Turk smiled, laughing softly. "A home-cooked meal would be... very welcome," he chuckled, "Reno is a superb assistant, and a very reliable caregiver... but I swear to Leviathan, if I end up eating pizza _again_ this week..." he sighed, trailing off dramatically. Veld laughed.

"How do braised pork ribs sound?"

"Far, _far_ better than jalapeño, onion, and pineapple pizza..." Tseng deadpanned.

"... Who in their right mind –" Veld began, and then shook his head, "No. Nevermind. I should really know better than to question anything he eats by now."

"I _do_ know better, but I still question it on occasion," the younger Turk snickered, "He convinced me... _once_... to try it. It's a positively vile combination."

Before Veld could comment further, Reno poked his head through the still-partially-open door.

"What's a positively vile combination?" he asked.

"You're preferred pizza toppings," Tseng stated, "What did Justinia have to say?"

"That she's givin' out flu shots startin' the first of the month and I'd better haul my backside downstairs to get one this year, or I'll be sorry," he replied, "And... yeah, I'm cleared for field duty."

"Good. Sit down." Veld gestured to the seat beside him, and Tseng shuffled aside a handful of folders before finally extracting one and passing it over to him. Reno flipped through it briefly, lingering on the photo of his target.

"Sampson Ellerton, formerly of the Shinra Company IT division," said Tseng, "In spite of his attempts to cover his tracks, we've located him in a hotel in Costa del Sol. You'll find details of his accommodations in the dossier. He's to be terminated on sight."

"... 'kay. I can do that," Reno replied, with a note of confusion in his voice. "Now what are you _not_ tellin' me?"

Veld snorted softly, and when the redhead glanced over at him, he looked vaguely amused by the query.

"Your protege is nothing if not perceptive," he chuckled, and Tseng smiled slightly at the comment. He leaned forward, resting elbows on top of his desk and steepling his fingers before him.

"Uh, oh..." Reno murmured.

" _Your_ assignment is not to take out the target," said Tseng. He quietly took a breath and released it slowly. "Your assignment is to supervise Liam when _he_ does it."

* * *

Reno flipped through the file on Ellerton again. It was short. The guy didn't seem to have much going for him. No family. Not much of a social life, apparently. He came in, kept his head down, did his job and went home. He'd done so for the last four years. By all accounts, he was a complete non-descript, non-stand-out, non... presence. Right up until he stuck a virus on a file server that had caused enough chaos down in IT and security that a handful of Zenshou could slip through the backdoor. Kai had found a rather hefty deposit in his bank account made just two days prior. Obviously, they'd bought their way in.

And the scumbag was gonna pay for selling out the Company.

That, however, was not the thought that was foremost in Reno's mind as he sat in the cockpit of the Turks' helicopter, waiting for the rookie to join him. No, _he_ was thinking about how in the Nine Hells he was going to tell him that they were assassins today, and the kid would be the one pulling the trigger.

He _very_ clearly remembered his own first kill assignment... how terrified he'd been, holding a gun on a man who'd been foolish enough to steal from Shinra. Not because the son of a bitch represented any kind of threat to him – by that point, he'd been unarmed, and Tseng had shattered his knee, leaving him essentially helpless – but because he was about to take a life. It wasn't even in self defense. It was a cold-blooded murder of someone who was, literally, begging for his life by the time Reno'd leveled the gun at him.

And now _he_ was supposed to make Liam do the same thing.

Reno had been angry at Tseng afterwards. Not just because he'd forced him to kill... but because he hadn't even told him what was expected of him until the moment came to do it. He'd let him think, the entire journey to Gongaga, that he was just going along to see how it was done. He'd been almost as furious with Tseng as he'd been disgusted with himself.

Nowadays, he didn't so much as blink when he was given orders to kill. But that _first_ time...

Sure, he'd gotten over it. He'd forgiven his mentor for so abruptly shoving him into that situation. He ultimately even understood _why_ Tseng had chosen not to tell him the real purpose of their assignment from the start, and didn't hold it against him now. But he hadn't forgotten the way it had felt.

He had a sneaking suspicion that he wasn't going to forget how _this_ felt anytime soon, either.

Reno very nearly laughed when he thought about how, just a little while ago, he'd been starting to think that Tseng's job wasn't nearly as difficult as he'd imagined. In reality, that was so far from the truth, the naïvete of it was almost painful. Tseng's job was _anything_ but easy. He'd always known that. But until recently, he hadn't _really_ fathomed to what extent that was true. Some of the shit his mentor had to deal with was seriously fucked up.

Like ordering a rookie to kill a guy in cold blood. At not quite nineteen, Liam wasn't _that_ much older than Reno'd been. He was still just a kid, in the grand scheme of things.

And now the redhead was faced with a decision. Tell him now? Or wait, the way Tseng had, until it was time to take the killshot. He didn't wantto tell him, to be honest. He didn't really _want_ to do any of this at all. He'd have much rather handled the target himself. But, again, he thought of how furious he'd been. How unprepared. How... hurt. He'd pushed Tseng away when he _really_ could have used someone to talk to because of that anger, and he didn't want Liam to have to go through that.

So he decided. He didn't want the rookie to be angry with _him_ the way he'd been angry with Tseng.

Mere seconds after he'd made that decision, he spotted Liam emerging onto the rooftop of the Shinra Building, and eagerly sprinting towards the helicopter. Reno cringed slightly at the enthusiasm on display. He knew exactly where _that_ came from. Rookies tended not to get out of the city much until they had a little more experience. Aside from the trip to Wutai, and maybe the odd hike over to Kalm or Junon, the vast majority of the assignments Liam had been given up until now had kept him safely in Midgar. A mystery assignment on a whole other continent with only Reno along to supervise was inevitably going to breed excitement.

A moment later, Liam had climbed inside and the door on the side of the aircraft was hauled shut. The rookie quickly tossed a small bag into the back and joined him in the cockpit, strapping himself into the co-pilot's seat and grinning at the senior Turk.

"Ready to go, sir!" he proclaimed.

The redhead sighed and steeled himself for what he had to do.

* * *

Ryu sat in silence enjoying the warm afternoon. There wouldn't be many more... Fall was here, and though the days were still pleasant enough, the nights were getting noticeably cooler. It wouldn't be long before the season changed fully... and not much longer still before there'd be snow on the ground.

As transplants, both of his parents were still far more accustomed to the perpetually mild climate of their homeland, even after more than a decade. He, however, had lived in Midgar since he was three years old, and rather enjoyed the variability between the seasons. His father's usual grumbling about the weather had already begun when he'd gone to tell them that he'd been accepted into the Turks last weekend.

Their reaction had been about what he'd expected. Pride, with a healthy dose of concern. His mother, in particular, hadn't been overly thrilled with the idea of her only son becoming a Turk, but in the end, she had given him her blessing. His father, however, couldn't have been prouder. The Turks were among Shinra's elite. Quite a bit more distinguished than his own career on the reactor design team.

He'd accepted the promotion immediately, of course. The Commander had barely gotten the words out when Ryu had said yes. There was no need to think about anything for even a second, let alone the entire seven days he'd been allotted. He knew what he wanted, and when it was offered to him, he jumped at it. Starting on Monday... less than a week from now... he'd be a Turk.

He'd already seen to renting an apartment. For the last year, he'd been living in the recruitment center dorms, rather than at home with his parents, and he didn't intend to go back. He was an adult now, and wanted to live as such. His family was loving and kind... but being an only child, they tended to baby him. His mother was especially guilty of treating him like a ten year old rather than a nineteen year old. The dorms had been his first step towards life on his own, and he'd found that he enjoyed his new freedom immensely.

"Hey, Ryu..." a voice called out, interrupting his momentary self-reflection, and he glanced up, vaguely annoyed. Victor grinned at him from the door that led to the roof stairs, and stepped outside, letting it shut behind him. "Thought I might find you up here. You haven't seen Zephyr, by any chance, have you?"

"No, I haven't. Why?" he asked. The older recruit shook his head and walked over to where Ryu was perched on a small ledge and took a seat beside him.

"I haven't seen her outside of the training hall since Saturday. I keep trying to ask her if she was offered a promotion, too, but I can't seem to catch up with her long enough to even say 'Hi'. Kinda seems like she's avoiding me."

"Maybe she didn't _receive_ an offer..." Ryu suggested.

"Yeah," Victor sighed, "That's kinda what I'm afraid of. She's been so down on herself since the whole Great Flood incident. I'm a little worried that if she _didn't_ make it, she might just call it quits all together and drop out of the program."

"Not everyone is cut out to be a Turk. If she wasn't offered a promotion, then, I rather hate to say it, but maybe it's for the best."

Victor frowned. "That's cold, Ryu."

"I'm just being realistic. _If_ she was turned down, it was for a reason. Perhaps that reason is that the Commander simply didn't think she had what it takes after our evaluations."

"Hmph... Yeah, well... do me a favor and keep that opinion to yourself if you see her, will ya? And let her know I'm looking for her."

"Should I happen upon her, I will deliver the message," Ryu replied, with a note of disinterest. Victor rolled his eyes and got to his feet.

"And pull that stick outta your ass, while you're at it. It's up so far, you're gonna lose track of it if you're not careful," he added, before returning from whence he came.

~end chapter 60~


	61. Kill Shot

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 61: Kill Shot**

 **by Desha**

Liam was shaking. Not in the metaphorical sense... _literally_ shaking. And it had nothing to do with the vibrations of the helicopter as it streaked across the ocean, either.

He'd been so excited about the prospect of a mission outside of the city. When he'd found out he'd be accompanying the senior Turk all the way to _Costa del Sol_ , he'd hardly been able to contain himself. The last time he'd left Midgar on Turks business had been Wutai... which hadn't gone _quite_ how he'd expected it to. The attempted theft of the the Shinra flagship and Reno nearly dying while saving the vice president had certainly made it a _memorable_ trip... but not in the way any of them had wanted. An assignment in sunny Costa del Sol promised a far more enjoyable excursion... even if he _would_ be working.

And then Reno had told him _why_ they were being sent there.

He'd always known that, eventually, as a Turk, he'd have to kill. It was part of the job, and an unavoidable one at that. He just... didn't think it would be so _soon_. He _certainly_ hadn't thought it would be _today_.

He felt chilled in spite of the warm sunlight streaming through the cockpit's windshield, and shuddered slightly when he realized that he could see the dark band separating sea from sky that denoted the western continent's shore. They were almost there.

After Reno had finished briefing him on their mission, they'd lapsed into silence. Liam hadn't been able to think of anything to say, and, he suspected, at least, that the senior Turk was simply giving him time to process what he was expected to do when they reached their destination.

"Hey," a voice spoke directly into his ear, and Liam startled violently, looking around... until he realized that he was wearing one of the aircraft's headsets, and the voice had only been Reno's. The redhead gave a soft laugh. "Sorry... Didn't mean to scare the crap outta ya."

"I... guess I was little lost in my own thoughts, sir," the rookie replied, face flushing in embarrassment. He heard Reno sigh over the electronic channel.

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout _that_ ,too." He shook his head slightly. "I honestly don' know what's worse. Tellin' a guy he's gotta kill someone 'n lettin' him spend the next few hours thinkin' about it? Or springin' it on him outta nowhere."

"... I _almost_ wish you'd sprung it on me out of nowhere, sir..." Liam said. Reno gave him a somewhat sad smile.

"Trust me, rookie. _That's_ no picnic, either."

Liam looked over at the senior Turk.

"Is... that what happened to you?" he asked. The redhead nodded.

"Yep. Tseng hauled me across half the damn western continent, without sayin' a word about it. Our target was hidin' out in the forest around Gongaga, so we ride in on chocobo-back, get set up stakin' out his camp, 'n the whole time I'm thinkin' I'm just there to watch... 'n then... Yeah. I'm not gonna sugar coat it for ya. This is gonna suck. It's gonna suck a _lot_."

"What if I... can't?" the rookie hesitantly queried.

"You can. And you're gonna. It's my job to make sure ya _do_." He snorted mirthlessly, "Which, full disclosure, isn't exactly what _I_ wanted to do today, either. But... ya know. Orders are orders."

Liam lapsed back into silence again after that. What if he really _couldn't_ go through with it? Would Reno just report back that he'd failed the mission? Or... would he actually force him to do it somehow? How do you _force_ someone to kill another person, anyway? The rookie wasn't sure he wanted to find out...

* * *

Rufus scowled at the latest message from Erik Setzer... the owner of the property upon which the Gongaga reactor had been built. It was a firm "no" on any sort of additional recovery effort. Shinra wasn't welcome... not even to clean up their mess. The reply had been worded apologetically, stating that he was doing this in the interest of keeping up his relationship with the rest of the townspeople... but there was an undercurrent of anger in the short missive that didn't slip by the vice president's notice.

He really couldn't blame the man. Rufus had heard from a moderately more friendly contact in the town that Setzer's son had fallen ill with mako poisoning after the explosion and was still suffering from some of the effects. He couldn't stand the spoiled little prat, personally, but... he could hardly fault a father for siding with protecting his offspring, loathsome as he was, rather than continuing to pursue the business deal that had caused the injury in the first place.

Unfortunately, that left him in somewhat hot water with his _own_ father. The President had been counting on Rufus to negotiate some sort of agreement with the man... if not to rebuild, than at least to recover scrap and any materia that had accumulated in the core. The highly classified technology – the pieces that had survived the blast, at any rate – had already been removed by the Reactor Maintenance Department during the investigation into the cause of the explosion... but there was still several million gil worth of scrap metal on the site, and any remaining viable materia could be processed and sold, as well. It wouldn't do _much_ to offset the loss of the facility... but it would help. If nothing else, it would likely cover most of the cost of the remediation efforts Shinra had already funded to get the town back up and running again. It seemed that they weren't even going to get _that_ much of a concession, however.

"Sir," his intercom suddenly called out, interrupting his ruminations, "Veld of the Turks to see you."

The vice president's eyebrow rose in curiosity. It wasn't often that the Turk commander made his way up to the executive offices without being explicitly summoned. And generally, if Veld needed something from from _him_ specifically, he sent Tseng with the request, as it was far more likely to be granted coming from his second in command.

"Send him in," he responded, somewhat intrigued. A moment later, the door opened, and the man himself stepped inside. He pointedly closed the door behind him and made his way over to Rufus' desk, pausing in front of it. He stood, waiting for the younger man to acknowledge him... and normally Rufus might have been tempted to make him wait, but today his curiosity got the better of him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, dryly.

"I have a request, sir," Veld stated, bluntly, and Rufus snorted.

"Just because I occasionally deign to entertain minor favors for your protege when it doesn't unduly inconvenience me doesn't mean it's something I wish to make a habit of. Or extend to the _rest_ of your ranks."

To his surprise, the comment drew a quiet chuckle from the man... which only served to to further pique the executive's interest.

"No, sir. I quite understand that. It's not... _precisely_... a favor I'm after, however," Veld replied. Rufus gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, and the Turk readily accepted the invitation.

"Then just what _does_ bring you here? I was under the impression that you were sufficiently occupied with this Ramuh-forsaken Zenshou situation. It seems to me that social visits should be taking a back seat for the time being," he snarked.

"I'm here to request your assistance," Veld said, "You're absolutely right. The Turks have their hands quite full at the moment... but there are other matters, not related to our current investigations, that can't simply be ignored in favor of focusing everything we have on the Zenshou. You may have heard we're adding additional personnel next week, for instance."

"Tseng _may_ have mentioned as much," Rufus replied, feigning disinterest... though he had a feeling Veld saw right through it.

"Did he also mention that he's chosen a successor?"

Rufus rolled his eyes. "You mean the Slum Rat? Please... that's hardly news. He's been showing blatant favoritism to that idiot for nearly four years now. He certainly didn't have to make an announcement regarding his intentions."

"Yes, sir," Veld replied, and Rufus got the distinct impression that he was trying very hard not to laugh, "In any case... Tseng is, in fact, the reason for my visit. It's time for me to evaluate him. A _final_ evaluation of sorts."

The vice president blinked in surprise, sitting up slightly.

"Evaluate him for what, exactly?" he asked, now _far_ beyond merely curious.

"To see how close he is to being truly ready to take over for me one day," Veld replied, "I'd like _you_ to assist in that evaluation."

"... Why me?" he asked, dropping all pretense of disinterest, and leaning forward in his chair.

"Because of the nature of your relationship with him. You're close to him. Closer, even, than many of his fellow Turks, in fact. What I have in mind requires that. As well as _absolute_ secrecy. He cannot know about _any_ of this beforehand. It's not a difficult task I have in mind for you... but it _is_ an essential one... if you're willing, sir?"

Rufus smirked slightly and folded his hands in front of him on top of his desk.

"Just what is it you would have me do... ?" he queried.

* * *

Reno watched as a man of about twenty-five made his way down the beach towards the water, a surfboard tucked under one arm. He had the look of someone who hadn't seen the sun in years. Pale, almost pasty complexion... long hair, unkempt from the warm breeze blowing across the sand... the awkward gait of someone who spent long hours sitting...

That was their rogue computer nerd, alright. Liam had spotted him, too. The redhead had seen the tension in his body visibly increase as soon has he'd wandered into view. He was just waiting for the kid to say something... had _been_ waiting for a good three minutes, in fact.

He couldn't say he didn't understand. As soon as one of them acknowledged the target, they were on, and the rookie would have to make his first kill. As much as he wished he could do otherwise, Reno couldn't let the delay continue indefinitely. He'd just opened his mouth to say something, when Liam beat him to it.

"I-I... I see him, sir. Over there. Heading into the water."

Reno lowered his binoculars. "Yep. That's our target."

He heard Liam slowly exhale a long, shuddering breath.

"Sir? How are we going to do this with so many people around?" he asked.

"We're not. Gonna have to watch 'n wait 'til he moves somewhere a little more secluded," Reno replied, settling back against the palm tree they were presently seated under. "Get comfortable, kid. I have a feeling we're gonna be here for awhile."

Liam sighed and joined him in the shade, eyes still firmly locked on the man they'd been sent after. He was silent for several minutes as they watched Ellerton enjoying himself in the waves. Eventually, he glanced back at the senior Turk.

"Sir?"

"Yeah?" Reno asked, head cocked to one side, wondering what – besides the obvious – was on the rookie's mind.

"Do you... ever think about him?" he asked, "Er... the first man _you_ killed?"

"Sometimes, I s'pose," Reno replied, honestly. "I mean... I didn't really know anything _about_ him, aside from what was in his file so there's not a whole hell of a lot _to_ think about. And I sure as hell didn't need to go lookin' into the guy afterwards."

"What did he do?" Liam queried.

"Stole a weapon prototype. He worked in one of Scarlet's labs. One day, I guess he just said fuck it 'n walked out the door with one of her projects," the redhead replied, "Don't get me wrong... killin' him sucked. But I don't have a whole lotta sympathy for the son of a bitch. He tried to shoot _me_ with it. Pretty sure I'd be dead right now if the fucker actually knew how to aim. Damn thing reduced the tree I was usin' for cover to next to nothin'."

"Do you ever get used to it? To killing?"

"... Ya know, I kinda wish I could tell ya no," Reno said with a quiet sigh, "But... yeah. Truth is, ya do eventually get a little numb to it. Heh... How fucked up is that?"

"Have... you killed a _lot_ of people?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Kid... take my advice. Don't start countin'. I kept track for awhile. I quit pretty soon after I hit double digits, 'cause it started keepin' me up at night. It doesn't do ya any good to remember 'em all by name. Or... ya know... at all."

Liam sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

"I don't know if I can just... not remember them."

The redhead smiled slightly and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He stuck one between his lips and then fished around for his lighter for a moment before lighting it up and taking a long drag off of it.

"We're Turks," he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke, "We do the shit other people don't _wanna_ do. It's just somethin' we gotta learn to live with..." He suddenly laughed softly. " _Fuck_ ,I missed bein' able to smoke. Remind me to never get shot in the lung again."

Liam managed a faint, and somewhat forced, laugh himself.

"I guess I just can't imagine it not bothering me, sir..."

Reno flicked the ash from his cigarette into the breeze.

"I know," he said, eyeing their target. He was still in the water, fumbling on top of the surfboard, attempting to stay upright on top of the waves. He lasted all of about fifteen seconds. "The first person I killed wasn't the first person I _tried_ to kill, ya know. Back before I was a Turk, right before I got recruited, I got jumped over in Sector Eight. I fought back. Stabbed the asshole in the chest... _Thought_ he was dead for a second. Totally self-defense, and I still felt like I was gonna be sick 'cause I'd just killed a guy. 'N then the fucker yanks the blade outta his own chest and comes at me again. Tseng put a bullet in his head." He took another drag off his cigarette before continuing. "Our lives are dangerous. There's always gonna be someone out there that's ready, willing, and able to kill you. You hesitate, thinkin' too hard about what takin' a life makes you, 'n you're gonna die. Or, worse, someone you care about's gonna die. Turks are killers because we don't have any other choice. I _almost_ learned that the hard way before I even officially _was_ one."

Liam nodded in reply, turning his gaze back on their target. He seemed to have tired of his attempts to surf, and was making his way back up the beach.

"Come on, rookie. Time to put all that shadowin' practice to good use. Let's see where he's goin'."

* * *

"Where he was going" turned out to be all over the goddamned town. Reno was half convinced they'd end up having to take the son of a bitch out in the middle of a crowd if they wanted to get back to Midgar sometime before next week. They tailed Ellerton from the beach to a cabana party to the bar to a beach volleyball game, _back_ to the damn bar, and then down to the beach yet again for a firedancing show before he _finally_ decided to turn in for the night and started making his way back towards his hotel room.

The pair of Turks watched him silently from the shadows as he moved farther and farther away from the crowds of vacationers enjoying the resort town's nightlife.

"Ready?" he asked, glancing over at Liam. The rookie Turk swallowed nervously.

"... As I'll ever be, I guess..." he replied.

"Wait 'til he's in the alley. And use your silencer. No sense wakin' up half the neighborhood."

Liam nodded and hurriedly attached the silencer to the barrel of his weapon.

Ellerton was drunk. He stumbled through the warm, tropical night, humming to himself and catching his balance on the palm trees that lined the small street he was slowly making his way down. Reno watched in silence as the rookie made his move, creeping up behind the man just as he entered the alleyway that would take him over to his hotel. Reno waited a moment and followed, keeping some distance between himself and the rookie. He had to remind himself that he was only there to back the kid up. Not to take out the target _for_ him.

Liam slipped into the alley behind him, and took aim... and froze. The redhead waited, giving him a chance to compose himself, but suddenly a loud yelp from the far and of the alley alerted him to the fact that their target had spotted his would-be assassin. There was a loud flurry of movement as he attempted to flee to the relative safety of the opposite street.

Reno sighed, and moved in.

By the time he arrived at the entrance to the alley, Liam had the man in his sights, his arms shaking, his finger frozen on the trigger. The senior Turk swore softly under his breath and drew his own weapon, quickly taking aim and squeezing off a single shot. Ellerton went down with a shriek, and the rookie breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"Don't relax just yet, rookie," he said, and motioned for him to follow. He headed down the alley at a sprint, and found the man whimpering in pain, his right leg bloodied around the knee. Liam watched, slightly horrified as Reno tucked his gun back into its holster. Reno glanced back at him with an expression of pity.

"Sorry, kid. But I was specifically ordered not to do it for ya..."

Liam looked decidedly ill as he approached, raising his weapon.

"... N-no... P-please..." Ellerton moaned, half in pain, half in abject terror. The rookie looked up at the redhead, wide-eyed.

"Orders are orders," Reno said quietly. Liam wordlessly took aim, and then closed his eyes, turning his head away... and pulled the trigger.

Reno flinched at the sound of the gunshot, which, even silenced, seemed far too loud to his ears, and swallowed harshly as he turned towards Liam.

He suddenly had a whole new respect for his mentor. That day in the forest near Gongaga, he'd thought that what _he_ had to do was hard. But what Tseng had done... _that_ had to have been far worse. Taking someone and stripping away a part of their innocence. Tuning them into a killer against their will. It hurt... and it left him feeling dirty. And Reno suddenly felt the overwhelming need to apologize to Tseng for his _own_ reaction all those years ago. For the anger and the bitterness. For the cruel words he was certain he'd at least thought, if not said out loud. For turning his back on him, however briefly.

He quickly shook himself from his thoughts, snapping back into the present. Ellerton was very much dead. And they needed to get out of there before the locals discovered them standing over the body and started asking uncomfortable questions.

"Come on, rookie," he said, turning the younger Turk around and hightailing it out of the alley, back the way they'd come. Before they reached the street at the end, he took the gun from Liam's hand and tucked it into his pocket, out of sight. Liam didn't say a word the entire walk back to the small hotel they'd booked a room in earlier that day. He didn't say anything as Reno guided him inside and locked the door behind him, or when he sat him down on the bed. Or when, a moment later, Liam stood up again and all but collapsed into the redhead's arms, holding onto the senior Turk as if his life depended on it.

* * *

Liam woke the following morning with a dull headache and a vague sense that something was different. For a very brief moment, he had no idea where he even _was_... until it all came flooding back into his head a few moments later.

Ellerton.

He'd frozen completely the moment he had him in his sights, and when the man had looked back and seen him standing there, pointing a gun at him, his resolve had left him completely. He just... couldn't do it. When he'd heard the shot fired from Reno's gun, the relief had been so profound that he'd nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude. In that moment, he really had thought that the senior Turk had taken pity on him. That he wasn't going to have to do this. Not yet.

And then he'd followed the redhead to the other end of the alley where Ellerton was lying on the ground, moaning in pain as he clutched at his bleeding leg. The shot looked like it had hit the back of his knee as he was trying to run. He was just... lying there, helpless... and Liam knew.

There was no pity. Or... given the way Reno had looked at him, maybe there was, but the senior Turk couldn't have acted on it, even if he'd wanted to.

Liam hadn't been able to watch while he'd done it. He'd pointed the gun and he'd looked away. He didn't even remember looking back down at Ellerton _after_ the fact... though to be fair, everything after that was kind of a blur anyway. He remembered walking – not running, just walking briskly – and Reno saying something to him. The next thing he knew he was waking up, with little more than a fuzzy memory of being held.

Which was, itself, a little embarrassing. Had he cried? Dear Shiva, he hoped he hadn't cried. What kind of a Turk _cried_ over following orders? Reno had to think he was a total pussy after last night.

Liam groaned and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Speaking of Reno, where was he? The rookie glanced around the room, and noticed that the doors were open to the balcony, and over the soft sound of tropical birds singing and crashing waves, he could hear a quiet voice. Liam dragged himself from the bed and crept over to the balcony.

"Yeah, I know... I let 'im sleep in a little. We're leavin' soon as the kid wakes up," Reno said, speaking into his PHS as he exhaled a plume of smoke from a cigarette. "Heh... well, actually we're gettin' coffee first, 'cause there's no way in hell I'm makin' that flight uncaffeinated. _Then_ we're leavin'."

He paused for a moment, listening to the reply on the other end of the line.

"Tch... well, I _would_ , but I'm not sure we're gonna have time. Kid's been pretty much dead to the world since last night."

Liam hesitantly peered around the doorframe, waiting for the senior Turk to finish his call... but apparently he wasn't quite stealthy enough, because the moment he _did_ , the redhead's gaze drifted over to him and he smirked slightly.

"Gotta go, Boss. Looks like I'm gonna have time for breakfast after all." He snapped the PHS shut and tucked it back into his pocket. "Hey."

"... Hey," Liam replied.

" _You_ look like hell," the senior Turk commented, dropping the remains of his cigarette on the balcony and grinding it beneath his boot.

"..." The younger Turk dropped his gaze, face flushing with embarrassment.

"I'm kidding," Reno snickered, "Well... mostly. Go get dressed. Boss wants us back in Midgar by this afternoon 'n it's already goin' on ten. If we're gonna get food, we're gonna have to do it fast."

"W-what about Ellerton?" the rookie asked.

"He was pretty dead, last I saw him. Don't think he'll be joinin' us," Reno snickered.

"I mean... what about the body?"

The senior Turk shook his head. "Locals are takin' care of it. Far as they're concerned, he's just an unlucky tourist that got mugged. Happens on occasion, even _here_. Which works to our advantage, seein' as now we don't have to deal with cleanup."

"... Oh."

Reno sighed softly and stepped back from the railing, joining Liam back inside the room and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"I _told_ ya it was gonna suck, didn't I?"

"Yes, sir," the rookie breathed.

"It gets easier," he assured him, "Which... I know _probably_ isn't all that comforting right now, all things considered. It probably _shouldn't_ get easier. But it does."

He was right. Liam didn't really find that comforting at all.

* * *

Reno sank down on the bed after Liam had disappeared into the bathroom for a quick shower and some clean clothes. The rookie had been a mess last night... to the point that the redhead had legitimately questioned if he'd done the right thing by telling him ahead of time.

When Tseng had surprised him with the order, he'd been so pissed off afterwards, he'd largely _forgotten_ to be upset. And then he'd spent the remainder of the evening worried half out of his mind because his mentor hadn't come back before the storm that had hit the area started. By the time he'd really had a moment to process what he'd done... the initial shock had already long since passed. It had still hit him pretty hard... but not _nearly_ as hard as it could have.

Maybe he'd been selfish in opting not to risk having the rookie's wrath directed squarely at him. His own anger had protected _him_ from the worst of it, even though he still felt bad about Tseng having to bear the brunt of it at the time.

Plus there was the fact that he knew damn well that this mission wasn't _just_ about the rookie making his first kill. It was _also_ about Reno. This was... maybe not a test, exactly, but certainly a learning experience. That was why _he'd_ been sent. Not Kai. Not Sykes. Him.

He was going to be second in command. One day, all of Tseng's responsibilities would revert to _him_. He was beginning to understand that Tseng's role on the team extended _well_ beyond training and keeping order and making difficult decisions... and that sometimes it was hard to balance responsibility with compassion.

* * *

Victor rubbed his shoulder as he made his way back upstairs. He was pretty sure Kylie was still pissed that _he'd_ gotten a promotion and _she_ hadn't even been considered for final evaluation. She damn sure hadn't pulled any punches this morning, _that_ was for certain. He was kind of going to miss her when he moved out, though. Sure, she was a giant bitch most of the time, but she was easily one of the best when it came to sparring. He respected that.

Speaking of moving out... he _still_ had to find a new place. It wasn't like they were going to immediately throw him out of the dorms as soon as his promotion officially kicked in, but now that he was finally going to be drawing a real salary again instead of the fairly meager stipend recruits received while they were in training, he was eager to have his own space.

He really _hadn't_ had a place of his own since he'd left home, seven years ago. He'd joined up with the Shinra army almost literally as soon as he was of age – it had been a mere three days after his eighteenth birthday, in fact – and had been there right up until he'd decided to throw his lot in with the Turks after the war. And while he had enjoyed the camaraderie of bunking with his fellow soldiers, and later his fellow recruits, he was more than ready to have a room to himself again.

Ryu, apparently, agreed. Hell, _he_ was already packing. Victor had initially assumed he was moving back in with his family for awhile, seeing as they lived right over in Sector 1, but he'd learned just that morning that he already had an apartment lined up. Before he could ruminate further on _that_ matter, however, he spotted another familiar face. One he'd been looking for all damn week, and somehow hadn't been able to catch up to... in spite of the relatively small size of the recruitment center.

"Hey! Zephyr!" he called out, quickening his pace to catch up to the young woman. She paused in her bid for the elevator as her fellow recruit came up to her. " _Finally_. I was starting to think you were avoiding me."

Zephyr sighed. "Sorry. I've kind of been avoiding _everyone_. I just... had a lot to think about."

Victor frowned slightly, assuming the worst.

"... Don't tell me you didn't make the cut."

The younger recruit shook her head. "No... I _did_..."

"So what's up? You don't look especially happy about it..."

"I'm not accepting," she replied, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Victor blinked. "Say what?! Zephyr... What the hell? You've been working towards this for almost a year now! You turn 'em down, they're not gonna make you a _second_ offer..."

"I know," she whispered, and then shook her head, "I just... I don't want to talk about it."

With that, she turned on her heel and practically sprinted for the elevator.

"Zephyr!" Victor called after her, but she'd already darted through the doors and hit the button. They closed behind her before he could say any more.

* * *

The helicopter arrived on the rooftop of the Shinra Building at exactly 2:17 pm. A little later than Reno had intended, but they'd had to fight a strong headwind the entire way back. By the time they'd reached the city, the wind had shifted... but now it was blowing in from due north, which was _almost_ worse than tackling it head on. Judging by the clouds that were being blown in with it, Midgar was in for a little weather this afternoon.

Reno had seen the rookie back to his office, and then had gone on to report in himself. He'd found Tseng in a... somewhat undignified position... with his injured leg on top of his desk as he frantically jabbed the eraser-end of a pencil into the top of the cast.

"Uh... Boss?" the redhead snickered.

"This Leviathan-forsaken _thing_ is driving me mad," he hissed, "It's as if it's been intentionally engineered to trigger an itch that's just out of reach."

Reno grinned and pulled his EMR from his belt, before extending it with a flick of his wrist and tossing it to his mentor. Tseng didn't need any further encouragement, sliding it into the gap between his leg and the cast and groaning in relief.

"Thank you," he breathed. He shook his head as he withdrew the weapon. "Weapons Research would have a fit if they knew an advanced piece of mako-powered weaponry was being used as little better than a back scratcher."

"I won't tell Scarlet if you don't," the redhead teased. Tseng grudgingly returned the EMR.

"How was your flight?" he asked.

"Fine," Reno replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "Kid was pretty quiet the whole way back... not that I'm real surprised." He paused for a moment before finally taking a seat in front of his mentor's desk. "And also... I'm really, _really_ sorry for bein' a such a little shit back in Gongaga."

"You already apologized for that over three years ago. You needn't do so a second time." Tseng smiled faintly. "You didn't _have_ to do so the first time, in point of fact. You had every right to be furious at me."

"Yeah... maybe," Reno breathed, running a hand through his hair. "But experiencin' it from _your_ point of view... I get it now. I mean, I kinda got it before, but... I _really_ get it now. I shoulda done it the same way with Liam. I think I kinda fucked up, tellin' him ahead of time like I did."

Tseng shook his head. "There is no 'right' way to introduce a young Turk to murdering a fellow human being. And it's never pleasant... for _anyone_ involved. He accomplished his mission. And you accomplished yours. Now you _both_ have to learn to live with that."

"I feel like the biggest asshole on the fuckin' planet for makin' him do it."

"I'm... very familiar with that feeling. You're never truly prepared for it. And I'm afraid it doesn't get any less distasteful with experience," he said, "Beyond what you told me on the phone this morning... were there any complications?"

"Nah... it was a pretty textbook termination. Checked the local news before we left. It's bein' written off as a mugging gone bad, just like I figured it would."

"Good. I'll let Veld know that he can extend our... condolences... to Ellerson's former coworkers for his unfortunate run-in with the criminal element in Costa del Sol."

Reno snorted in somewhat mirthless laughter. "Boss? Does it ever bother you that every time we have an assignment like this, we gotta not-so-subtly let the people that worked with our target know that we were the ones that took 'em out?"

"It's a necessary evil," Tseng replied, "And a very effective one, for the most part. Consider how many _more_ such assignments we would likely have if we _didn't_ deter others from making the same mistake."

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right. Still pretty fucked up, though."

"Yes... It is," Tseng readily agreed. "And that's precisely why it falls to _us_." 

~end chapter 61~


	62. A Little Convincing

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 62: A Little Convincing**

 **by Desha**

Friday morning, Reno walked into the office he shared with Rude, and found that it was still empty. He groaned quietly, and assumed that his friend was still in Wutai with Remy. Which made sense. Veld had essentially said they'd be there for "however long it takes" to get some concrete information on who the Zenshou were working for.

He understood the necessity... but he really would have been glad to have walked in today and seen Rude sitting at his desk.

He and Tseng had continued their discussion about the difficulties that came along with being second in command after work – and Reno _did_ feel a bit better about what had gone down in Costa del Sol afterwards – but sometimes a guy just needed his best friend.

On the bright side, though, it was almost the weekend. That meant a nice little break, and then, on Monday, the new rookies would arrive. _That_ was something he was looking forward to. And it wasn't just that they were getting new personnel... they'd be the first rookies that joined the team since Tseng had told him. The first ones he'd be training, _knowing_ that this was his future.

He was nervous and excited... and nervous... and intent on making a good first impression. Did he mention that he was nervous?

And he kind of had a good reason to be. Since Tseng was injured, _he_ was going to be taking over for his mentor on a lot of the orientation stuff on Monday, the building tour being the big item on his to-do list. The Shinra Building was a fucking cool place to work. He had to admit, he was pretty jazzed about showing it off to the newbies. At the same time, though, he was a little worried. He'd never had to play tour guide before. What if he sucked at it and somehow made it so boring his audience lost interest halfway through? There were seventy goddamned floors, after all. It was a _long_ tour. To that end, he'd been doing a little research off and on since Tuesday or so...

A knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts, however.

"Yeah?" he called out, without glancing up from the morning bulletins that were currently displayed on his computer's screen.

"Sir?" a voice timidly inquired, and the redhead turned his gaze on the door, where Petra was now hovering indecisively. He snorted softly, realizing he hadn't _actually_ given the rookie permission to enter.

"Tch... Come on in 'n sit down," he snickered. Petra glanced over her shoulder and hurried inside, quietly shutting the door behind her and then paused, looking around the room.

"Er... _where_ , sir?"

Reno blinked and remembered that he'd shoved most of the unnecessary furniture over to the far wall earlier in the week to give him more space for working out the aforementioned building tour, and most other surfaces were piled with pamphlets and brochures from the various departments they'd be visiting.

"Oh... right. I'm a total slob," he said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "Uhhh... hang on a sec."

He stood up and slipped behind Rude's desk, commandeering his friend's chair and wheeling it over to his side of their shared space.

"There ya go!" he said, grinning at the rookie as he leaned back against the corner of his desk, and then sighed as he glanced around at the state of the office, "Oh, man... Rude isgonna _kill_ me when he sees this mess..."

"... What is all this?" Petra asked, curious.

"Eh... I'm gonna be givin' the new guys the building tour on Monday. I wanted to be prepared." He blinked, taking in a few of the piles. "In retrospect, I _mighta_ gone a little overboard with that. Um... anyway. What's up?"

"Liam," the rookie replied in a somewhat hushed tone. She shook her head. "He's... pretty upset."

The redhead sighed and sank back more against the desk, shifting his weight to the palms of his hands.

"The Costa del Sol mission?" he queried.

"Yes, sir..." Petra confirmed. "I... don't think he slept last night. He looks awful this morning. Not that I can blame him. I remember what it was like for _me_. But he seems to be having a _really_ hard time letting it go. I was kind of hoping... _you_ could talk to him?"

The redhead blinked in surprise. "Sure..." he replied, "But why me 'n not... like... Tseng? I mean, _I'm_ the guy who made him pull the trigger. Not sure _I'm_ the person he's gonna want to spill his guts to right now."

Petra considered the suggestion for a moment and then calmly shook her head. "No. I think it has to be you."

Reno cocked an eyebrow at the statement. " _Has_ to be?" he repeated with a soft chuckle. Petra flashed him a faint smile.

"Liam looks up to you, sir. It wouldn't be the same if it were someone else."

* * *

The rest of the morning was, by and large, a blur of activity for the redhead. First, there had been the morning briefing. Then... since Kai was on escort duty and Remy was still out of the city on assignment with Rude – Reno found himself unexpectedly supervising the rookies for not only their morning exercise routine, range practice, and stealth work, but also hand to hand practice and _two_ gauntlet runs. By the time they were finished, it was nearly lunch time, and he hadn't sat down in hours. Nor had he found a spare moment to speak to Liam privately.

Tseng looked up at him as the redhead finally made his way into his mentor's office and dropped into a chair with a loud grunt.

"Ya know... I'd _almost_ managed to finally repress the memory of the special kinda hell training was like as a rookie... 'n then _you_ had to go 'n fuck up your ankle right as half the team leaves town," he said jokingly. Tseng chuckled and set aside the stack of reports he'd been reading through.

"If it helps any... your efforts are _very_ much appreciated."

"Tch... yeah, tell that to the giant bruise on my thigh. Kai fuckin' left the gaunlet set on Stupid Hard again, 'n _my_ dumb ass forgot to check before startin' the first run. Had to rescue Petra from the damn shooting gallery before she got pulverized." He smirked and sat up slightly. "Enjoyin' takin' it easy?"

"No, as a matter of fact. My leg still itches constantly... and I'd somehow completely forgotten just how cumbersome using crutches to get around can be. Though on the bright side, Rufus has invited me to lunch this afternoon at the Silver Swan, so at least I won't have to endure the cafeteria."

Reno sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Guess I gotta suffer alone, then," he stated with obvious distaste.

"Is something wrong?" Tseng asked, "You normally seem quite willing to tolerate what passes for food downstairs."

"... I think I need a little advice, Boss," the redhead hesitantly acknowledged. His mentor smiled slightly nodded for him to continue. "It's Liam."

"Ah," Tseng said, with a note of understanding.

"Kid's takin' shit hard. Petra even came to me earlier askin' me to talk to him... and I _wanna_... but..." He trailed off with a shrug.

"But you don't know what to say," the Turk lieutenant finished for him.

"That... and _I_ still feel like a world-class asshole for makin' him take that shot in the first place," he muttered.

"Perhaps start with that," Tseng said, gently, and chuckled softly when the redhead rolled his eyes. "You've been where he is, Reno. You hardly even spoke to me for most of the trip back to Midgar after Gongaga. In fact, you _barely_ said two words regarding the mission itself until we were on the transport from Junon nearly three days later. You asked my advice, so here it is. Don't force the issue with him. Give him time to process it and let him know that you'll be there when he needs you."

Reno took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, in an effort to center himself.

"Is it too late to reconsider the whole future second in command thing?" he jokingly asked with a soft laugh. Tseng snorted softly in amusement.

" _Much_ too late," he responded, "You _can_ do this, Reno."

"Wish I had half the confidence in me you do, Boss," he snickered, shaking his head, and smiling faintly, "Heh... and this time next week, I'll be dealin' with three _more_ rookies."

Tseng suddenly frowned. "I... fear it may only be _two_ new rookies," he said, and the smile slowly faded from Reno's face.

"What? Why? What happened?"

"I'm not entirely certain," his mentor replied, "Latchley _still_ has yet to accept the promotion. If she doesn't do so by the end of the day... the offer expires."

"But... she hasn't actually said _no_ yet, right? I mean... she just hasn't given ya an answer one way or the other..."

"Yes, but she's rapidly running out of time. She only has until five o'clock tonight to accept. If she doesn't, her silence will be formally taken as a no."

"Well... have ya even talked to her? Maybe she's got a good reason for cuttin' it so close..." he asked, furrowing his brow. Zephyr Latchley was, by all accounts enthusiastic, motivated, and dedicated. It just didn't make sense that she'd turn this down without even giving a formal answer.

"I did _try_ to contact her. It would seem she doesn't presently have a PHS. The recruitment center is holding a message for her, but she hasn't returned my call. In fact, the instructor I spoke to a short while ago when I checked in – for the third time today, I might add – said she left the dormitory early this morning and hasn't come back yet." He sighed softly. "It appears she's avoiding us."

"I don't get it..." Reno said, shaking his head.

"Reno... not _every_ recruit is prepared to make the commitment required of a Turk. And sometimes they don't realize it until the very last moment. It's... unfortunate. But if she's really that unsure, it may be for the best. There are other candidates. We'll just have to make another selection, if she opts to turn us down."

"... I guess," the redhead replied. He couldn't deny that he was disappointed. Especially after he'd kinda put himself out there for her, convincing Tseng that she could do the job.

"Don't feel bad," Tseng added, "She _was_ a solid choice, and for what it's worth, I'm confident that you were right about her. She would have made a good Turk. But... all we can do is offer her a place on the team. We can't make the decision _for_ her."

"Yeah," Reno sighed, "I know. I just... can't believe she'd turn it down."

"Well... she has a few hours left. Perhaps she'll still call," said Tseng.

"Here's hopin'," the redhead replied, getting to his feet. "Anyway... I'm gonna go grab somethin' to eat before my next round of torture starts. Liam's got piloting lessons scheduled for this afternoon and his take-offs still need a _lot_ of work. And I gotta... ya know... _talk_ to him before that, too. Have fun with the Brat."

Tseng rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Is the constant name calling _really_ still necessary?"

Reno grinned widely and headed for the door. "Hey, when _he_ quits callin' me a slum rat, I'll quit callin' him a brat. Heh... _Maybe_. Tell the Brat I said hi," he replied, smirking teasingly.

His mentor apparently didn't have a reply for that, so, with a soft laugh, Reno slipped out into the hallway. Only two rookies. He sighed and shook his head. Well... it was better than none. And who knew? Maybe Latchley _would_ come around before her time ran out.

"Oh, hey! Reno!" a voice called out to him as he started to head back to his own office. The redhead paused and turned back, only to see Sykes striding towards him, the gauntlet-tenderized rookies in tow. The trio quickly caught up to him. "The cafeteria is serving mystery meat today. _Leftover_ mystery meat. So we're going _out_ for lunch. Want to come?"

The senior Turk shrugged. "Sure. The Boss is abandoning me for a fancy lunch with his royal brattiness, the vice president, today anyway."

"I _heard_ that, Reno..." Tseng's voice interjected from the direction of his office, and the redhead grinned.

"Don't care if ya _did_ ,sir..." he jokingly shot back, drawing snickers from one of the pair of rookies and their recently promoted friend. This third of their number merely managed a forced smile. "So what are we waitin' for? I'm starvin'. Let's eat."

The four of them made their way to the elevator, stepping inside and Petra pressed the button for the first floor concourse.

"Sir? Could I ask you something?" Sykes queried. Reno smirked.

"If it's about the mystery meat in the crapateria... I have _no_ idea what they put in that shit."

Sykes snorted in laughter, but shook his head. "No, sir. I'm just curious. Why don't you ever get in any _real_ trouble with Tseng for talking about Rufus like that? _We're_ constantly reminded to be respectful and deferential to the members of the executive board, but the worst he ever does when _you_ do it is... sound slightly annoyed."

"It's... complicated," Reno snickered. "Me 'n Rufus... we kinda get along best when we're bein' dicks to each other. Tseng gets that... so he cuts me a little slack. _Most_ of the time. Ya know... long as I don't take it too far. And I'd _never_ pull that shit with the other execs. Learned my lesson on that once already, 'n once was more than enough."

"Sir, is it _really_ true that Tseng used to wash your mouth out with soap every time you said something you shouldn't?" Petra suddenly inquired, "Or did Sato just make that up?"

The redhead groaned faintly. "Tch... why does it _not_ surprise me that Sato woulda told you guys about that? Yeah... It's true. You think I got no filter now? I was _really_ bad as a rookie," he said, snickering, just as the elevator reached its destination.

* * *

Liam only picked at his food. He didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. He didn't _really_ feel much like being social at the moment, either, but his friends had insisted he join them. And then they'd run into Reno on the way to lunch, making it that much more difficult to come up with some sort of excuse to back out.

He knew they were just trying to help, but to be honest, he sort of wished they'd just leave him alone for awhile. He didn't want to talk about what was bothering him. Petra had tried three times now. Sykes had made two attempts. Liam had a sneaking suspicion that half the reason for inviting the senior Turk along was to give _him_ the opportunity to try and make the rookie "feel better" about murdering a man.

Not an _innocent_ man, by any stretch of the imagination, but a man all the same. Someone was dead, and he'd been the cause of it. He... still wasn't quite sure how he should feel about that.

Or maybe it would have been more accurate to say that he wasn't quite sure how he was _allowed_ to feel about that. The Turks did Shinra's dirty work. He'd always known that. Part of that work was dealing with the Company's enemies, sometimes brutally. He'd always known _that_ , too. But knowing it, and living it were two very different things.

He didn't want to talk about it. Not until he figured a few things out on his own, at least. And though he appreciated the concern of his friends... he was tired of them constantly pushing him to discuss it. It hadn't even been two _days_ yet,for Shiva's sake. Couldn't he just have a little time to himself?

"Oooh... Look, Sykes! They just brought out more pork! Let's get some!" Petra suddenly said, interrupting the younger rookie's silent musings. Sykes blinked, clearly caught off guard, and the young woman shot him a pointed look.

"Oh, um... yeah. Okay," he stammered, hesitantly abandoning his mostly full plate and following her off towards the buffet. Liam mentally groaned... and the redhead snickered loudly.

"Gee... it's _almost_ like they wanted to leave the two of us alone together to talk about somethin'..." he laughed, shaking his head, "They, uh... don't exactly do _subtle_ , do they?"

"No, sir..." the rookie sighed. Reno snorted in amusement.

"Relax. I'm not gonna drag ya into an impromptu counseling session."

"... You're not?" he asked, looking up at the senior Turk in surprise.

"Tch... no. I'm guessing the _last_ thing you wanna talk about right now's what went down in Costa del Sol. Hell, I practically gave Tseng the silent treatment for three days straight after my first kill. Didn't even realize it at the time. I was just... too busy thinkin' to talk."

Liam sighed in relief.

" _Finally_... someone who gets it," he breathed. Reno glanced over at the other two thirds of the trio... who were doing their best to pretend the were thoroughly engrossed in filling their plates rather then watching their friend out of the corners of their eyes. He snorted softly and shook his head.

"Want me to ask 'em to back off a little?"

"Could you?" Liam replied, a hopeful note in his voice.

"Sure... I –" he replied... only to have his attention unexpectedly captured by something outside of the nearby window. "... You're fuckin' _kidding_ me..."

"Sir?" Liam questioned, redirecting his own gaze out onto the street. He didn't see anything unusual... and he wasn't sure what had caught the redhead's eye. Reno flashed him an apologetic look.

"... Um... I _really_ hate to do this, and I don't have time to explain, but I'm gonna have to eat 'n run," he said, cringing slightly.

"... Can I help?" the rookie suddenly found himself asking. Reno paused for a moment, and then pulled a fifty gil note out of his wallet, tossing it on the table and getting to his feet.

"Ya know what? I think maybe ya _can_ , rookie... Come on. We're gonna lose her if we don't hurry."

Liam wordlessly abandoned his meal, and scurried after the senior Turk.

* * *

Zephyr shoved her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and stared down at the sidewalk as she made her way along the street. She was missing her afternoon sparring session with Sergeant Davies and the other recruits... but what did it even matter, now?

She was coward. She couldn't even bring herself to _tell_ them that they'd made a mistake. Instead, she was hiding out... biding her time until her time ran out. And once it _did_ , that was it. She wouldn't get a second chance at the Turks. There wouldn't even be any point in sticking around the recruitment program after today. She wasn't cut out for SOLDIER... and she sure as _hell_ would never make it into the Materia Corps. Not the way _she_ handled materia.

No. She'd come to Midgar to join the Turks... and now she was turning it down.

Zephyr sighed and kicked weakly at a plastic bottle littering the sidewalk, sending it rolling beneath the bench of a nearby bus stop. Why did they have to pick herfor a final evaluation _now_? She wasn't _ready_. She wasn't _like_ Victor or Ryu. She didn't have their confidence... their maturity... their experience... She'd basically let them carry her through the eval. No _way_ she'd have made it on her own merit. For Hades' sake, _her_ big contribution to their success had been... leaning against the right section of the fence. And even _that_ had been pure dumb luck. How could she, realistically, accept a promotion she'd done nothing to earn? Why couldn't they have given her more time to train?

She might as well go back to her village. Zephyr cringed at the very thought. Not that home was really so terrible a place. Summerset was actually a very nice little town, in its own rustic sort of way, nestled away in a far corner of the Nibel mountains. But... she'd wanted more.

She sighed again and turned down a quiet side street.

She _should_ have listened to her grandparents. They'd _told_ her to wait until she was older. Sure... they'd grudgingly granted her permission to go. But neither of them had been pleased by her decision to rush things. Her grandmother had all but begged her to wait just one more year. Just until she was eighteen... but Zephyr had been too impatient to wait.

And now it was going to bite her in the ass.

She just had a few more hours to kill. Then she could head back to her dorm and start packing without worrying about anyone trying to talk her out of her decision. She knew that Victor, at least, would try. Maybe Ryu, too... though he was usually too self-involved to care unless he was forced to. Just a few more hours. After that, anything they said would be too late, anyway.

She'd been wandering the city since early that morning. Hell, at the moment, she wasn't even entirely sure what sector she was in. Somewhere between Three and Four, she _thought_... but she supposed that she could have meandered as far as Five by now. You couldn't _really_ get lost in Midgar, of course. Even if you _thought_ you were lost, all you ever had to do was find the nearest station and hop the first train to a more familiar part of the city. It certainly wasn't like being lost in the Nibel mountains where you could be wandering for days if you didn't know the area.

Without warning, the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end with an unpleasant prickling sensation.

Zephyr's eyes widened slightly as she picked out the sound of quiet footsteps directly behind her, and had to forcibly resist the urge to turn around. Instead, she quickened her pace slightly, and frowned when her mysterious shadow's footsteps increased in speed to match. She looked up slightly, scanning the area and found that the street she was on was largely deserted, and groaned quietly under her breath.

Great. She'd wandered into one of the warehouse districts while she hadn't been paying attention. But is couldn't have been _too_ long ago that she did so... She distinctly remembered being on a much busier street not five minutes ago. She'd just... circle around the block until she was heading back in the direction she'd come from, and get out of this isolated environment. Preferably before whoever the hell was following her figured out that she'd noticed them.

She quickly took the first right, which, to her chagrin, turned out to be a wide alley between two large buildings, and hoped to Hades it wasn't a dead end. Hades, it seemed wasn't answering silent pleas today, however. As she rounded the corner at the far end of the alley, she found herself standing in front of a warehouse loading dock, the doors of which were securely shut.

"Oh, _brilliant_ move, Zephyr..." she muttered under her breath. The footsteps were quickly catching up to her now, and she looked around, slightly panicked, before spotting a large stack of pallets off to one side. She darted behind them just as her stalked reached the corner.

He was kind of a shrimp. Close to her age, probably. Jet black hair with a few streaks of bright purple woven throughout, and numerous piercings. He paused in confusion as he reached the apparently empty dead end, and glanced back over his shoulder, as if debating whether or not he'd somehow passed her by without noticing.

She grinned slightly. Zephyr might not have been the _best_ recruit when it came to unarmed combat, but she could _totally_ take some little street punk mugger wannabe. Especially if she did it before he figured out where she was hiding.

She steeled herself, preparing to attack.

"Hey. Do me a favor 'n don't jump my rookie, huh? The Boss'll _kill_ me if I don't bring him back in one piece."

Zephyr shrieked, the sound echoing painfully off of the walls of the building, and spun around to face the source of the unexpected voice that had somehow materialized right behind her, eyes widening as she backed up against the wall. This one was tall... with bright red hair, and a notably more dangerous look to him. Where in the Nine _freaking_ Hells had _he_ come from?!

The redhead flinched slightly at the sound of her scream.

"Fuck, kid... Ya tryin' to blow out my eardrums or what?" he asked. Given the band over the bridge of his nose and some faded bruising surrounding it, he looked like he'd been in a fight recently.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her hand curling around a piece of a broken board from one of the pallets. It... wasn't exactly much of a weapon. The redhead snickered softly.

"Tch... put that down. If I was gonna try 'n hurt ya, I'da done it _before_ I let ya know I was standin' right behind you."

Zephyr blinked in surprise and obediently dropped her improvised weapon... as she noticed that the man seemed... familiar, somehow.

"W-wait. I know you..." she said, eyes narrowing, as she tried to match his face to the memory that was dancing just out of reach.

"Ya didn't think we'd let ya off without givin' us an actual answer, did ya, Latchley?" he asked, almost teasingly. Zephyr's eyes widened as she finally realized who he was.

"You're... you're one of the Turks we met in Junon..." she breathed. "You're... Reno. Right?"

The redhead grinned.

* * *

He'd seen the literal instant that Zephyr had realized she'd acquired a tail... and was admittedly kind of impressed. He'd have been _more_ impressed if she'd noticed them _before_ she'd headed off into an industrial district with no foot traffic and not much in the way of vehicular traffic, either... but hell, she _was_ just a rookie after all. He couldn't expect her to do _everything_ right.

That was when he'd instructed Liam to stay on her while he flanked her. Now that they'd been made, he didn't want to risk her taking off running. From what he'd seen of her while he'd been observing the recruits, she was quick on her feet. Maybe even fast enough to outrun _him_ if she got too far ahead. He needed to talk to her... and since she was actively avoiding talking to the Turks, he was just going to have to corner her somewhere. It was sheer coincidence that he'd crossed her path at all, and when he'd spotted her on the street through the restaurant window he'd had been half-convinced he was imagining things. He doubted he'd be so lucky a second time if she got away from him.

Up a fire escape, across the roof, and down a drainage pipe on the other side of the building had put him squarely behind her position in the alley she'd turned down, while Liam had kept her distracted, and her reaction to his unexpected materialization gave him a new appreciation of why Tseng so loved doing that to people.

"You're... you're one of the Turks we met in Junon..." she breathed. "You're... Reno. Right?"

Reno grinned widely, not all that shocked at having been recognized. People tended to remember him. He stood out. He _was_ ,however, a little surprised she remembered his name as well as his appearance. Their meeting at the end of the eval had been a brief one, to say the least.

"Sir?" Liam piped up, somewhat hesitantly, as he joined the pair.

"Heh... Liam, meet Zephyr Latchley. She's one of the three we're bringin' in... if she ever actually accepts the promotion," he said by way of introduction. The rookie smiled.

"We've met. Er... _sort_ of," he said, somewhat awkwardly, "We were in recruitment training together for a little while before I was promoted."

Zephyr blinked in surprise. "We were?"

Liam blushed faintly. "You'd just arrived a few weeks before I left. And I... kind of kept to myself a lot back then. You probably never even noticed me."

Reno smirked and shook his head. By the sound of things, Zephyr might not have noticed Liam, but he sure as hell had noticed _her_.

" _Anyway_..." the redhead cut in, "What's the deal, Latchley? You plannin' on just leavin' us hangin'? The Boss has been tryin' to get ahold of ya all _day_."

Zephyr ducked her head, dropping her gaze to the pavement at her feet.

"I'm sorry. I just... I didn't want to waste anyone's time. I shouldn't have passed that evaluation. I didn't _do_ anything to pass. I don't even understand why I _did_... but I shouldn't have. I... I'm not... good enough yet. I don't deserve it."

The redhead snorted softly in laughter. "Hey, Liam. How 'ready' were _you_ when you got promoted?"

"Umm... I think I _thought_ I was a lot more ready than I really was..."

"See? Even when ya _think_ you're ready, you're not," Reno said, turning back to the young recruit. "Hell... you wanna talk about not bein' ready? _I_ didn't even _go_ through recruitment. Tseng yanked me outta the Slums at sixteen 'n trained me in the field."

Zephyr looked up at him, shock plainly written on her face.

"He... he did?" she stammered.

"Yep. And trust me... I _sucked_. For awhile, anyway. I was just a slum rat kid workin' in a bar to keep myself fed. There's literally no way in hell I'da made it through a final eval on my own."

"But... then why did they _pick_ you?" she asked in confusion.

Liam snickered quietly at the question... and then quickly attempted to badly disguise the reaction with a feigned cough.

"'Cause Tseng decided I was worth the hassle of doing shit ass-backwards," Reno replied with a grin, shrugging. "Look... I'm not sure I'm actually _s'posed_ to tell ya this, but... that final eval? It wasn't what got you promoted. You were already in before you even showed up in Junon. You _all_ were. Eval's just meant to give us an idea of where to start your next round of training."

"It is?!" both Zephyr and Liam chorused.

"... I spent a week _agonizing_ over that evaluation!" Liam lamented, with a groan. Reno snickered loudly and sat himself down on top of the pile of pallets the recruit had been hiding behind.

"Sorry to have ta be the one to tell ya, kid," he teased, and then turned back to Zephyr. "My point is... _no one_ comes into the job the perfect Turk. Hell, some of us don't even come in passingly _competent_. We want you, Zephyr. Up to you to decide, but... don't blow us off just 'cause ya think you don't measure up yet."

"... You should listen to him," Liam hesitantly interjected, "He's... almost _always_ right."

The redhead cocked an eyebrow at the unexpected praise, but didn't comment. Apparently, Petra hadn't been exaggerating earlier when she'd said that the younger Turk looked up to him. Zephyr was silent for a long moment, until she finally looked at him again, decision made.

"I'd... like to formally accept that promotion, sir," she said. Reno grinned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his PHS. He dialed Tseng's number and waited as it rang.

"Yes?" his mentor answered, moments later.

"Heh... Got good news for ya, Boss..."

~end chapter 62~


	63. New Personnel

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 63: New Personnel**

 **by Desha**

Rude massaged the back of his neck and shifted position in the chair by the window. He hoped Remy would be back soon. He was getting tired. And hungry.

Though on the bright side, he was fairly certain that the Zenshou had no idea they were being watched.

It had taken them the better part of the week and change they'd been here to track them down, and when they finally had, what they had found was a small safehouse on the northern coast. It wasn't the group's headquarters, by any stretch of the imagination, but there was enough traffic to the place to justify keeping it under twenty-four hour surveillance until they found something more useful.

Still... even though they'd _found_ the Zenshou – or at least a small contingent of them – he didn't feel as if he were any closer to accomplishing what he'd set out to do... that being finding the person or persons that had been pulling the strings.

To be fair, they didn't have a whole hell of a lot to go on in that department. Based on the trip he'd taken to Mideel with Reno, they knew that their target was likely Costan. They knew he was interested in weapons, and _Shinra_ weapons technology in particular. They knew there was a significant amount of money involved, on both the buying and selling ends.

Unfortunately... that told them very _little_ about the man's identity. Hell, Rude didn't even know for certain if the man who'd tried to sell the Kingsword back to Mideel was the person they were actually after, or just another of his agents.

The door to the room opened quietly, and his hand went to the weapon sitting on the table beside him... only to relax again when he saw that it was Remy.

"Anything new?" she asked, and Rude shook his head.

"No. Just the same two I've been watching for the past three days. And the kid's been in and out a couple of times. Seems to be a messenger of some sort. See anything on your end?"

"Maybe. One of them made a stop at the post office after he left the safehouse this morning. He picked up a small parcel and took it to the docks, where he passed it on to another pair in a boat. Same as the day before yesterday."

"A regularly scheduled delivery? Or a payment, maybe?" Rude speculated. Either way, it was something to look into. If this was a regular occurrence, it wouldn't be too hard to prepare for the next meeting, and hopefully follow the Zenshou in the boat.

"If they stick to their schedule, we'll find out day after tomorrow," Remy noted. She set a small bag down on the bed, and then crossed the room. "I'll take over for awhile. I stopped at the marketplace on my way back. Eat something and get some rest."

The bald Turk grunted softly as he gratefully dragged himself out of his seat. He made his way over to the bed and dug through the bag, finding some fresh fruit and a number of packaged foodstuffs from the local vendors. They'd only been in Wutai a little over a week, but he was already growing a bit tired of the cuisine. It wasn't that he disliked it... Just that for the last nine days his diet had consisted almost exclusively of cold rice, fried or grilled fish, and whatever type of fruit happened to be available that day. After all, they had to keep a _very_ low profile. They couldn't exactly head out to the nearest restaurant for every meal.

Hell, _Rude_ didn't head out much at all, unless it was under cover of darkness. The town was a small one... and he most definitely wouldn't have passed for a local, even at a distance.

"Think anything interesting is happening back home?" he asked, selecting a riceball filled with shredded pork – a decidedly nice change of pace from fish – from what was on offer. They'd been keeping largely silent as far as communications went, only reporting in every three days, and said reports were being delivered by Remy, who tended not to care as much about the social minutia Rude was interested in. It meant that the usual gossip was in short supply, and Rude was half starting to think he was beginning to suffer from withdrawal because of it.

"Veld indicated that they have things well in hand," Remy replied. "Unless we find evidence that the Zenshou are planning to try for another theft, they're probably more focused on getting our new personnel situated than anything else."

Rude chuckled quietly to himself. That was _probably_ true. And Reno would likely be bouncing off the walls in excitement tomorrow morning when they were due to arrive for their first day. For all of his friend's uncertainty about his future as second in command, he'd had very little difficultly falling into at least _one_ role. Reno _loved_ the rookies, and he was a natural when it came to wrangling them. Three new ones were bound to be the highlight of his _year_. Rude was a little disappointed he wasn't going to be there for their first day... if only because it meant missing out on the redhead's somewhat contagious enthusiasm.

"Gonna be interesting to come back to a team with three new people on it," Rude mused, settling in with his dinner.

* * *

First thing Monday morning, Zephyr sat perched on the edge of the hard plastic bench that ran the length of the train car, drumming her fingers on her knee as she nervously watched the the various stops pass by. A part of her _still_ couldn't believe she was going through with this... that she'd let him talk her out of declining. Though to be fair, it hadn't really taken _much_ on his part. She _wanted_ this. Badly. She just... wasn't entirely convinced she'd earned it.

But, then again... _he'd_ come looking for _her_. He'd said they wanted _her_. She'd tried to disappear, and he'd sought her out. Who was she to argue?

And it wasn't as if he was just some random Turk sent to find her... Reno was the personal protege of the Turks' second in command. She wasn't quite sure exactly what that entailed, but surely it held _some_ significance.

It had been a decidedly odd experience. She'd heard that the Turks were a lot more informal than, for example, SOLDIER or even the training personnel at the recruitment facility... but Reno had immediately struck her as being _incredibly_ laid back, and she'd found herself wondering if he was the exception rather than the norm, or if everyone on the team was like him.

Zephyr snickered quietly to herself in spite of her nervousness. He and the other Turk had left her to her own devices _long_ before she'd run into Ryu and Victor later that evening... and when she'd described the encounter, Ryu had looked positively scandalized when she had posited that question to _him_. He seemed convinced that the Turks were the epitome of professionalism. Somehow... she had a feeling he was in for a bit of a surprise.

Or maybe _she_ was the one who'd be surprised.

She frowned slightly at the thought. What if they _weren't_ all as laid back as Reno? Tseng, the handful of times he'd made his presence known in the training hall, certainly hadn't been. _He_ was all business. And a _little_ scary.

She sighed and got to her feet, hand reaching for one of the rings hanging from the train car's roof. How much farther _was_ it to Sector 0, anyway?

"For Leviathan's sake... can't you sit still for five seconds?" Ryu's voice suddenly snapped at her, breaking in on her admittedly somewhat jumbled train of thought.

"Huh?" she managed, blinking in confusion. Ryu shook his head.

"Stand or sit. Stop alternating between the two. You've been doing it for the entire ride," he clarified, rolling his eyes.

"... Sorry," she replied, embarrassed. "I just –"

"Fidget when you're nervous. I'm _aware_ ," he muttered. "I think everyone on the train is aware of that by now."

Victor snorted softly. "She fidgets... and _you_ turn into a grade-A asshole."

"I do _not_ ," Ryu retorted, affronted. Victor grinned.

"Yeah. Ya do," he snickered, "And the more nervous you are, the worse you get. Relax, will you? Before you two give each other a nervous breakdown."

Zephyr groaned and slid back into her seat, shaking her head.

"How can you be so _calm_ , Victor?" she lamented, "It's our first day. As _Turks_. What if... something goes horribly wrong?"

Victor shrugged. "You're blowing this _way_ out of proportion. Like you said. It's our first day. That means reception... and it's anything like it was when I first reported to reception in Junon, it's going to be a long, _boring_ day of filling out forms for everything from payroll to credentials, medical exams, issuing equipment, and general orientation." He grinned widely. "Trust me... I don't think they're going to be sending us out on missions for awhile yet."

Zephyr wrung her hands. "Yeah... but we have to _meet_ everyone! What if I do something stupid? Like... walk into a door. Or trip over my feet and fall down the stairs. Or... I don't know! Forget my own name, or something."

Ryu cocked and eyebrow and stared at her. "You're worried about _forgetting your own name_?" he repeated, incredulously.

"... It could happen," Zephyr responded, lamely. Ryu merely rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"You're not going to forget your name," Victor snickered, "And you're not going to do anything so stupid they'll toss you out on your ass. We're rookies. They're _expecting_ us to make mistakes." He suddenly grinned and nodded at Ryu, adding, "Even Mr. I Think I'm So Perfect over there..."

"I've never claimed to be 'perfect'," the Wutaiian rookie scoffed.

"Yeah, but you've definitely _thought_ it once or twice," Victor teased. Ryu turned towards him, a faint scowl on his face, and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, the train ground to a stop at the Sector 0 station. The older rookie smirked, "Oh, hey, look... we're here."

He hurried to his feet without giving his fellow rookie the opportunity to make his retort and headed for the door that had just slid open. Zephyr scurried to catch up, falling into step behind him and leaving Ryu to bring up the rear. A few moments later, they stepped out into the station proper, and found themselves swept along in the rush of Shinra employees heading into the building above them.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Zephyr asked, suddenly realizing that she had absolutely no idea where the Turks' headquarters was located in the massive sky scraper. Their instructions had merely been to report to the Shinra Building by eight a.m. Victor shrugged.

"Just follow everyone else, for now," he said.

A wide flight of stairs led them upwards into a large open space... which Zephyr belatedly realized was the first floor of the building itself. Tall windows looked out over the street outside. The concourse was flanked on either side by still more stairs, leading up to a mezzanine level, and she could see a bank of elevators directly across from where they'd entered. Most of the crowd seemed to be heading in that direction. Victor slipped out of the flow of foot traffic and off to one side, and his fellow rookies quickly joined him.

"Now where?" Ryu asked from her left, as he drew up even with the other two.

"Now ya come with us!" a voice piped up, and the Wutiian rookie quite literally jumped, emitting a soft squeak of surprise. All three of them turned in unison, and found themselves suddenly face to face with two now-familiar figures.

Tseng smirked slightly at the younger Turk's reaction, but quickly schooled his expression. Reno, however, continued to grin.

"You'll have to forgive him. He's begun to make a bit of a habit of sneaking up on people of late," the Turk lieutenant stated. Zephyr eyed the crutches propping the senior Turk up and found herself musing that the redhead probably wasn't the _only_ one with that habit. It hadn't escaped her notice that Tseng, too, had come up on them silently... even _with_ the encumbrance of crutches.

"Sir. Victor Reese, reporting for duty, sir," the older rookie replied, snapping to attention. Tseng smiled slightly but shook his head.

"There's no need for strict military formality, Victor," he replied, "We're... considerably less rigid than the army, here."

By then, the floor had largely cleared out, most of the arriving employees having been whisked away by the elevators. A few had made their way up the stairs and settled in at the tables and benches on the mezzanine, and others were milling around on the periphery, chatting with colleagues.

"This way, please," Tseng continued, as he started towards the elevator. They boarded an empty car and the redhead pressed the button for the fifty-eighth floor, and in seconds, they were shooting upwards. "As you might imagine, it's going to be a rather full day," the senior Turk continued, "We've done our best to streamline things, but I'm afraid there's still a fair amount of paperwork to deal with. We'll begin with introductions and getting some of the more tedious administrative tasks out of the way... and then, after lunch, as I've rather inconveniently managed to injure myself, Reno will take over for the building tour."

As the elevator came to a stop, they stepped out into an unassuming hallway... occupied by a very short woman with a slightly maniacal grin on her lips. She was toying with a throwing knife in one hand.

"For fuck's sake, Kai," Reno groaned, "Why the hell are you just standin' there lookin' like some kinda psycho killer?"

"Oh, Baby Turkling... I just wanted to get a good look at the fresh meat..." she replied, in a chipper tone. She flipped the knife into the air, catching it by the blade, before hurling it at the redhead. It struck the wall behind him with a loud thump and stuck in the drywall... and Zephyr's eyes widened as she realized that Reno hadn't even _flinched_.

The red-haired Turk rolled his eyes as he glanced over at Tseng. "Will you _please_ tell her to quit callin' me that already?"

"Kai... kindly refrain from damaging company property," the Turk lieutenant replied, with a somewhat teasing smile, pointedly disregarding the request. He turned to the woman and gestured to the new arrivals. "Allow me to introduce you to Victor, Ryuunosuke, and Zephyr. Everyone... this is Kai McNamera."

"Our resident lunatic," Reno added as he yanked the blade out of the wall and held it out to its owner... only to pull it away at the last second and hold it above her head, well out of her reach.

"If you think I'm going to jump for it, you're going to be waiting a very long time, Baby Turkling," Kai replied, folding her arms over her chest, "I've got eleven more where that came from."

"Heh... Like I said. Our resident lunatic," the redhead snickered, and finally returned the weapon before shooting the rookies a quick wink. Kai tucked the knife into her sleeve and returned her attention to the rookies.

"So..." she said, rubbing her hands together, "Which one do I get _first_?"

Zephyr instinctively took a small step backwards as the woman's gaze fell on her... and immediately regretted it. Kai reminded her a little of a predatory animal... like the nibelwolves that stalked the mountains back home. The _last_ thing you wanted to do with a predator was let them know you were afraid of them.

"That's enough," Tseng interrupted with a soft laugh. "They only just got here. Don't scare them off before we've even had time to show them around."

"Spoilsport," Kai chirped, sticking her tongue out at the Turk lieutenant.

"Has anyone else arrived yet?" the senior Turk queried, ignoring the comment.

"Sykes is here. He said something about making coffee before Veld could do it again, so... he's probably in the lounge. Haven't seen the others yet this morning, but I just got in, myself."

"Then I suppose we will start in the lounge," Tseng said with a nod, and set off down the hallway. The three rookies hurried to follow and Reno fell into step behind them.

"I'll just go and get the Gauntlet ready!" Kai cheerfully called after the group, giggling softly. Ryu glanced back at the redhead.

"... The Gauntlet, sir?" he inquired, brows furrowed. Reno snickered.

"Oh, you'll find out all about _that_ soon enough..." he said, grinning. "Hope ya don't bruise easy..."

* * *

Liam sighed in content as he sank back into the cushions of the couch, mug of freshly brewed coffee in hand. He'd never really bothered with it before the Turks... but ever since Reno had introduced him to it after his first overnight stakeout, he'd found that he truly enjoyed the subtle yet complex blend of flavors.

Except when Veld made it. The Turk leader's idea of coffee was... repulsive. It _looked_ like motor oil... and kind of tasted like it, too.

Sykes seemed to agree, and for the past several Mondays, when Veld most frequently "graced" them with his sludge, he had made it a point to beat their commander to the coffee maker just to prevent him from using it. Liam _certainly_ wasn't going to complain.

"So _when_ are you going to tell us what they're like?" Petra asked, landing on the cushion beside him with a soft bounce and a wide grin. The younger rookie snorted softly in laughter.

"Petra... I only _met_ one of them. And we didn't exactly sit around getting to know one another. We were too busy trying to convince her to accept."

By the time he and Reno had returned to the office on Friday, Sykes had already left on assignment, and Petra was sparring with Kai. _He_ ,meanwhile, had gone straight to the roof for his scheduled flight training and hadn't returned to headquarters until it was nearly time to leave... so he hadn't really had the opportunity to explain where he and the redhead had disappeared to at lunch.

"Okay... so what's _she_ like?" Petra giggled. Liam blushed slightly and hurriedly hid it behind taking a long sip of coffee.

"She... seems nice."

He hadn't mentioned to his friends that he'd already sort of _known_ Zephyr... albeit just in passing. And his description of her _probably_ would have earned him more than a little teasing if he had. Truth be told, he'd found her fascinating from the first moment he'd laid eyes on her. And... very pretty, too. Of course, back then, he hadn't had the courage to even attempt to talk to her... and after his promotion, he'd just assumed that, unless she somehow wasn't snapped up by one of the other divisions, he'd probably never even see her again. Finding out that she was one of the three new rookies had honestly thrown him for a bit of a loop.

"Must've made one hell of a first impression on you..." Sykes teased, grinning as he noticed the pink hue coloring the younger Turk's cheeks. Thankfully, Liam was saved from having to answer by the sound of voice approaching out in the hallway...

The door opened and Tseng made his way inside, a small group of unfamiliar individuals – and one very familiar one – trailing him. Reno followed them in a moment later.

"Ah... good. All three of you are here. That makes things easy," the Turk lieutenant stated, glancing back at the three newcomers. "Victor Reese... Ryuunosuke Taiko... and Zephyr Latchley," he said, gesturing to each of them in turn. "Our newest additions. This is Petra and Liam, our other two rookies, and, the just recently promoted, Sykes."

Liam grinned, his eyes immediately drifting to Zephyr first, before taking stock of the rest of the group.

Victor looked to be quite a bit older than the other two, with dark, ebony skin and the bearing of someone who'd spent time in the military – something the younger rookie was always quick to recognize, almost on instinct, after a childhood spent on and around military bases. He was tall and muscular... definitely someone who'd done more than a little manual labor over the years. Ryuunosuke, on the other hand, was lithe and keenly staring right back at the Turks he'd just been introduced to. Wutaiian, with short black hair, trimmed neatly into a very business-like style. And then there was Zephyr. Average height, slender and tone, her light brown hair hanging in a neat braid down her back, reaching almost to her waist.

"Good to meet you," Sykes replied, being the first to speak up, "There's coffee if you want some."

"Heh... Dunno about the newbies, but _I_ definitely want some," Reno snickered, making a beeline for the coffeemaker.

"I'm afraid Remy and Rude are presently out of the city on assignment," Tseng continued as both Victor and Zephyr joined the redhead in helping themselves to the proffered beverages. "And as said assignment may be a long one, you won't be meeting them for awhile yet. Veld, however, should be in shortly and will almost certainly wish to greet you. In the meantime, I'll show you to your office, and we can start in on the necessary paperwork."

* * *

Reno was on his third cup of coffee by the time Tseng returned to the lounge to reclaim him. Their newest rookies had been successfully installed in Sato and Saya's old office – now _their_ office – and handed a pile of forms to fill out. The more senior rookies and Sykes had all drifted off to see to their morning tasks, as well, leaving him on his own for the time being.

"Well... everything has gone quite smoothly thus far," the Turk lieutenant opined, as he let himself drop somewhat gracelessly onto the couch and set his crutches aside for the time being. The redhead smirked.

"You tryin' to jinx it or somethin', Boss?" he joked. Tseng snorted a quiet laugh.

"I'm just relieved. The first time I joined Veld to welcome a group of new rookies for their first day... I ended up losing one of them, and spent three hours frantically searching half the building for him before I finally had to admit defeat and ask Veld for help."

Reno choked on the sip he'd just taken, and spent the next several seconds alternating between sputtering, coughing, and laughing. When he finally managed to get ahold of himself again, he looked over at his mentor, grinning widely.

"How come I'm only findin' out about _this_ now?" he snickered.

"Because before, you were merely my protege, and I had the option to hide my more foolish and shameful mistakes from you," Tseng chuckled, good-naturedly, " _Now_ , however, you're my successor. And... as occasionally embarrassing as it may be... I'd prefer you learn from my errors rather than repeat them." He sighed softly. "Please try _not_ to lose any of them during the tour. I will almost certainly never hear the end of it from my _own_ mentor if you do."

The redhead snorted softly and returned his attention to his coffee.

"Ya know... ever since you completely lost your mind and decided I'd make a good second in command, I feel like I'm seein' a whole new side of you," he said, teasingly. Tseng smiled and shook his head.

"It's... really less that your career has taken a new turn, and more that you've simply grown up. You're an adult. You deserve to be treated like one... especially by me. I, admittedly, have a tendency to forget that at times," he said, and then smirked slightly, "And I _do_ occasionally still selectively ignore it."

"Ya mind if I ask ya somethin'?" Reno inquired, gazing down into the dark depths of his mug.

"I have never 'minded' curiosity. Particularly not from you," Tseng chuckled.

"... How long _have_ you been thinkin' about the whole makin' me your successor thing, anyway? I mean... it's not like ya just woke up one day a couple months ago 'n said, ya know what? I'm gonna stick my asshole protege in charge of shit."

The senior Turk snorted softly in amusement and shook his head, smiling.

"I have been considering my... 'asshole protege'... for quite some time now. In fact, in _my_ mind, it's been a strong possibility since before you were even promoted to full Turk status and I've only become more certain of the idea as time has passed. But, I suppose if you mean _officially_... I made my wishes known to Veld shortly before last Christmas."

The redhead looked up in surprise. "... You've known _that_ long?"

"Reno... I think I have _always_ known. I was simply waiting for you to grow into the responsibility to say so." He smirked slightly, adding in a teasing tone, "And once you finally _do_ grow into it,I'll let you know. Hopefully, that will be _before_ Veld opts for retirement, because frankly, I haven't got a backup."

The younger Turk snickered quietly. "Yeah, okay, Boss..." he laughed, "I get it. I still got a lot to learn."

"Mmm... yes. You _do_. Fortunately, you've always been a fast learner. I'm not especially worried. There's plenty of time." He glanced at his watch and reached for his crutches, hoisting himself back to his feet. " _Speaking_ of time... the morning briefing is starting soon. Go and round up our new teammates and escort them to the meeting room. They can finish their intake paperwork afterwards. And then you can _continue_ your education by taking them on the tour..."

"Heh... yes, sir," Reno replied, grinning.

* * *

The Shinra Building was _huge_.

… and Zephyr was beginning to wish she'd worn slightly more sensible shoes than the half-inch pumps with the pointy toes she'd squeezed her poor feet into that morning. But _nooooo_... she'd wanted to look professional and make a good impression. She had a feeling that arriving back at headquarters with blistered, bleeding heels wasn't going to accomplish that.

They were only on the eighth floor. The building had _seventy_!

"Just take 'em off already," a voice suddenly interjected, startling her slightly as she sat on a small bench, one shoe already off, trying to massage some feeling back into her toes. She turned to find their tour guide standing over her, a faint smirk on his lips. She flushed bright pint in embarrassment.

"... Sorry, sir. I... guess I didn't think my wardrobe choices through very well."

Reno grinned. "Heh... yeah. I wouldn't suggest wearin' those again. You're a Turk, not a secretary. _Feels_ like it sometimes when your reports start pilin' up on ya, but you're almost never gonna be sittin' at a desk all day. Just ditch 'em for now. Better walkin' around barefoot for awhile than cripplin' yourself."

She heard Ryu sigh in exasperation and glanced over to see him shaking his head. Zephyr cringed. This was _not_ the first impression she'd been hoping for... but she _did_ take Reno's advice and slip her other foot out of its confines, as well.

"Sorry..." she apologized again. To her surprise, though, the redhead snickered.

"Ah, don't worry about it. _I_ ended up havin' to meet Veld in borrowed workout clothes instead of my uniform on _my_ first day, 'cause _someone_ shoved me in the company pool during the tour," he replied, with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. Before Zephyr could respond to that pronouncement, however, he'd already switched back into tour guide mode, " _Anyway_... like I was sayin' there's not really a whole lot to see on Eight. The whole floor's just temporary sleeping quarters for staff. Legal 'n the PR departments've been makin' use of it a lot lately from what I hear... ya know... with the whole Gongaga reactor blowin' up thing 'n info about the weapons theft leakin' to the public. Apparently it's a real clusterfuck for 'em right now."

"Do _we_ have use of this floor as well, sir?" Ryu asked.

"Technically," Reno replied. "I mean... no one would _stop_ us from grabbin' a room. But we got our own little private sleeping space upstairs. Don't really need to come all the way down here if we're stuck at the office overnight."

"Does that happen often?" Victor chimed in.

"Depends," the redhead said, shrugging, "We can't really predict where we're gonna have some kinda crisis on our hands that keeps us on the job for days at a time. Last time I used 'em, personally was... I guess last spring when we were dealin' with the flooding down in the Slums."

"I remember that..." said Ryu. "I heard that the Turks lost someone during the evacuation."

Reno blinked, seemingly caught off guard, before finally responding to the not-exactly-a-question. "... Yeah. We did." He was quiet for a moment, before finally shaking himself out of it and forcing a grin. "So... yeah. That's the eighth floor. Now we get to go on to my _least_ favorite part of the building... the _ninth_ floor."

He shuddered dramatically as they made their way back to the elevator and pressed the call button, and Zephyr caught sight of Victor sharply elbowing Ryu the moment the redhead's back was turned. She snorted softly and shook her head. Ryu was an okay guy in general... but something he _seriously_ lacked sometimes was tact.

It might have been mere curiosity on Ryu's part... but for the senior Turk, it was personal. Whomever they'd lost had been someone he knew. Someone he'd _worked_ with. Maybe for a long time. You didn't just... bring something like that up out of nowhere like that.

The elevator quickly delivered them to the ninth floor. Zephyr wasn't quite sure what she was expecting when Reno had said it was his "least favorite"... but it certainly wasn't the cozy little atrium they stepped out into. The space was decorated in cool, inviting blues and grays, and the carpet they stepped out on was plush.

"So... Ninth floor is Medical," Reno explained, guiding them out. "This side of the floor's where we keep the psych assholes." He smirked slightly, "That's why it looks so nice 'n friendly over here. To lull ya into a false sense of security 'n make ya let your guard down. 'Least that's _my_ theory..."

Zephyr couldn't help but giggle slightly, though she wasn't one hundred percent certain he was completely joking about that.

"This is where they send ya for annual psych evals 'n counseling 'n shit like that... so... ya _probably_ won't see a ton of this part of the floor. Well... not as rookies, anyway," he continued, as he led them out of the atrium and down a hallway to their right. As they passed through a set of double doors at the end, the whole environment changed, and suddenly they were back in the standard tile hallways with the overhead fluorescent lighting that seemed to be ubiquitous around the building. They approached yet another set of doors and Reno heaved a sigh before pushing them open.

"And _this_ is my own personal hell," he muttered. Zephyr glanced around at what was _clearly_ just a private medical suite. There were several exam rooms along one wall, and a small bank of offices and supply rooms along the other.

" _Language!_ " a voice snapped from the direction of one of the offices, and to her surprise, even the senior Turk jumped, startled.

"Tch... and Ifrit help ya if you have a habit of swearin'..." the redhead added, as an older woman in a long white coat emerged from the room, "... 'cause the Doc does _not_ like it when ya do that."

"Well? What's all this, then?" the woman asked, in a lilting Mideelian accent.

"New rookies," Reno replied, "I'm showin' 'em around today since the Boss is still laid up."

"Ah... I see," the woman – _doctor_ , Zephyr mentally amended – replied, folding her arms over her chest. "Pleased ta make yer acquaintances. My name is Dr. Ward. I'm lead medical staff fer Shinra Company, so... when yeh inevitably end up injured, I'm the one yeh'll most likely be dealing with."

" _Inevitably_?" Ryu scoffed, "We've all been training for nearly a year in recruitment. I hardly think we'll be needing your services _that_ often..."

"Oh?" Dr. Ward replied, arching an eyebrow. She drew out a small notepad. "What's yer name, then?"

"... Ryuunosuke. Ryuunosuke Taiko. Why?" he asked, suddenly not quite so sure of himself.

Ward chuckled softly, as she scribbled the information down. "Because the over-confident ones are _always_ the ones who end up in my exam room _first_. I want ta be sure ta have yer file handy. Something tells me it's going ta be needing a fair few updates before long."

Zephyr laughed, and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth... though she couldn't _quite_ stifle the snickering that leaked out around her fingers. Victor, meanwhile, didn't even attempt to hide his laughter... and neither did the redhead.

"Heh... and on that note, let's get the hell outta here before the Doc decides we all need a round of tetanus shots or somethin'..." Reno said, grinning as he motioned them towards the door.

" _Which_ reminds me..." Dr. Ward intoned as they started to file out, and the senior Turk froze for a brief moment, before softly groaning and turning around to face her again. "Flu shots. Three weeks from taday. Yeh _will_ be there, yeh little troublemaker, or I'll have yeh dragged in kicking 'n screaming. Yer _not_ skipping it again this year. Not after what yeh managed ta come down with first thing _last_ flu season."

"Yeah, yeah... I _know_..." Reno grumbled, before beating a hasty retreat through the door.

"Can she just _demand_ we submit ourselves for whatever medical treatment she decides we need like that?" Ryu asked as they made their way back towards the elevator. Judging by his tone of voice, Zephyr was pretty sure he was none too keen on the idea.

"Ya know, I'm actually not entirely sure on that," he replied, snickering quietly. "But _I'm_ sure as fuck not gonna argue with her. You _don't_ wanna piss off the Doc. Under _any_ circumstances."

* * *

Tseng looked up from his computer screen at the sound of a knock on his door, and rubbed his eyes for a moment before responding.

"Come in," he called out, and a few seconds later, Veld slipped into his office, shutting the door behind him. He calmly took a seat in on of the chairs in front of Tseng's desk.

"How goes the orientation?" he asked.

"I think I may have intentionally repressed the memory of just how many forms must be submitted for a new hire since the last time I had to do this," the Wutaiian Turk replied, with a gentle laugh. "But I'm nearly finished with the paperwork, IT delivered their new PHSs shortly after lunch, and by now, the tour will have made it through Building Administration on six, so they should have their credentials in hand. I told Reno to take care of it while they were down there."

"Excellent," Veld said, in a pleased tone. His lips suddenly shifted into a smirk. "Now... so long as your protege manages to return to headquarters in possession of all of the rookies he _left_ with..."

Tseng rolled his eyes.

"You are _never_ going to let that go, are you, sir?" he sighed, shaking his head. The Turk leader laughed.

"No, I'm not. Because I find it entirely too amusing. I may even tell Reno how you once lost track of a rookie on their first day..."

Now it was Tseng's turn to smirk. "I'm afraid I've already taken the liberty of relating that story to him... as I had a sneaking _suspicion_ the idea might just occur to you."

Veld looked slightly taken aback for a moment, but at last just chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

"Careful, Tseng... If you tell him _too_ many of those sorts of stories, your little acolyte might start to think you're less than perfect," he said, teasingly.

"And well he _should_ ," Tseng snickered, "Because I'm far from it."

"And... you're alright with with that?"

Tseng smiled faintly and closed his email. "I've been on that pedestal long enough, I think. And as much as I've enjoyed the adoration, I'm enjoying having him start to see me as an equal far more."

"Good. Let me know when they return. I'd like to speak to them each one on one, since I didn't have the chance this morning," Veld said, getting to his feet.

"Yes, sir."

The Turk leader headed disappeared through the door and out into the hallway again, and Tseng returned his attention to the incoming memos and security bulletins residing in his inbox... only to be interrupted once more as Veld poked his head back into the office.

"And let me know if I need to assemble a search party at some point this afternoon, as well..." he snarked.

"I'll be _sure_ to do so, sir," Tseng said, dryly, rolling his eyes at the teasing jab.

~end chapter 63~


	64. All According to Plan

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 64: All According to Plan**

 **by Desha**

Reno grinned slightly as he pressed the button for the sixty-ninth floor. It had taken, _literally_ , the entire afternoon... but the tour was almost finished. All that was left was the President's office.

Well... the reception area, anyway. He wasn't cleared to take the rookies up to the seventieth floor. Hell, _he'd_ only been in there twice in the nearly four years he'd been a Turk. There just weren't many occasions when anyone but executives and investors were summoned to appear before President Shinra privately. In fact, the only times he'd had occasion to enter the luxurious office had been briefly alongside Rufus during the war, when his father had demanded he be accompanied just about everywhere by a security escort.

Everything had gone... pretty great, actually. The rookies had lots of questions... and for the _most_ part, he'd been able to answer them – though there were a few things he'd made a mental note to check with Tseng on, as he hadn't been a hundred percent sure on Company policy. They'd hit all the major areas, and even run into his old friend, Izzy, down on forty-eight. The redhead hadn't seen _her_ in months... and it had quickly become apparent why. She looked like she was about five seconds away from popping out a kid. Apparently she'd been on maternity leave, and had just stopped by to pick up some forms from HR and chat with a few of her office buddies. Reno hadn't even known she was pregnant... but then again, since she'd gotten married, they didn't really hang out much anymore.

The group stepped out into the large reception floor for the presidential offices, and all three rookies momentarily froze, eyes going wide. The redhead really couldn't blame them... From what Tseng had told him, the whole space had been designed to trigger that sort of reaction. It was meant to be impressive and imposing and powerful... and it was. He'd had much the same reaction himself the first time he'd walked in here. Two large, long desks ran along either side of the room, and seated behind them were President Shinra's small army of secretaries and assistants. At the far end of the room, twin staircases curved up to the seventieth floor.

"So... yeah. This is Presidential Reception," he said, guiding them out. He flashed one of the secretaries a wide grin, which the woman only too happily returned. "And... ya _probably_ won't get any farther than this any time soon, to be honest. Only thing on the top floor is the President's personal office."

"Ugh... What are _you_ doing here?" a voice interrupted, and Reno shifted his gaze upwards slightly to see Rufus making his way down the left-hand staircase, an annoyed sneer already firmly in place. The secretary hurriedly dropped her smile and pointedly shifted her attention back to her computer screen. Reno rolled his eyes. Leave it to the brat to ruin his attempts at flirting.

"Just showin' the new guys around, sir," he replied, as Rufus reached the bottom of the stairs and paused in front of the small group. The vice president turned his sneer on the three rookies, looking each of them over in turn.

" _This_ is the latest crop of Turks?" Rufus queried, in an unimpressed tone. He shook his head and sighed. "I should have _known_ it would be a disaster the moment Tseng mentioned to me that he was getting input on the new hires from his pet Slum Rat. What? Did you merely throw darts at a list of names?" His eyes drifted over towards Zephyr. "Is _she_ even _old_ enough to be a Turk?"

"Boss nabbed _me_ when I was sixteen, sir," Reno said, biting back a snicker. Rufus was _really_ laying it on thick today. If he hadn't known better, even the redhead might have taken "critique" seriously.

"Hmph... I'm _still_ not convinced he didn't simply find you stuck to the bottom of his shoe one day and take you in out of sheer convenience... or _pity_ ," Rufus snarked. He paused, momentarily, as if pondering the possibilities. "Or perhaps it was merely a matter of being unable to be rid of you once you'd adhered yourself to him... You _are_ rather fungus-like."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied, with a grin. Rufus snorted and rolled his eyes, before brushing past him.

"Out of my way, Slum Rat. I have a meeting to attend," he declared, and resumed his original course, walking over to the elevator and pressing the call button. Reno snorted softly in laughter after he was gone.

"Heh... And _that_ was the vice president," he snickered, glancing at his new subordinates. "So... who wants ta see the roof?"

* * *

"What a _day_..." Zephyr breathed, slouching in the hard plastic train seat. She let her head thump softly against the glass window beside her and shut her eyes for a moment. Victor laughed quietly.

"I _told_ you it was going to be a long one..."

"You know what I'm going to do? I'm going grab some dinner and then go straight up to my room and soak my feet until bedtime," she replied, and then turned her gaze on her footwear, glaring, "But first? I'm going to _burn_ these stupid shoes."

Ryu snorted softly but didn't comment. He was too engrossed in his own musings to join in the conversation. Zephyr was right about one thing, though. It _had_ been a day. A long and, ultimately, enlightening day.

He'd had _no_ idea that any of the Turks were slum-born. And by the sound of things, the upper echelons of Company leadership were none-too-impressed with the fact. The way Rufus Shinra had spoken to Reno... as if he were utterly beneath him and worthless... disturbed him. _Some_ of that disdain had clearly been redirected at the new rookies, simply for being in his company.

Ryu did _not_ want to be lumped in with a lowly slum dweller if he could help it. Not that there was anything _wrong_ with being slum-born, _per se_. People from the slums were just... different... from those who had spent their lives on the Plate. Less intelligent. Less cultured. Less... well... frankly, just _less_. It wasn't their _fault_ , of course. It was just the result of growing up in an environment like... _that_.

How one of them had _ever_ wound up as a Turk, though, Ryu couldn't quite imagine.

His father had always said that the slum-born ought to be pitied. Their circumstances _were_ pitiable, certainly... but at the same time, Ryu felt that the vast majority of them were just too lazy or too dishonest to really bother doing anything about it, and opted instead to simply accept their lot in life. He'd never actually been to the Slums... but he'd heard the stories. The drugs. The gangs. The crime. The poverty. He wasn't ashamed to admit that it disgusted him a little.

He wondered if Reno had been selected for the Turks because of his criminal history. He knew that sometimes the best way to gain the upper hand with a segment of society was to bring one of their own under your wing and use them as an emissary. That seemed, at least in his mind, like the most likely explanation. Maybe he was tight with the gang leaders down below. Maybe he'd even _been_ a gang leader. He didn't really _look_ the type... but who knew what he was like before the Turks had cleaned him up?

Regardless... the company executives didn't seem to have much respect for him. Besides Vice President Shinra's cutting comments, Director Heidegger hadn't looked overly thrilled to see him, either, when they'd visited the executive offices on sixty-six... and if the Head of the General Affairs Department disliked him, Ryu was definitelygoing to want to distance himself from the red-haired Turk as much as possible. Heidegger oversaw the Turks' parent division, after all. He was, essentially, their boss.

It was nothing personal. Not in the slightest. Reno had seemed pleasant enough. Maybe not the _smartest_ person the rookie had ever met – dear Leviathan, his grammar was terrible... and he swore every other _sentence_ – but welcoming and friendly. But Ryu had his _own_ career to think about and he didn't want to start it off on the wrong foot with the people who really mattered.

"Ryu? Hey... Ryu. You awake?"

"Hmm?" the younger Turk responded, suddenly drawn out of his own thoughts. Victor rolled his eyes.

"I _said_ do you want to come have dinner with me and Zephyr? This is our stop, so... if you're coming with us instead of heading back to your apartment..." he said, trailing off as the train slowly ground to a halt at the platform.

"Oh," Ryu said, blinking, "I... um... Thank you, but no. Mother and Father are expecting me to join them for dinner tonight. I promised to tell them about my first day."

"See you tomorrow, then!" Zephyr replied with a wave, before bounding towards the door.

"Later, Ryu," Victor added.

"Goodnight," the third rookie cordially replied.

* * *

Reno yawned, stretching his arms above his head, and then shoved aside the completed forms.

"Finished?" Tseng's voice inquired from the doorway, and he jumped slightly.

"Tch... yeah. All done. And how the _fuck_ can you still sneak up on me on _crutches_?" he replied, snickering softly. The senior Turk chuckled.

"Practice. Thank you for staying to help me finish those. The sheer amount of paperwork for a new hire borders on ridiculous anymore."

The redhead shrugged. "No problem, boss. You know how I just _love_ fillin' out forms. In triplicate."

Tseng laughed and shook his head.

"One of your favorite pastimes, I know. In appreciation, allow me to treat you to dinner tonight. I'd very much like to hear how the building tour went."

Reno grinned and hurriedly got to his feet.

"Pizza?" he enthusiastically queried. Tseng audibly groaned, drawing another laugh from the redhead. "Okay, fine. How 'bout that Costan place over on 5th street? Ya know... the one that lets ya put as much of whatever you want on your burrito..."

"While that sounds _far_ more agreeable..." the senior Turk replied, "I was thinking something a bit... quieter... than a fast food establishment. Have you ever been to the The Juniper Well?"

"Nope... Don't think so..." the redhead replied, somewhat curious, as he got to his feet. Tseng smiled and shuffled out of the doorway so he could get past him.

"Good. You drive, I'll navigate."

A short while later, Reno found himself sitting opposite his mentor at a tiny, hole-in-the-wall cafe on a little side street in Sector 2. It was a cozy little place, lit with old-fashioned glass lanterns, rather than modern mako-powered lights. It looked more like something you'd find in Kalm or Nibelheim than in Midgar.

"How'd you even _find_ this place?" Reno snickered as he looked over the menu. "I musta driven by it _dozens_ of times over the years 'n never even realized it was here."

"It's one of Rufus' favorites. _He_ introduced me. He... frequented it with his mother when he was younger. Apparently, he even purchased it outright to prevent it from going under a few years back."

Reno glanced up from the menu, frowning slightly.

"Seriously?"

Tseng nodded. "I thought it would be wise to familiarize you with it. Particularly given that you are essentially my _de facto_ stand-in for his personal security these days. He very well might _never_ bring you here himself, but... on the off chance, I wanted you to be aware of the sentimental value. As you know, Rufus... does not often speak of his mother."

The redhead exhaled as he glanced around the minuscule dining space. "Can't exactly say I don't understand _that_..."

Tseng flashed him a somewhat sad smile. "I think that's at least _part_ of why Rufus has been somewhat more willing to accept you than most other Turks. Because you _do_ understand. In a way that many people can't." He set his own menu aside. "If you don't mind my asking... how goes your _own_ progress on that front?"

Reno snickered softly.

"That why ya brought me here? To talk about my mom?"

"No... It's a genuinely goodrestaurant, that I quite enjoy dining at," Tseng replied, chuckling. "But I will admit to perhaps a _small_ amount of personal concern. Our prior conversation was... ah... unexpectedly interrupted by a high speed car chase, after all."

"I'm... ya know. Workin' on it," the redhead said, shrugging. "I know where I _wanna_ be with it all... I'm just tryin' to figure out how to actually _get_ there."

"May I make a suggestion?"

"Sure," Reno replied.

"Speak to Kai about it. She... had a similar trauma to overcome at a fairly young age, and like you, spent much of her younger years fending for herself."

The younger Turk shrugged. "Yeah... she told me 'bout losin' her dad when she was a kid... 'n I _did_ kinda talk to her about some stuff awhile back, but... I dunno. I guess I just haven't quite worked up the courage to bring it up again yet. I mean... when I think about my mom, no matter how good a memory it is at first, I inevitably end up thinking about the worst day of my life."

Tseng nodded in understanding. "There's no need to force yourself."

"Yeah, there kinda _is_ ," Reno replied, shaking his head. "... 'Cause if I don't, I'm just gonna end up not doin' _anything_. So... I guess I just need to grow some balls 'n bite the bullet..."

The senior Turk smiled softly. "Shall I alert Kai to expect a conversation in the near future, then?"

The redhead rolled his eyes and reached for his water glass, taking a sip.

"No way. If I gotta make myself spill my guts to her 'bout my mom, _she's_ not gettin' advance warning."

Tseng chuckled and glanced up, noting that their waitress was heading in their direction.

"As you wish," he somewhat teasingly affirmed, before turning more serious, "And... while my own experiences my be considerably different – and frankly, I'm still sorting some things out in that regard, myself – you can talk to _me_ , as well. Any time."

"I know," Reno replied, with a faint smile.

* * *

Victor snorted softly as he made his way out onto the roof of the recruitment facility and caught sight of Zephyr vindictively jabbing at the smoldering remains of a pair of shoes that had been roasting on the little barbecue grill someone had dragged up here long before either of them had joined the program.

"They dead yet?" he quipped, walking over to her.

"Oh, they're dead, alright," she replied, glaring at the embers. She suddenly laughed and shook her head. "I _seriously_ don't know what in the Nine Hells I was thinking wearing those today."

Victor grinned and took a seat on a nearby lawnchair, sitting back and gazing up at the night sky. It was nice out. A beautiful fall evening in Midgar.

"You know? I think I'm going to miss this place..." he said.

"Any luck on the apartment hunting yet?"

The older rookie shrugged. "Eh... I've got a _few_ places to look at this weekend. Not sure about the rent, though. All the stuff that's reasonably close to the office is a little pricey. And _way_ bigger than I really need just for myself." He glanced over at Zephyr. "So, that's why I was sort of _wondering_... any chance you're interested in a roommate?"

Zephyr blinked in surprise. "Me? You want _me_ to room with you?"

Victor shrugged again. "Well... we'd be keeping pretty much the same schedule for work anyway, and it'd save us _both_ some money on rent that we could put toward other stuff," he replied, and then teasingly added, "And we've basically been living next door to each other for almost a year now anyway, so I know I can at least tolerate you. Worst case scenario, we hate it, don't renew the lease when it's up, and go our separate ways."

Zephyr laughed quietly and joined him, pulling up a small barstool that resided amongst the hodgepodge of miscellaneous roof seating that had made its way to the top of the building over the years.

"I... _guess_ that makes sense," she said, thoughtfully, "... Okay, sure! Let's do it."

"Great!" Victor replied, glad that she was on board with the idea. Truth be told... when he'd actually started _looking_ for an apartments rather than just thinking about it, he'd gotten a little nervous about the whole prospect. It had suddenly occurred to him that... he'd never actually lived on his own. He was _used_ to having comrades sharing his living space, be it fellow soldiers or fellow recruits, and having to give that up – in addition to starting out in a whole new career – had seemed more than a little daunting. "If you're not doing anything on Saturday afternoon, I've got a couple of viewings scheduled over in Sector 7..."

"Okay..." Zephyr replied, nodding enthusiastically. She sighed, smiling slightly, and turned her gaze upwards, at the inky sky. "Know what? I think _I'm_ kinda gonna miss this place, too."

* * *

The delivery had been late today. A mudslide that had taken out the southern road had caused delays... but the package _had_ eventually arrived. It had been dutifully handed over to its usually courier.

And when it had, Rude had been waiting. Unfortunately, said courier wasn't alone this time, as he had been in the past. The other Zenshou from the safehouse was with him, as was a third individual... a woman, they'd seen only once, shortly after they'd first located their quarry.

"What do you think?" he asked Remy, subtly pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up further, to better conceal his face. It was growing dark, but it wasn't yet _that_ dark. He'd still stand out like a beacon if anyone noticed him.

"We stick to the plan. Wait for the meeting and follow their contacts down the coast."

Rude frowned, but didn't comment.

"I don't like that we're outnumbered, either," Remy added, "But this is a deviation from their normal routine. It could mean they're preparing to pull up stakes. If we lose them now, it could take weeks to track down another lead."

The younger Turk nodded and hurried to fall into step behind her as she set off after the small group. He was careful to keep his distance, looking as though he had no idea who Remy was, so as not to draw any more attention to either of them more than was necessary. As expected, the Zenshou trio quickly made their way to the docks. The two Turk kept carefully to the shadows, watching... and waiting.

It wasn't _ever_ going to be easy, following a lone boat down the coast without being made by their targets... but it was going to be even harder in the dark. He hoped they weren't going too far. Though he and Remy had a boat of their own, hired from a local fisherman, it likely wasn't nearly as fast or maneuverable as the one the Zenshou used... but it had been the best they'd been able to do.

They reached the docks several minutes later, and Remy crept aboard their hired boat while Rude hung back for the moment. As they'd observed previously, it wasn't long before a small, black speed boat approached the docks...

* * *

Reno yawned and leaned back against the wall of the elevator as it carried him upwards the next morning. Yesterday had been the building tour and taking care of all the administrative bullshit the Company required of its employees. _Today_ , though,would be the first day of training for the new rookies. He was looking forward to seeing just what they could do.

Oh, sure... he'd observed from a distance at the recruitment facility, but it was hard to make accurate assessments on ability without being a little more hands-on... at least in _his_ opinion. He was especially interested in seeing what Ryuunosuke could do. His use of materia intrigued the senior Turk a bit.

Maybe it was because he had next to no ability to even _use_ it himself. Or maybe it was just because there had never beena Turk who specialized in materia-based combat since Reno'd been recruited. Tseng and Remy equipped it on occasion, and Petra used it as some sort of augmentation on her crossbow – and, okay, yeah, his own EMR ran on a materia-based battery pack, but that wasn't really _him_ using materia – but no one else on the team ever really touched the stuff.

He wondered how exactly he was going to help Tseng train the rookie when, really, he didn't even understand his fighting style. Like... at _all_.

A few moments later, he stepped out into the hallway on the fifty-eighth floor, just as Sykes was rushing past.

"Morning, sir," the Turk greeted him with a nod.

"Mornin'," Reno waved, and turned, heading for the lounge to see if anyone had made coffee yet. He didn't get that far, however.

"Reno... join me for a moment," Veld intoned, peering out from inside of his own office. The redhead altered course and stepped inside... pausing somewhat apprehensively as he realized that the Turk leader was alone. Even after going on four years as a Turk, being pulled into Veld's office on his own still made him a little nervous.

"Sir?" he queried, as the senior Turk shut the door tightly behind him and flipped the lock, ensuring there would be no unexpected interruptions.

"Have a seat," Veld said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. Reno hesitantly did as ordered.

"... Okay," he breathed, as the older Turk, too, sat, steepling his fingers in front of him on the desk, "What am I trouble for... ?"

"You're _not_ in trouble. _Should_ you be?"

"Nope," the redhead quickly replied, and exhaled sharply in relief. "Seriously, sir... don't _do_ that to me. I'm still tryin' to repress the trauma of all the _other_ times you've dragged me in here outta nowhere."

Veld snorted softly. "I need your help," he stated bluntly, and Reno's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "And I need your word that you will not discuss this with _anyone_ else. Not even Tseng. _Especially_ , not Tseng."

"Sir?" the younger Turk replied, frowning. He'd never been asked to keep something from his mentor before... and frankly the idea didn't sit well with him. To his surprise, however, Veld laughed.

"I'm not recruiting you for some clandestine conspiracy. The fact is... Tseng is going to be evaluated soon, and he absolutely cannot know about it ahead of time."

" _Oh_ ," Reno replied, breathing a slight sigh of relief. "Um... okay. Evaluated for what, though?"

"On just how well he's learned what I've taught him," Veld said, leaning back in his chair. "Formal evaluation doesn't end after Hell Week, after all. At least... not for those Turks earmarked for command. Being given a First Rookie is also an evaluation of sorts, and one that Tseng has already successfully passed. I've decided that it's time for the _next_ test of his progress, and for that, I'm going to need _you_."

The redhead grinned slightly. "Just tell me what ya need me to do, sir..."

Veld smiled and stood up, rounding his desk. He stopped beside the younger Turk and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I have a general idea... but the details are going to need a bit of refining. According to Tseng, you were exceptionally good at that during the planning for Sykes' Hell Week," he replied, and then smirked, "And... you will also be playing a rather important role during the evaluation itself..."

~end chapter 64~


	65. The Press Conference

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 65: The Press Conference**

 **by Desha**

Liam hit the floor with a loud grunt as Zephyr easily took him down for the third time since their sparring practice had begun. He groaned faintly and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Enough," Tseng's voice interrupted before he could stagger to his feet and they could begin again. "Petra and... Victor. You're up."

The rookie bit back a sigh and accepted the hand Zephyr offered to him. Reno grinned at the pair as they stepped off the mat and walked over to where the others were watching. Liam flopped down onto the bench and reached for his water bottle.

"Ya know... when I told ya to take it easy on the newbies, I didn't mean to just _let_ 'em kick your ass..." the redhead joked as he took a seat next to them on the bench.

"I wasn't _letting_ her do anything, sir," he muttered, wincing as he gingerly probing at what he suspected was going to be a nice big bruise on his hip. Zephyr shot the two of them a faint glare and folded her arms over her chest.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I need someone to _let_ me beat him, sir," she declared, and the redhead snickered loudly.

"Ah, I'm just teasin'..." he replied, "... 'Sides... I just meant 'cause you're new. Trust me... I've had my ass kicked _plenty_ of times by women. I know better."

Ryu glanced over at them and silently rolled his eyes at the conversation. He returned his attention back to the others just in time to watch as Victor took Petra to the mat... only to be very quickly flipped and pinned himself by the more senior rookie.

The red-haired Turk didn't exactly come across as the most competent of people, he silently mused to himself. The day had really only just started, and Ryu, thus far, had counted no less than nine wholly inappropriate jokes, four instances of what almost certainly bordered on sexual harassment, two examples of blatant disrespect towards a superior... and he was _pretty_ sure that if he ever dared to take more than two steps into the man's disaster of an office, he might never find his way back out again.

He'd been thinking about _all_ of his new teammates since after he'd gotten off of work yesterday... and as first impressions went, Reno's had been _decidedly_ lacking. Today's interactions weren't exactly improving his opinion of the senior Turk. Even Kai – whom he was fairly convinced, after she greeted Zephyr with a knife to the throat at the morning briefing, was _indeed_ a little crazy – seemed like more of a Turk than _Reno_ did.

Veld and Tseng had certainly impressed him, though. The pair had the bearing of true leadership and professionalism. Sykes, too, from what he had seen went about his job with efficiency and decorum. And as for his fellow rookies, they both appeared quite skilled... though Liam struck him as perhaps just a bit naïve at times.

"Hmph... pathetic," a voice to his right muttered, loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the ongoing fight, and Tseng momentarily turned towards the source... as did Ryu. He was slightly shocked to see Rufus Shinra standing not six feet away from him, watching the exercise.

"Good morning, sir," the Turk lieutenant greeted the vice president, "Something I can do for you?"

"I was merely curious as to whether or not _any_ of these new so-called Turks are actually worth the exorbitant amount of money my Company is investing in them," Rufus replied, folding his arms over his chest and stepping forward for a better look. "And I thought _you_ were on medical leave. Isn't this sort of thing what that useless excuse for a protege of yours is for?" He glanced disdainfully over at the redhead. "Hmph... Lazing about on company time, as usual, I see..."

"Nice to see you, too, sir," Reno replied, with a wide grin.

Petra sent Victor staggering backwards. It took him several long seconds to recover, and before he _did_ , she'd swept his feet out from under him, and twisted his arm behind his back. Tseng smiled slightly.

"Well done, Petra." He turned back towards the bench. "Ryu... Your turn."

The Wutaiian rookie hurried to stand up and make his way out onto the mats, where Petra was waiting for him. As he did so, he heard a derisive snort.

" _Really_ , Tseng... Is _this_ the best group you could come up with? Two of them don't look as though they could even take _me_ on, and the third was just beaten by a girl half his size."

Reno laughed obnoxiously from his position on the bench. "Maybe you oughta challenge one of 'em, yourself, then, sir. Bet Zephyr'd have somethin' to show ya 'bout fightin' with girls..."

Rufus pointedly rolled his eyes at the Turk.

"As entertaining as I'm sure that would _be_ , I'm afraid I have other matters to see to," he shot back, and then shifted his focus to Tseng, "I do, however, require your pet slum rat's undivided attention later this afternoon, if he's finished sitting around on his useless backside by then. I'll be giving a press conference regarding the environmental impact of the explosion at the Gongaga reactor and will need security."

"Yes, sir," Tseng replied, "Reno will report to your office after lunch."

"Good," the vice president replied, and turned on his heel to stride off... only to pause and glance back, over his shoulder, "And make the little twit do some actual _work_ for a change."

When he was gone, Tseng chuckled softly. "Well? You heard the vice president, Reno... It seems you've been ordered to participate in this demonstration."

"Ugh..." the redhead moaned with an exaggerated sigh, as he got to his feet, drawing a laugh from both Liam and Zephyr, and a quiet snicker from Victor, as well. He grinned as he stepped onto the mat, taking Petra's place against Ryu. "Okay, rookie... let's see whatcha got."

* * *

By the time lunch rolled around, all five of the rookies had found themselves starving and crammed into an elevator with several other employees on their way down to the cafeteria on Thirty-five. Zephyr heaved a loud sigh of relief as the doors finally opened and then stepped out into the much more spacious hallway.

"Not a fan of elevators?" Liam asked, somewhat jokingly. Zephyr blushed faintly.

"Er... well..."

Victor smiled warmly and looped an arm over her shoulders, having to bend down slightly to match her height. "It's not the elevator. Zephyr just doesn't like tight spaces."

" _Victor!_ " she hissed, embarrassed.

"Well, you don't. And everyone's going to find out sooner or later, just like they did back in recruitment. Better to just get it over with."

The younger Turk sighed. She'd been claustrophobic since she was little... the result of a minor misadventure when she was six that had left her trapped beneath a collapsed woodshed for almost an hour before her grandfather had finally been able to pull her out. She hated the fact that small, enclosed spaces now made her so nervous. Sure, she could usually push through the anxiety... but it was _always_ there.

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Petra, " _Everyone_ is afraid of _something_."

" _Anyway_ ," Liam interjected, mercifully changing the subject. "I wonder what's for lunch? After all that sparring, I could eat a chocobo... Feathers and all."

Zephyr giggled and flashed him a grateful smile as the conversation quickly re-centered itself on the possibilities they might find on offer in the cafeteria. It wasn't long before they'd each made their selections from the day's menu and found a seat at an empty table.

"What _is_ this?" Ryu queried, hesitantly dipping a spoon into something disturbingly resembling lumpy mud.

"That's the chili. It's actually not as bad as it looks," said Liam. Ryu cautiously lifted his spoon to his mouth and took a taste... and immediately spat it into his napkin. "Well... I mean, it's _bad_. But it's not as bad as it _looks_ ," Liam clarified.

"The cafeteria is a little... um..." Petra began.

"Gross. The cafeteria is _gross_ ," Liam finished for her, "But... it's free."

"And _sometimes_ it's even edible," a new voice piped up, and the rookies spotted Reno making his way over to them, along with Sykes. He sat down across from Ryu while Sykes drifted over towards the end of the table where Liam and Petra were seated. "So... you gonna finish that?"

"Not unless someone _forces_ me to..." Ryu replied, shoving the bowl towards the center of the table, and turning, instead, to the relatively safe-looking salad he'd chosen. The redhead grinned at him and happily reached for the bowl of sludge, pulling it over to his side. Ryu grimaced in vague disgust as he began shoveling it into his mouth.

"Just so you guys know... Reno will eat _literally_ anything..." Liam snickered.

" _And_ come back for seconds," Sykes added with a laugh.

"Hey, waste not, want not, right?" the senior Turk replied, as he polished off the rest of the bowl. "'Sides... anything that doesn't kill me makes me less hungry. Anyway... hate to eat 'n run, but Rufus is probably glarin' a hole in his office door waitin' for me to take him to his press conference. I'm just here to let you rookies know there's a change in schedule this afternoon. You're gonna be with Kai instead of Veld."

Liam and Petra let out twin groans of dismay.

"It's not even gauntlet day..." the younger of the two lamented. Reno shrugged and got to his feet.

"Sorry, kiddo... Veld got dragged into a meeting with Heidegger. And with the Boss still on crutches, Sykes workin' on his own assignment, 'n me stuck babysittin' the VP for the afternoon, 'fraid ya don't have much of a choice." He smirked knowingly. "Have _fun..."_

With that, the redhead was off, leaving the rookies to fend for themselves.

"... _Babysitting_?" Ryu echoed, indignantly, once the senior Turk was gone. "He calls providing security for the vice president of the Company _babysitting_? Shouldn't we be taking things just a _bit_ more seriously than that?"

Petra giggled softly and shook her head. "'Reno' and 'serious' are two words that don't typically go together," she replied, jokingly.

"I'm beginning to _see_ that," Ryu dryly replied.

"You get used to it after awhile," Sykes added.

"You know, frankly, I'm not so sure that's something we should be letting ourselves 'just get used to'," the younger rookie proclaimed, stabbing another forkful of lettuce. "The Turks are responsible for the continued safety of the _entire company_ , and _he_ seems to think everything is just something to laugh at."

Sykes frowned. "We all know that... but no one can be serious _all_ the time. Reno likes to joke around... especially with _us_... but he's _really_ dedicated to the job, and he's _really_ good at it."

" _And_ he's the best trainer on the team," Petra said, "Even better than Tseng."

"Plus he's easy to talk to," Liam added, "And he's never too busy to actually _listen_ to you when you have a problem."

Ryu blinked, surprised that everyone seemed so quick to defend the senior Turk. Finally, he shook his head. "I just don't think executive security is something to joke about."

Sykes flashed him a wide grin. "Yeah, well... Just wait until you're assigned to a few executive security details."

* * *

"It's about _time_ ," Rufus greeted him as soon as he walked through the door. Well... _technically_ he didn't even _make_ it through the door. Reno had barely set foot inside of the reception area of Rufus' office when the vice president emerged and stalked towards him. He brushed past the Turk, leaving him to scurry to catch up.

"What's the hurry? Boss said this thing wasn't happening 'til one thirty. We got almost an hour before ya gotta be there 'n we're only goin' across town..."

"I want to get out of here before the research department insists upon updating me with new figures. _Again_. I've only had the morning to prepare for this Ramuh-be-damned thing, and I simply _cannot_ handle reworking my statements for a fourth time!" he groused as they stepped into the elevator. Rufus pressed the button for the parking deck, before muttering, "I don't even particularly _like_ public speaking to begin with. I like it even _less_ when I'm ill-prepared."

"Well... look on the bright side. 'Least this time they _probably_ won't be throwin' tomatoes at you," Reno teased, and the younger Shinra rolled his eyes.

"Hmph... should they make any such attempt, I _will_ be using you as a human shield."

"Wouldn't be the first time..." the redhead snickered. Rufus glowered at him for a moment.

"I did _not_ mean I wish to have a repeat of Wutai," he finally stated, bluntly. The redhead blinked in surprise. The elevator arrived and Rufus stormed out into the parking deck, making a beeline towards the waiting limousine. The driver opened the door for him, and he climbed into the back. Reno hurried to follow, sliding into a seat just as Rufus was raising the partition that separated them from the driver.

Besides the hum of the engine as they pulled out onto the street, the car remained silent for several minutes.

"... Still thinkin' about what happened, sir?" Reno finally asked. Rufus scoffed and turned his gaze out one of the windows, ignoring him. For a short while, he continued to glower at the passing scenery, and ignored the Turk. Eventually, though, he exhaled a long, drawn out breath.

"This... will be my first public appearance since that Ramuh-forsaken Zenshou attacked me," he stated, still refusing to look at the redhead. "Up until today, I've had the luxury of being able to remain locked away behind the protection of Company Headquarters and the Turks. I'm..." He dropped the volume of his voice to the point Reno only just caught what he said next. "... nervous."

To say he was stunned would have been an understatement. Oh, Reno wasn't the _least_ bit shocked that the Shinra heir was a little more concerned than usual about his safety. Not after coming a lot closer than anyone would have liked to getting shot, and then watching his security escort almost bleed to death right in front of him. No, the shocking part was that he'd _admitted_ it. Rufus Shinra did _not_ show weakness. Not to the public, not to the executive board, and most _certainly_ not to the redhead.

"Look. It's gonna be fine. No one's gettin' anywhere near you on my watch, and anyone dumb enough to try's goin' down hard."

Rufus snorted softly, and at last deigned to meet his gaze.

"Hmph... I honestly can't decide whether you're uncommonly brave... or uncommonly stupid."

Reno grinned widely in response, as the quip was _far_ more in character for the stuck up executive.

"Probably both," he jokingly replied.

* * *

Zephyr yelped as two more of the little rubber balls slammed into her lower back. She stumbled and very nearly went down, but _somehow_ managed to stay on her feet long enough to quite literally fling herself bodily through the narrow opening at the end of the shooting gallery. She lay on the ground, panting from the exertion. She spotted Ryu slumped against the wall a few feet away, just as winded as she was. Victor, Liam, and Petra were only doing slightly better.

"Up and at 'em, Turklings... that was good, but I know you can do better!" Kai proclaimed, "Get some water, catch your breath, and then we're gonna do it again!"

The five rookies collectively groaned at the pronouncement. It was met with a quiet laugh from the senior Turk before she left them and headed back to the start of the course to reset.

"Sometimes I really do wonder if Kai is attempting to send us on to the next life..." Petra sighed as she forced herself upright.

"How many... more times... do we have to... do this?" Zephyr managed to get out between gasps.

"Hopefully this is the last. I'm _exhausted_..." Liam breathed. He stood up and started the long slog back to the beginning of the obstacle course. The rest of the group grudgingly joined him. As they arrived at the line once more, the doors to the massive space swung inward, admitting Veld, closely followed by Tseng.

"Are our newest Turks enjoying the gauntlet?" Veld queried, as they approached.

"Are our newest Turks going to _survive_ the gauntlet?" Tseng countered, eyeing the sweaty, panting rookies.

"Oh, they're _fine_ ," Kai replied, turning to the group. "Besides... I was only kidding. That was their last run of the day."

" _Thank_ Hades," Victor breathed, and Zephyr quickly found herself agreeing wholeheartedly.

Kai snickered loudly. "Oh, come on... we only ran it _twice_. Next times, we're going to try for _three_!" she said, gleefully.

"Kai..." Tseng intoned, somewhat warningly, and the senior Turk rolled her eyes, "Don't get carried away. I _shouldn't_ have to remind you what happened the _last_ time you pushed a rookie too hard before he was ready..."

"It's not even set above beginner yet..." she replied, "And besides... since you made me install all those Shiva-be-damned safety nets, it's almost impossible to get hurt on it _now_."

Tseng sighed and shook his head. "In any case... the five of you may hit the showers and return to the office for a short break... after which I will be introducing our newest Turks to the archive room and the incident report backlog."

Liam looked over at Petra, eyes widening. "I just realized... I'm not the lowest ranking rookie anymore. I'm done being tapped first for backlog duty!"

"If you feel that you'll miss the experience..." Tseng began, a somewhat teasing note in his voice, and Liam quickly shook his head.

"No, sir! They can _have_ it."

Tseng chuckled softly and turned to leave, crutches clicking softly against the floor. "If you're certain..."

Veld smirked but said nothing, and trailed him out.

"Alright, Turklings... you heard the man. Get cleaned up and get your butts back upstairs," Kai ordered, grinning at them.

The very relieved group of rookies hurried to drag themselves off to the locker rooms. Zephyr followed Petra into the women's half of the space, yanking off her sweatshirt as she did so.

"Hey, Petra?" she called after the older rookie as she turned on one of the showers on the far wall and stripped out of the rest of her workout clothes, "What did Tseng mean about Kai pushing a rookie too hard?"

"I'm not really sure... I suppose he could have been talking about what happened to Reno," the senior rookie replied. "Reno told me that _he's_ the reason we have nets now. He said he fell from the climbing tower as a rookie."

"Ouch..." Zephyr said, wincing at the thought. The climbing tower on the gauntlet was a good twenty feet tall. _She_ certainly wouldn't want to fall off of it without something to catch her... not that she'd had much difficulty getting up it. Growing up in the mountains, she'd been making _far_ more technical climbs than that for most of her life. She sighed as she stepped under the spray of warm water, letting it wash over her abused muscles. The shooting gallery, though... _that_ had given her some trouble. She glanced down at her thighs and noted that she could already make out a handful of small bruises blossoming on her skin. "Ugh... I look like I've been trampled by levicrons thanks to those stupid balls..."

She heard Petra giggle from the next shower stall. "You just need to get the timing down. The beginner level has a recognizable firing pattern. Wait until Kai turns up the difficulty... They're _really_ hard to avoid on expert, because the shots are random."

"Terrific..." the other rookie moaned.

* * *

Some time later all five of the team's rookies found themselves back in the Turks' offices, spread out around the lounge in varying states of recovery. Victor only too happily helped himself to coffee, and settled back on the couch by the window to relax a little before being given his next task.

"So... is this what _every_ day is going to be like?" Zephyr asked, glancing over at Liam and Petra. The younger of the two shook his head.

"Oh, this was nothing," he said, grinning. "Kai gets us every Thursday afternoon for gauntlet runs, if we don't have other assignments. Imagine today... and add an extra two hours to it."

"And then the rest of them time, we rotate between Reno and Tseng for general workouts, range practice, sparring, and weapons training... and the others sometimes take over for a little variety," Petra added.

"What about materia?" Ryu queried, "Don't they cover it at _all_?"

"We don't really _have_ any materia users, per se," Petra replied, "I use it for weapon and armor augmentation, but I'm not really much of a caster. Tseng covered the basics with us, but even _he_ doesn't make a habit of equipping it, and I don't think Reno uses it at all. My understanding is that SOLDIER tends to poach most of the recruits that are highly skilled with materia before we can get to them, so for the most part, it's a little outside of our skill set."

"Guess that makes you the new team expert, then, huh, Ryu?" Victor chuckled. Petra perked up, her interest piqued.

"You're a materia user?" she asked, and the other rookie nodded, "Passive, defensive, or offensive?"

"All of the above," said Ryu, "My grandfather began teaching me when I was seven."

"It's his specialty," Zephyr chimed in, "Ryu doesn't even _use_ other weapons. Personally though, I'll take my bladed staff over _his_ materia any day."

"What about you, Victor?" Liam inquired, "What's _your_ weapon of choice?"

"Me?" the older rookie said, shrugging dismissively, "I don't really have one. I guess I'm sort of what you might call a... jack of all trades. I've been trained on everything from small arms to heavy ordnance. Even had a short stint on the crew for Junon's big cannon before I transferred to the Calypso."

"A thoroughly _impractical_ weapon if ever there was one..." Ryu commented rolling his eyes, and Victor snickered loudly.

"It isn't _meant_ to be practical. It's meant to scare the hell out of people," he shot back, "You ever heard of anyone even _thinking_ about attacking Junon from the water? No... you haven't. Not with _that_ big son of a bitch pointed at 'em."

The Wutaiian rookie scoffed, but dropped the argument with a shake of his head.

"There _is_ something to be said for intimidation over confrontation," someone pointed out.

Ryu let out an audible gasp as he turned, wide-eyed, towards the sound of the voice, and found Tseng standing just a few feet behind him.

"Sir!" he yelped, and the two more senior rookies snickered quietly. Tseng's lips quirked upwards into a brief smile before resuming a more professional expression.

"I trust you've all had the chance to catch your breath by now?" he queried.

"Yes, sir," Petra replied. Tseng nodded.

"Good. Then you and Liam may see to your assigned tasks. The rest of you... follow me," he said, before turning and making his way back into the hallway.

"Where in _Leviathan's_ name did he _come_ from?!" Ryu hissed, as Zephyr and Victor moved to follow the Turk lieutenant.

"You'll get used to it," Liam and Petra inadvertently chorused.

* * *

Reno was keeping a much closer eye on the crowd than usual. Not so much because he was _expecting_ trouble, but more because if there _was_ trouble, he wanted to get out in front of it before Rufus noticed it. For the most part, though, things were orderly and relatively calm. They were mostly reporters, anyway... and though a few of them were a little aggressive with their questions, no one seemed to be of a mind to start any _real_ problems.

He intended to keep it that way.

Rufus had been through enough lately, in his opinion... and while maybe _almost_ being shot wasn't quite the same as actually _being_ shot and spending seven weeks recovering, he was still feeling oddly protective of the brat. Particularly after the car ride to get here.

If there was one thing he could say about the vice president, it was that he didn't let stressful situations control him. Oh, sure... he wasn't above bitching and moaning, and even snapping at his subordinates... but no matter how big the problem, he knew what had to be done, and he did it, no matter what it took. And he did it with _class_. Today, though... Reno could see the facade cracking ever so slightly.

It had started with the unexpected admission of his trepidation over the public appearance in general, but the closer they got to their destination, the more tense the younger Shinra had become. It hadn't been anything he'd actually _said_ to him during the drive. Reno could just tell that something was off. It was the way he'd kept unusually close to the redhead as they'd stepped out of the limo. The way he'd subtly looked off to the side even after he'd walked out on stage, as if making absolutely _sure_ that his Turk was still there. The way his knuckles had briefly gone white as he gripped the sides of the podium.

But if someone hadn't been looking for those little signs, Reno had a feeling they'd never have noticed. If they hadn't _known_ to look, all they would have seen was the dignified, young vice president of Shinra Company calmly delivering an update regarding the situation in Gongaga. Rufus' public persona was unflappable. It was cool and aloof, and strictly business. But behind it all, he was scared... and knowing that pissed Reno off to no end.

He didn't care how much of a brat his charge could be at times... Rufus had never signed up for being shot at and threatened and put in danger just for leaving his office, and he was legitimately angry that there were people out there that thought they could get away with making the executive feel like he was under constant threat. Rufus could be a dick sometimes, but he didn't deserve to live in fear for his own safety.

He didn't have time to ruminate on those thoughts, at the moment, however. Out of the corner of his eye, Reno spotted someone making their way towards the front of the crowd. He wasn't moving quickly. Every once in awhile, he'd just shoulder his way a few steps closer to the vice president. The Turk frowned, and hurriedly re-scanned the space, looking to see whether or not the man had friends out there somewhere. He didn't _see_ anyone else behaving suspiciously...

Reno began to move towards the man, being careful not to draw any more attention to himself than was strictly necessary, one hand already reaching for his weapon, just in case. By now, he could see that his suspect was holding a large styrofoam cup, his hand moving towards the lid to remove it, all the while closing in on the stage.

At that point, the Turk decided that enough was enough, and pushed his way into the audience, abandoning stealth altogether. The man spotted him and glared, obviously recognizing him as security, before quickening his pace towards the vice president, as those attending the press conference started to become aware that something was happening.

If he'd _had_ a clear shot, the redhead might have taken it right then. But there were just too many people and too much confusion. Besides which, taking the man out most likely would have resulted in the shot triggering an all-out panic in the crowd, cutting him off from Rufus... something he wasn't willing to risk. Instead, he doubled his pace, shoving spectators out of his way without regard, until he caught up to the man. His hand closed around the would-be assailant's arm and he roughly pulled him away from his intended target.

The man spun towards the Turk, a look a fury on his face, and he hurled the contents of the cup at him before Reno could dart out of the way.

"Shrina has blood on their hands!" he shouted, and the redhead found himself, along with several bystanders, suddenly doused in cold, sticky crimson. Reno wasted no time in tackling the son of a bitch to the ground. They struggled for a few moments, slipping and sliding in the widening puddle, with the man _screaming_ about how Shinra were murderers... Shinra was responsible for Gongaga... Shinra had blood on their hands. Even after Reno managed to snap a pair of handcuffs on his wrists, the man continued to shout and struggle, fighting to make sure that _everyone_ in the room took notice.

 _Finally_ , after what felt like a small eternity, the Midgar police officers that had been on site for crowd control broke through the people gathered around the Turk and the flailing man, and took him into custody, hauling him bodily out of the space to a waiting police car.

Reno stood up, his gaze immediately going to the podium at the front of the room, where Rufus was still standing, looking more than a little shocked. The Turk made a beeline for him, the gathered reporters all but leaping out of his way this time, and hurriedly escorted him off the stage. By the time they reached the limo and were safely ensconced in the back seat, Rufus was wide-eyed and staring at him wordlessly.

The redhead glanced down at himself and grimaced at the mess. He looked like he'd just walked out of a slaughterhouse.

"Tch... so much for _this_ uniform..." he muttered, before looking up at the vice president again, "You alright, sir?"

"Is... that _actual_ blood?" the executive asked in a somewhat shaky voice. By now, a familiar, coppery scent – emanating from Reno's clothes – had begun to fill the enclosed passenger section of the limousine. The redhead rubbed his fingers together, noting the sticky sensation, and then brought them to his nose, smelling them.

" _Ugh_... Yeah. Pretty sure it is. Seriously, man... _gross_."

"I think... I'm going to be sick," Rufus suddenly declared, his face going somewhat alarmingly white. The next thing Reno knew, the Shinra heir was doubled over and spewing the remains of his lunch onto the floor of the car. Reno could only stare, blinking in silent shock, as he watched the executive heave for several seconds. When it finally passed, Rufus groaned, and flopped over on the seat, drawing his knees to his chest and panting softly.

Reno knocked on the partition, alerting the driver that he should get moving, and the limo started its slow trek back to Shinra Company headquarters.

"Well... _that_ was humiliating," Rufus muttered. His face was still pale, but now, in a bizarre contrast, his cheeks had taken on a noticeably pink hue, that stood out even more than it normally would have against the otherwise bloodless skin surrounding the blush. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, through Reno wasn't sure if it was because he was still nauseated by the blood or because he simply didn't want to face the Turk after that display.

"Hey, it coulda been worse. 'Least ya didn't puke _on_ me," Reno said, teasingly. "Thank Ifrit, 'cause I got _enough_ of a mess to clean up when we get back."

Rufus mustered up enough strength to glare at him for a brief moment, before sinking back down with a soft moan. Reno cleaned his hands off as best he could and turned to the tiny mini-bar secreted away behind a panel on one side of the car's interior and selecting a bottle of bourbon. He poured some into a glass, and shifted over towards the vice president.

"Here. It'll get rid of that taste in your mouth," he said, offering it to him. Rufus exhaled slowly and seemed to gather himself a bit before finally sitting up an accepting the proffered liquor. He downed it with a shudder and then sat silently staring into the empty glass.

Reno snorted softly and refilled it for him, which the executive again swallowed in one go.

"Better?" he asked, setting the bottle aside.

"... Yes," Rufus replied, quietly. The previous silence resumed, and the pair sat, avoiding one another's gaze until the car was circling around to the entrance to the Shinra Building's parking deck. Rufus glanced down at the mess and cringed.

"Tch... you can blame it on me if ya want..." the redhead sighed, and the executive suddenly looked up at him in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Someone starts askin' 'bout the giant puddle of puke in the back seat, just tell 'em it was me. I won't say anything," he shrugged. "No one's gonna care if _I_ look like a wimp. 'Sides... _I'm_ the one covered in blood from fuck only knows who or what. I got a pretty good excuse."

Rufus' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And just what do you want in exchange?" he asked.

Reno smirked. "Nothin'. Wouldn't complain if ya picked up the tab for my dry cleaning, but... not a dealbreaker." He glanced down at his uniform again, and made a face of disgust, "Ugh... Assumin' this can even be _salvaged_..."

His white shirt may as well have been dyed red, it was so thoroughly covered, and while his jacket and the front of his pants may not have shown the stain, they were just as saturated. He wasn't sure anyone would even be willing to _try_ to clean them... and while they didn't, strictly speaking, _need_ to be dry cleaned, he sure as hell wasn't tossing them in with the rest of his laundry. It would probably be easier to just chuck the Shiva-be-damned biohazard of a uniform in the trash and put a new one on the company expense account.

"... Why?" the Shinra heir returned in a disbelieving tone.

"One... 'cause, it's my job to protect you. Reputation matters to you. It doesn't mean _shit_ to me," he replied, "And two... 'cause I still owe ya somethin' for that whole thing with Scarlet. You didn't _have_ to go outta your way to get her off my back, but ya did."

Rufus snorted derisively. "You don't consider taking a bullet intended for _me_ repayment enough?"

The redhead grinned in response. "Nah... That was a work obligation. I get _paid_ to get shot at. You did me a favor, so now I'm doin' you one."

The vice president said nothing for several moments. Finally, the car came to a stop inside of the building's private parking deck. He turned towards the door, pushing it open, rather than waiting for the driver to do so for him. Reno climbed out after him, away from the mix of unpleasant odors lingering heavily inside. Rufus turned back, looking the Turk over briefly.

"... If you _do_ attempt to have that disaster cleaned rather than simply _burning_ it... send the bill to my office," he said, and started towards the elevator. Reno snickered quietly to himself as he followed.

* * *

He'd thought about heading up to the gym showers first to clean himself up a bit and change into something a little less blood-soaked... but in the end, the redhead decided that he probably ought to report in first, before either Tseng or Veld caught a breaking news report about the vice president nearly being assaulted by a protester. That thought in mind, he'd left Rufus behind to ride up to his office on his own and stepped out into the hallway on Fifty-eight...

… only to be immediately assailed by Kai, who's eyes widened in horror as she rounded the corner and caught sight of him.

"Reno?!" she shouted, rushing towards him, "Tseng! Veld! Get out here... now!"

"W-whoa!" Reno sputtered holding up his hands to ward her off, but she was already on him, prodding him and searching for the source of all the blood.

Seconds later, he heard other footsteps rushing towards him, and Veld rounded the corner. At about the same time, Tseng emerged from the archive room down the hall.

"Where are you hit?" Kai asked.

"What's going on?" Veld demanded as he reached the pair.

"Reno? What in Leviathan's name happened? Are you alright?" came the inevitable query from Tseng as his crutches carried him over, as well.

Reno rolled his eyes. "Guys... I'm _fine_. Not my blood."

There was a palpable sense of relief... for a moment anyway.

"Where's Rufus?" Tseng asked, concerned.

"On his way back upstairs," said Reno, shaking his head, "Relax... no one got hurt. Some asshole thought it'd be funny to try 'n chuck a bucket of blood on the V.P. in the middle of the press conference over what happened in Gongaga. Got me instead. It's handled. Guy's in police custody, 'n Rufus is safe 'n sound."

Kai punched him in the shoulder. "Don't _scare_ me like that!" she demanded, and stomped off towards the lounge.

"Yeah, 'cause this was all _my_ idea..." Reno called after her. He shook his head, and turned his attention back on Tseng. "You _might_ wanna go check on the brat, Boss. He's not hurt or anything, but he's a little freaked out."

"Go. I'll keep an eye on our new rookies for you," Veld said, and started off towards the archive room. He paused and turned back to Reno, "And _you_ go and clean up before you scare anyone _else_ half to death."

"Heh... Yes, sir," the redhead replied.

* * *

Tseng slipped into the office as soon as he was granted permission to do so, closing the door firmly behind him. The curtains had been flung wide, revealing a truly magnificent view of the city, and Rufus was standing there, silently looking out at it as he nursed a glass of amber-colored liquid.

"I heard your press conference was rather... eventful," the Turk lieutenant said, making his way over.

"I suppose that's _one_ word for it," Rufus replied, blandly. Tseng joined him at the window, clasping his hands behind his back and gazing out at the sight. Midgar seemed remarkably peacefully from so high up. It was several minutes before the younger Shinra spoke again.

"... For a moment, I was all but certain it was happening again," he said, quietly.

"Understandable, given the circumstances," Tseng acknowledged.

"I'm beginning to lose track of just how many times I've cheated death, thanks to you... and... Reno."

The senior Turk raised an eyebrow in curiosity. It was a bit rare that Rufus actually referred to the redhead by name, rather than "the Slum Rat" or one of his many other somewhat disparaging nicknames. It was just the nature of their relationship. The vice president had christened him as such within hours of meeting him... and Reno had responded in kind, dubbing him the Brat, or occasionally, a "dick". By now, there was no malice or even hard feelings behind the titles. It was... simply how they interacted.

"That's why we're here, sir," the Wutaiian Turk said, gently.

"And just how many more times can _you_ cheat death? _Any_ of you?" he asked, eyes coming to rest on him. "It's your _job_ to risk your life for mine... but I never _asked_ for that. I never _wanted_ that. Not from you. Not from your protege. Not from anyone."

"You're right. It's our job," Tseng replied, "... But that's not the sole reason why I would willingly give my life to protect yours. You're not merely the means to a paycheck to me, Rufus. I've known you since you were a child. I've watched you grow up. You are a treasured friend, and someone I care very much for, personally. And though you and Reno may not _always_ get along... I suspect that you're more than a paycheck to him, as well, after so long."

Rufus turned back to the window. By now, clouds were moving in, darkening the afternoon sky, and it was beginning to look like rain.

"Inform Reno that the cost of his next vacation will be covered in full. Regardless of where he chooses to take it," he said at last, now looking back at the senior Turk. Tseng smiled slightly, and chuckled softly to himself. That was about as close to a "thank you" as anyone could ever hope to receive from Rufus Shinra, after all.

~end chapter 65~


	66. Catharsis

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 66: Catharsis**

 **by Desha**

"Can you see anything?"

Rude grunted noncommittally and carefully made his way back down to the deck from the little crow's nest.

"Well?" Remy asked, impatiently. Rude shook his head.

"Nothing."

The senior Turk scowled and, glaring at the aging fishing vessel.

"This Leviathan-be-damned boat is just too _slow_!" she growled, annoyed. They'd managed to tail the speed boat – at a sizable distance – for several miles the first night, but ultimately had fallen too far behind to continue. That had led to a day of frantic searching and yet another night on the water, feeling utterly defeated. A stroke of good fortune, however, had allowed their paths to cross later the next morning, and the chase had resumed. Their luck had finally run out, however, near the Wutaiian capital city. The Zenshou's boat had slipped into the heavy traffic shuttling to and from the docks, and they'd vanished again.

He and Remy had spent the last three hours trying to locate them again. They were running on very little sleep and hadn't eaten since they'd left the little fishing village up the coast, two nights ago.

Remy sighed heavily. "I... suppose we should head back. Try and pick up the trail again back where we started."

"..."

She cocked an eyebrow.

"You have a better suggestion?" she queried.

"Neither of us have slept," Rude replied, "And I don't know about you, but I think I'm finally starting to understand how Reno can eat lunch for three people without batting an eye. We need to stop and take a break."

"And meanwhile, the Zenshou are moving farther and farther away," Remy replied, shaking her head.

"... Finding them again isn't going to do us any good if we pass out from exhaustion." That had been one of Tres' most important rules. Never go into the field tired. If you weren't at a hundred percent, you would be easily distracted. If you were distracted, you'd inevitably end up making a mistake... and mistakes could be deadly. "Besides... we can head back to their safehouse any time. If they have business to conduct here, they probably won't conduct it in daylight. They wait until nightfall."

Remy glowered at the shoreline in frustration. "You're right," she said, at last. "We'll... dock and find something to eat, and then we'll get some sleep and start looking again later this afternoon."

"Hmph... you find lunch. I'll call in our report for you. We're about due, anyway."

Remy snorted softly. "You just want to find out what's going on back in Midgar."

"Only because _you_ never ask," Rude replied, only half joking. The senior Turk huffed softly, but said nothing, and instead made her way back to the little cabin that housed the fishing boat's controls to guide them safely to shore, while Rude slipped below deck to make the phone call. It was answered on the second ring.

" _Tseng here."_

"Just checking in," Rude stated without preamble. "We're just offshore from the capital city, getting ready to dock."

" _And the Zenshou?"_

"We followed them this far, but lost them somewhere in the shipping lanes. We're going to stop for some rest, and then try to pick up the trail again."

" _Understood,"_ the Turk lieutenant replied. The response was followed by the sounds of a small commotion.

"... Sir?" Rude queried. He heard a quiet snort of amusement on the other end of the line.

" _Someone would like to speak to you,"_ Tseng said, and the phone was quickly passed over to someone else.

" _Hey, partner! How's it goin'?"_ a familiar voice crowed, and Rude snickered softly.

"Slowly," Rude deadpanned. "Having fun with the new rookies?"

" _Oh, hell yeah. Heh... Kai's already run 'em through the gauntlet a couple of times now. I think they're gettin' to the what the hell was I thinkin', decidin' to join the Turks phase. And don't worry 'bout our office... I'll_ _ **totally**_ _have it all cleaned up by the time you 'n Remy get back._ _"_

"... What did you do to our office?" he hesitantly asked.

" _... Uh... Nothin'. Just, ya know... forget I said that,"_ Reno replied, sounding less than innocent, and Rude very distinctly heard Tseng give a somewhat incredulous laugh in the background.

"Reno?" he intoned, a note of warning in his voice.

" _Oh, crap... I think I hear the rookies callin' me. Gotta go, pal!"_

"Reno!"

Tseng's voice replaced the redhead's on the line, and he heard the Turk lieutenant chuckle softly.

"How bad is it?" Rude asked, cringing.

" _It's..._ _ **bad**_ _,"_ the senior Turk, replied, very clearly suppressing a laugh. Rude groaned. _"Don't concern yourself overmuch. I'll see to it that he follows through with that promise to clean. Hopefully, it will be before he loses track of a rookie in the mess... Assuming he hasn't already. Come to think of it, I've yet to see Liam this morning..."_

Rude snorted. "That settles it. I'm hiring him a professional organizer for Christmas..."

" _I'm not sure even_ _ **professional**_ _intervention will cure Reno of his natural proclivity towards utter chaos in his environment,"_ Tseng replied, _"Keep us informed. And be careful."_

"Yes, sir."

* * *

The rookies walked into the Shinra Building's indoor firing range shortly after the morning briefing... only to find it already occupied. Victor paused for a moment, watching the lone shooter at the far end of the space as he reloaded, took aim and squeezed off several more shots at his target. He turned to their instructor for the morning, curious.

"Sir? Does the vice president practice here a lot?" he asked. Reno grinned slightly and guided the rest of the group over to the lanes. A moment later, the firing ceased.

"Yeah, ya catch him down here every once in awhile," the redhead said, with a shrug, and in a much louder than needed voice. "He's _almost_ competent with a firearm these days."

"I _heard_ that, you obnoxious little cretin..." Rufus Shinra snapped at the Turk.

"And I stand by it, sir," Reno replied with a wide grin. Rufus rolled his eyes, and with a sneer, made his way over to the weapons lockers, securing his gun and stowing the rest of his equipment.

"I suppose this little ragtag collection of imbeciles of yours can do better?" he answered, smirking.

"You gonna stick around 'n find out, sir?" the redhead retorted, still grinning.

Rufus scoffed loudly. "Wipe that idiotic grin off of your face for once," he muttered, "Well? Let's see how they measure up, then..."

The senior Turk turned towards the assembled group of rookies. Liam and Petra had already selected their preferred lanes and were preparing to start their practice session.

"Well? You heard the V.P. Show 'im what ya got."

Victor was quick to obey the order, and Ryu and Zephyr hurried to follow suit. Soon, the range was filled with the sound of gunshots and the smell of powder. Both Reno and the vice president moved slowly along the line, watching for a moment, before moving on to the next shooter... with the redhead occasionally pausing to offer a word of advice or constructive criticism. After several circuits, they paused at the far end, near where Victor was stationed.

"The Wutaiian seems to be struggling a bit..." Rufus commented, just barely loud enough for Victor to hear over his ear protection.

"Ryu's a materia specialist," Reno replied, equally loudly to be heard over the noise of the constant firing, "He managed _qualify_ with firearms, but that's about it. He's gonna need some work in that area."

Out of the corner of his eye, Victor saw the executive nod his understanding.

"And the others?"

"Victor spent time in the army. He knows his way around just about any gun ya could name. Zephyr's no stranger to shooting, either. Grew up in the mountains, accordin' to her file."

As if to prove his point, Zephyr, at just that moment calmly set her gun down and recalled her target sheet, studying the grouping for a moment, before replacing it with a fresh target and sending it back to the end of the lane.

The two men continued to watch for several more minutes without further conversation.

"So... all expenses paid, anywhere I want, huh?" the redhead suddenly commented, and Victor subtly glanced back at them for a moment, curious. He saw Rufus blatantly roll his eyes.

"That _was_ the offer, yes. Do _try_ not to drink yourself to death courtesy of my private expense account. I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it from Tseng if you do."

"Yes, sir," Reno snickered, and paused for a moment. With that, Rufus cast one final glance at the rookies, and strode out of the range, leaving them to their practice. Victor hurried to look busy before they noticed that he'd been listening in. Reno walked over to him, watching his technique for a moment, but then flashed him a smirk.

"Ya know... somethin' tells me you 'n Rude are gonna get along pretty good, soon as he's back in town. Eavesdroppin's kinda _his_ thing, too," he commented with a wink, and then turned his attention on the others.

* * *

Ryu scowled at his tea, thoroughly annoyed. As if it wasn't bad enough that he'd had a more off day than usual at the range... it had to happen in the presence of the second highest ranked executive of the Company. He'd heard the snide remarks as the vice president had observed them – or at least he'd heard the ones concerning _him_ , as neither the executive nor the redhead had tried especially hard to keep their voices down as they'd been observing.

When they'd passed by his lane, he'd distinctly heard Rufus remark on his poor grouping... and much to his embarrassment, Reno'd then stepped in and corrected his stance before they'd moved on. He'd been fuming afterwards... and it had effected the entirety of the rest of the session for him. But worse than that, the vice president, again, had transferred much of his disdain for the redhead onto the new members of the team, and Ryu, for one, was getting a little tired of being made to look bad simply for being in the senior Turk's presence any time he happened to cross paths with with the man.

"Who pissed in _your_ cereal this morning?"

Ryu looked up and rolled his eyes as Victor, coffee in hand, took a seat at the nearby table and cracked his neck, before relaxing a bit. They had a short break before their next training session, and Ryu had been _intending_ to take some time to himself to refocus. It was the whole reason he'dgone to the lounge instead of joining the others in the office he'd been assigned to share with his fellow rookies.

"Excuse me?" he responded, slightly disgusted by the mental image.

"Why the bad mood, Ryu?" Victor chuckled, "You glare at the tea any harder, you're gonna bring it back to a boil."

"I don't particularly _enjoy_ being looked down on, mocked, and derided by management."

"What? 'Cause the V.P. was being kind of a jerk on the firing range?" Victor shook his head. "Don't take that kind of thing so personally, kid..."

"Hmph... easy for _you_ to say. _You've_ been training with firearms for years."

"Yeah... and he probably would've given me shit, too, if he hadn't been talking to Reno by then. Look. I know his type. Met more than a few MPs like that. The guy obviously _lives_ to antagonize."

Ryu snorted softly. "Lives to antagonize our slum-born trainer, perhaps..."

Victor cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Wutaiian rookie sat up, turning in his seat to face the other man. He set his tea aside for the moment and folded his hands on his lap.

"It can't have escaped your notice that Vice President Shinra brings up Reno's lineage... or distinct _lack_ thereof... virtually every chance he gets. If he regarded him as any _more_ beneath him, even the Slums wouldn't be deep enoughto contain it," he replied, somewhat patronizingly. "And frankly... I can understand why. He doesn't behave _anything_ like a Turk. He behaves like... well, like a _slum rat_."

"Judgmental much?" Victor responded. "And since when do you have an issue with people from the Slums, anyway?"

"I don't have an _issue_ ," Ryu replied, rolling his eyes. "I'm just saying that... Turks are held to a high standard, and the vice president _clearly_ thinks that some of our number don't _meet_ that standard. I don't think it wise to end up on the wrong side of an executive, especially so early in our careers, for the sake of making friends."

Victor laughed. "Yeah, well... something tells me that mindset's gonna come back to bite you in the ass eventually. But... if you gotta learn the hard way, you gotta learn the hard way."

He stood up and headed for the door, but thought better of it, and turned back a moment later.

"A word of advice? I learned pretty early on that sucking up to the brass doesn't mean squat when you're getting shot at. When the bullets start flying, _they're_ not going to be the ones who show up to pull you outta the fire. Careful who you decide to just write off, Ryu."

With that, he turned on his heel and slipped out into the hallway, leaving the younger rookie to consider his words.

* * *

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation between Liam and Zephyr, and a moment later, the door to the office opened a crack. Victor peered through the opening.

"Got room for one more?" he asked, grinning at the assembly of Turks presently occupying the space. Petra giggled softly and waved him in.

"Sure, but you might have to sit on Sykes' lap," she replied, teasingly, "We're out of chairs."

The older rookie snickered and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, Sykes. Enjoying courier duty?" he asked, taking up a position near the senior Turk's desk. This morning, he'd been dispatched to Fort Condor with replacement parts for the reactor there. Sykes chuckled.

"Actually... I _love_ courier duty. Gets me outta the city for a little while. It's a nice change of pace."

"So... I have a question," Victor said.

"Sure. What's up?"

"The other day you were saying something about Reno saving the vice president's life. What's that all about?"

"Reno almost _died_ ," Liam cut in, eyes wide. "The Zenshou tried to steal the Highwind while we were in Wutai for the new reactor opening, and the vice president caught one of them red handed."

"Reno took a bullet for him," Petra continued, "Well... a couple of bullets, actually. It was pretty bad. He was out for _weeks_ , recovering."

"And from what I hear, it wasn't the _first_ time Reno's been directly responsibly for Rufus Shinra not being dead," Sykes added, "But that was before any of _us_ got promoted, so I don't really know all the details. Just that it happened during the war."

"So... why's the V.P. treat him like such crap all the time, then?" Victor asked. All three of his more senior teammates began to snicker.

"Honestly... if you ever figure _that_ one out, let us know," Sykes replied, grinning. "All I know for sure is that Reno actually kinda _likes_ Rufus, and Rufus doesn't hate Reno even _half_ as much as he pretends to."

"What was it he said, Sykes?" Petra queried, looking as though she was searching her memory for the conversation, "They get along best when they're kind of being jerks to each other?"

"Something like that, yeah," Sykes nodded, grinning. "One thing I've kinda noticed... Rufus _does not_ like yes-men... and Reno's about as far from a yes-man as it gets."

Victor laughed and took a seat on the edge of one of the desks. "Can't argue _that_..." he snickered. A knock at the door interrupted the conversation a second time, but this time no one simply walked right in.

"Yes? Come in," Petra called out, and a moment later the door opened, admitting Tseng... who blinked in surprise upon seeing the overly crowded office, before shaking his head.

"Wouldn't the lounge be a bit more conducive to socializing?" he asked, clearly amused, and Petra giggled.

"Well, it _was_ just Liam and I, sir..." she explained, "Then Zephyr stopped by to talk, and Sykes got back from _his_ assignment, and then Victor decided to join us, too."

"Hey! No fair throwing a party without _me_ , my sweet little Turklings..." another voice piped up. Kai was standing on her tip toes to peer over Tseng's shoulder, and grinning widely at the rookies. The Turk lieutenant rolled his eyes, glancing back at his fellow Turk.

"Not every gathering of three or more people is a party, Kai," he teasingly replied.

The diminutive Turk merely shrugged. "Yeah, but it _could_ be with a little effort."

"Did you need something?" Tseng asked, "I was about to give everyone an update on their assignments for the afternoon..."

"Veld's looking for you. Something about a meeting with the execs."

"Ah... I see. In that case, barring any abrupt changes in plan that occur in the next few minutes, Liam and Petra... you'll be with Kai this afternoon, as scheduled. Victor, Zephyr, and Ryu will be joining Reno for a brief tour of Reactor Number 1."

"Yes, sir," Victor replied, and Tseng took his leave... leaving Kai behind, grinning happily at the the two senior rookies.

"You know what _that_ means, don't you my little Turklings?" she asked, "It means you get the gauntlet all to yourselves! Isn't that great?"

"Terrific..." Liam groaned.

* * *

Reno grunted softly as he hefted a large stack of files and carried it over to the growing pile next to the filing cabinet on the far side of the room. He still had _no_ idea how things had gotten so out of hand so quickly... but his office had reached the point that even _he_ couldn't stand it anymore. Which meant there was really only one thing to do. He'd have to clean up his mess.

With a quiet sigh, the redhead swept an armload of pamphlets left over from his tour preparation into the wastebasket... which immediately _filled_ said wastebasket.

"Ugh... seriously?" he muttered, as he tried to compact the papers with his foot, without much success.

"Hey, Reno, are you –" Kai's voice began, as she poked her head inside, only to cut herself off and stare at the younger Turk, for a moment before asking, "Why are you standing in a trash can?"

"It's how I clean," he deadpanned, "What's up?"

Kai stepped into the office snickering and shaking her head. "Tseng and Veld are going to be in a meeting with Heidegger and the President most of the afternoon. They're heading upstairs now. Veld said that when you get back from the reactor tour, Rufus has summoned you to his office at your earliest inconvenience, and to leave the newbie Turklings with Sykes while you're gone."

"... 'Kay," the younger Turk replied, shrugging, "He happen say what the brat wants?"

"Nope."

The redhead eyed her for a moment. "Why the hell are _you_ in such a good mood?"

"Oh, Baby Turkling... I'm _always_ in a good mood on gauntlet day!" she replied with a wide grin.

Reno rolled his eyes and finally got around to pulling his foot out of the wastebasket. He'd damn near forgotten that it was Thursday. The training schedule had kept him so busy all week, half the time he didn't know whether he was coming or going. He'd kind of be glad when Tseng was off those damn crutches and could get back to some of the more hands on stuff. Not that he didn't enjoy it, but... it was a _lot_ for one Turk to handle, and all Tseng could do right now was supervise.

" _Soooo_..." Kai intoned, still grinning at him, "How are you liking your first little taste of command?"

"Tch... the fuck are you talkin' about? I started trainin' rookies _way_ before Tseng told me 'bout the whole promotion thing."

"Yeah... but not on your own. And now you _do_ know. So? How's it feel?"

"Exhausting. Why the hell do ya think my office looks like _this_? I've been too busy to clean it up," the redhead replied with a smirk, gesturing to the mess... and drawing a laugh from Kai.

"Well... you'd better get yourself organized _soon_. Tseng's practically got being second in command down to a science at this point. You're gonna have to learn to keep up."

Reno blinked, and glanced back at his disaster of an office. That... _was_ something he hadn't really considered. Tseng made it look almost effortless... but there was a lot of coordination involved in making sure that multiple rookies received the training and attention they needed. The redhead had been handling basic scheduling for them for awhile now... but he knew damn well it went way beyond just that.

Kai snickered again, and he turned his attention back on her.

"For the record... you're going to make a great Second," she said, " _Eventually_..."

"Tch... but no pressure or anything, right?" he replied with a huff.

"Oh, Baby Turkling..." she giggled, "If you wanted a job with no pressure, you got yourself into the _wrong_ line of work."

Reno gave an amused snort. "Yeah. Okay, point taken," he chuckled. He glanced over at her, hesitating for a moment, before finally shaking his head. "Hey... Kai? You doin' anything tonight?"

"Not really," the senior Turk shrugged, "Why?"

"You... wanna have dinner with me?"

"I'm flattered, but like I've said before... you're just not my type," she replied, in a teasing tone.

"Yeah... I'm still trying to figure out what the _hell_ your type is," he shot back, "Seriously, though... um... I kinda... wanna talk. About... stuff."

Kai's expression softened slightly.

"Mom stuff?" she ventured. Reno let out a somewhat shaky breath and nodded lamely, a little surprised that she'd figured it out so effortlessly. She smirked in response to his slightly puzzled look. "Tseng _said_ you might ask. Meet you at your place after work. I'll bring the pizza."

"Great..." the redhead breathed, in a relieved sigh. He'd sort of been dreading even asking... but like he'd told Tseng not that long ago, if he didn't fucking man up soon and just do it, it was only going to get harder.

"Now... get your ass back to work!" Kai commanded, "That reactor's not gonna tour itself."

"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered, rolling his eyes.

* * *

The remainder of the afternoon went far quicker than Reno would have really liked... _even_ considering the fact that he spent most of it dragging three poor rookies around a Shiva-be-damned mako reactor. The reactors were kind of cool in their own right, but honestly... a person could only stare at a bunch of machinery and control panels for so long before they got sick of it.

It hadn't exactly helped that Ryu seemed to know the damned thing inside and out, which likely had something to do with the fact that his father worked on the design team down in Reactor Maintenance. Hell, he _probably_ knew more about how the reactors works than _any_ of the senior Turks... and he hadn't exactly been shy about making that fact readily apparent.

It had been a little irritating to be interrupted by the rookie damn near every time he opened his mouth... but the redhead hadn't put in and to it. He wasn't sure yet if the kid was actively _trying_ to show him up, or if he was just trying to make a good impression. All three of them were still trying to find their footing, after all. He couldn't really fault any of them for wanting to make themselves stand out.

And had it been either of the other two, he might not have even been concerned... but he'd been picking up a strange vibe from the Wutaiian rookie. In some ways, Ryu was a little like _another_ rookie Reno'd had once known. He was a bit of a know-it-all... sometimes to the point of being snobbish about it. He wanted to be respected. To be the best. That sort of mindset... hadn't exactly turned out so great the last time the redhead had been confronted with it.

For now, Reno wasn't going to off the rails worrying about it. Most likely, it was just newbie jitters and Ryu would eventually settle down... but that didn't mean the senior Turk was going to ignore his instincts _entirely_. If things didn't improve, he'd have a chat with Tseng and see what his mentor thought they ought to do about it.

And then there had been Rufus to deal with. The brat didn't really make a habit of summoning him to his office... but the reason for it, at least, hadn't been much of a shock. Veld was involving the vice president in Tseng's evaluation, as well. Rufus had wanted to discuss it with him... and Reno had to admit, the brat had had more than a few good ideas to contribute. The whole thing was still _very_ early in the planning stages... but he was confident that they could accomplish what Veld needed them to.

For now, though... he had a dinner date. It wasn't _often_ Reno felt nervous about having a woman over to his place... but his plans for tonight weren't exactly his usual, either. When a knock finally sounded on his door, he jumped, not having realized that he was so tightly wound.

He took a calming breath and walked across the room to let Kai in. She greeted him with a grin and a stack of pizza boxes.

"You invite a few more people?" he queried, eyeing the boxes. There were no less than four of them... plus a paper bag on top that almost certainly contained breadsticks.

"The way _you_ eat? I wanted to make sure I actually _get_ some," she replied, brushing past him to set her load down on the counter that divided his kitchen form his living room. Reno rolled his eyes and shut the door. To be fair... she wasn't wrong. He could _easily_ finish off two of those on his own and have room for more after giving it a little time to settle. But he had a sneaking suspicion his appetite wasn't going to be be what it usually was tonight.

He trailed her into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge, handing one to the senior Turk, before snagging a plate and helping himself to a few slices of pepperoni and mushroom to start himself off.

A few minutes later, they were sitting in his living room, eating in companionable silence.

He really wasn't sure where to start. He had... _questions_... for Kai, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to ask them.

"So..." Kai began, "What's on your mind?"

Reno blinked, caught off-guard by the abrupt inquiry. Apparently Kai wasn't going to waste time dicking around. They were getting straight to the point.

"I just..." he began, staring down at his still largely untouched plate. He sighed heavily and raised his eyes to meet hers. "How the fuck do you do it? Just... tell me what the big secret is. How do you _not_ think about the worst part?"

"I don't," Kai replied, smiling faintly. "I think about how my Pop died _all_ the time when I remember him. I think about how I got up early that morning to fix him breakfast, and how I followed him down to the docks and stood there, waving goodbye until the boat was out of sight. And I think about how I waited for him all day to come back and he didn't. And about how, almost a week later, our neighbor came to tell me that they found pieces of his boat, wrecked and floating offshore. I can't _ever_ forget that."

Reno tried to say something... but no words came to him. Kai didn't seem to mind, though.

"I can't forget losing Alyssa, either. And... to be honest, I'm not sure I'd actually want to," she added, "Loss is something we all have to live with, Baby Turkling. You can either let it consume you... or you can embrace it and consume _it_. I had sixteen terrific years with my Pop and four with Alyssa... and I decided a long time ago that if that was all I was going to get, then I wasn't going to let losing them taint those memories."

" _How_?" he finally managed, looking up at her earnestly. Kai set her plate aside and got up, moving over to sit beside him on the couch, and wrapped an arm around him.

"I wish I could give you an instruction manual, Baby Turkling." she replied, "But I can't. Losing people you care about hurts, plain and simple. And with the _really_ special ones, sometimes remembering them hurts, too. You have to accept both the good _and_ the bad and take it as it comes. Usually, the good wins outs... but there are always going to be times when that hurt creeps back in."

The redhead fell silent again, mulling over her words. That was so easy to _say_. Doing, it, though... that was the tricky part. He had so few memories of his mother left, to begin with. And the good ones were so... _dim_... in his mind when he compared them to the morning he'd found her, wrists cut and staring unblinkingly upwards, on the bloody sheets of her bed. How the _hell_ were the good memories ever supposed to win out over _that_?

"Reno?" Kai prodded, and he turned to look at her. "What happened to her?" she asked, gently, "I know it happened suddenly and you were really little when it did... but Tseng's never told me the whole story."

The younger Turk exhaled shakily and ran a hand through his hair.

"She..." he started, and swallowed sharply. "She killed herself. Cut her wrists one night, 'n when I woke up the next mornin'... it was too late."

"Oh, Reno..." Kai breathed, pulling him closer.

"I just... I never even knew _why_. I mean, I can make a pretty good _guess_... but... I never knew for _sure_. She didn't say anything. Didn't leave a note. Nothin'. She just... put me to bed 'n waited 'til I fell asleep, 'n..." He trailed off, not wanting to finished the sentence.

"I found her in bed the next mornin'... 'n all I can remember feelin' is absolute terror," he continued after a long pause and several steadying breaths, "She was all I had in the world. I was alone. I went to bed with a mom, 'n woke up a goddamned orphan."

His fists clenched in his lap.

"It's not fucking _fair_!" he shouted, suddenly, and very unexpectedly, angrily. "She did it where I'd fucking _find_ her! I was _five_! You have _any_ idea how bad that fucked me up as a kid? I was five _goddamned_ years old, and she fucking leftme _alone_ in that fucking Ifrit-forsaken hellhole to fend for myself!" He took another shaky breath, trying to calm the building rage, but his hold on it was tenuous at best, as if he'd let something loose that he shouldn't have. It was much too late to reign it back in now. "I _fucking_ hate her for it..." he hissed, blinking rapidly in an effort to stem the tears that he knew was futile.

He'd never admitted that. Not once in the fifteen years since her death. Not even to _himself_ , really. But now that the words had slipped out, he found that he didn't want to take them back. He resented the hell out of his mother for abandoning him the way she had. And he felt like shit for it, because... in spite of it, he still loved her anyway.

The first tear fell, and what little resolve he had to hang on to his dignity collapsed. He didn't care anymore. He was peripherally aware of being pulled into Kai's arms... of her hands rubbing his back soothingly... which, instead of comforting, only seemed to coerce deep sobs from the younger Turk.

It was as if something inside of him had finally broken. Some wall he'd constructed a very long time ago. He had no idea how long it was before the torrent of emotion finally calmed. For awhile, he really wasn't fully aware of much of anything at all beyond his own misery. When he finally _did_ come back to himself, he was curled tightly against his fellow Turk's side, clinging to her in a state of sheer desperation. His head was throbbing unpleasantly, and his eyes burned. He slowly sat up, embarrassed, and tried to untangle himself from her, but she held him fast.

"It's alright to hate her for it," Kai whispered, granting him the permission he hadn't realized he'd needed, and he grudgingly relaxed in her arms, letting her continue to comfort him. "You can love someone with all your heart, and still hate their mistakes... Especially the mistakes that hurt you."

~end chapter 66~


	67. Rookie Assignments

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 67: Rookie Assignments**

 **by Desha**

A loud, blaring screech broke the peaceful silence of his bedroom the following morning, and Reno shot upright in bed, breathing in ragged, slightly terrified gasps until he gradually realized what the noise was. He groaned loudly, scrubbing his hands over his face, before reaching over and slamming his fist down on the snooze button. The redhead flopped back in bed, closing his eyes again... but it was too late. He was awake.

Reno heaved a resigned sigh, and kicked the covers aside, dragging himself from the warmth of his bed.

Kai hadn't left until late last night. In fact, she'd _offered_ to stay with him, but he'd sent her home anyway. They'd talked about a lot of things before she'd left. Her dad's accident. How she'd grown up in Lower Junon after he died, relying almost exclusively on herself and the kindness of her neighbors. Alyssa's death in the line of duty. His mother's suicide and his time in the orphanage down in Sector 2. But they'd also talked about happier memories... like the camping trips Kai'd taken with her father and how it had bred in her a love of the outdoors, and how Reno's mother had sung him to sleep nearly every night of his life while she'd still been there.

When he'd finally shut the door behind her, he'd felt... raw. Like he'd just spent the last several hours being mentally flayed.

It had been... Well, actually, he wasn't sure of the word for it, though there almost certainly had to _be_ one. There was a certain sense of relief, after finally opening up more than he ever had... but it went deeper than that. He'd said things – felt things – that he hadn't permitted himself to before. Things he'd always felt too ashamed or too guilty to admit. Something had changed last night, though he wasn't sure he could put into words just what that something was.

He felt... _better_. Not over it, of course. Not by a _long_ shot. But... better.

He thought back to what Kai had told him, months ago, in Wutai. That sometimes the only way to move on from pain is to just let yourself feel it _all_. Maybe she was right. Maybe that really _was_ what he needed... to just let himself feel everything he'd been trying so hard to ignore for so long. If so, last night had certainly been a step in the right direction.

It _did_ present a bit of a problem in the short term, however, he thought, as he made his way into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like hell. Paler than usual, with dark circles under his eyes. And on top of the physical evidence of a long, emotionally trying night... his mind was still very much on his mother. It was going to be hard to put those thoughts aside and focus on work today. He felt much like he did when he woke up on the morning of his mother's birthday every year... only amplified about twenty times over.

He was uncharacteristically dreading having to interact with other people right now. In particular, with the rookies who were looking to him for guidance and leadership. They weren't stupid. They were _going_ to notice something was wrong, and he really didn't want to have to explain. He very briefly toyed with the thought of calling in sick... but that would have left Tseng to deal with the training schedule on his own, and he simply couldn't bring himself to do that. He was just going to have to suck it up and hope that he could manage enough of a smile that no one asked any uncomfortable questions.

A quick shower helped to wake him up a bit, but he was still distracted and lost in thought as he dressed, and ate, and went about the rest of his morning routine. So much so, that he wasn't paying any attention to the time. When he _did_ eventually shake himself back to reality, he let out yet another groan of dismay as he realized that not only was he absolutely going to be late... he was going to be _so_ late that he'd likely be walking into the office in the middle of the morning briefing.

Reno raced out of his apartment, forgetting to grab the PHS that was sitting on the kitchen counter in his haste, and having to double back for it. By the time he was finally in the car, the streets were unusually devoid of traffic, as he'd missed the morning rush hour.

He found himself making a mad dash into the office nearly fifteen minutes later, wincing as he glanced at his watch. Yep... the morning briefing was definitely already underway.

" _Fuck_..." he whispered, as he made his way to the conference room.

Reno slipped inside, hoping that he could at least find a seat without drawing _too_ much attention to himself... and scowled when he saw that all of the remaining chairs were near the front of the room, where Veld stood, going over the day's assignments. He shook his head and sighed. There was nothing else he could do.

The redhead silently made the dreaded walk of shame, very, _very_ aware that all eyes were suddenly on him. As he neared his objective, Veld paused, eyeing him, clearly annoyed.

"Nice of you to finally join us this morning, Reno..."

The younger Turk cringed.

"Sorry, sir..." he replied, quickly dropping into the chair beside Tseng, who raised a curious eyebrow, but said nothing... though Reno had a feeling he'd be explaining himself to his mentor just as soon as the briefing was over.

"As I was saying..." Veld continued, "Yesterday's incident at Rufus' press conference has revealed a need to control the narrative a bit better on Gongaga. The President was... not _happy_... that his son was very nearly assaulted at what should have been a secure event. Though he did _personally_ praise Reno for stopping it as quickly as he did." He nodded to the tardy redhead in recognition. "The marketing and PR departments are going to be working on a campaign to hopefully better Shinra Company's public image on that matter, but it's not going to be easy, by any means. The town has opted not to accept any further assistance from Shinra, and is demanding that we stay out of it. The good news – what little of it there is – is that the mako contamination has largely cleared out. The reactor itself is still somewhat hazardous... but the town has been deemed safe, and residents are expected to begin returning later this month."

"They don't want _any_ assistance from Shinra?" Kai asked, somewhat incredulously. Veld shook his head.

"No. Nothing. Apparently they took a vote and decided that they want to cut ties with Shinra entirely. Shinra Company will honor that request. Since, we already removed much of the classified technology during the initial investigation, the site holds no interest for us beyond the minimal scrap value of the remaining construction materials. If the town doesn't want our help rebuilding... that's their choice. Forcing the issue would likely just result in more negative publicity."

Kai nodded, and leaned back in her chair.

"It _does_ however, present us with the problem demonstrated yesterday. The _public_ holds us responsible and expects us to make it right, regardless of what Gongaga says. Obviously pubic image is outside of _the Turks'_ job description... but the Board has instituted a level two security alert in response to Rufus' encounter. Executives and all employees deemed high-value personnel will be escorted by a security detail any time they are working outside of headquarters. Which means that we're going to be busy for awhile."

Reno frowned slightly. _That_ was going to be a problem. With Rude and Remy still in Wutai, Tseng on crutches (and thus medical restriction), and himself having to oversee the rookies to a large extent on his own... that left them with just two senior Turks to dedicate to covering security details. Three, if Veld decided to lend a hand as well.

The Turk lieutenant seemed to read his protege's mind.

"Obviously, that's going to stretch us a bit thin," Tseng interjected, "Veld and I considered recalling Rude and Remy from Wutai... but the Zenshou situation is still _extremely_ high priority. We need them right where they are for now. That being the case, our new rookies are going to be getting a crash course in providing security. You three will be shadowing senior Turks as they're assigned to a detail. Victor, you're with Kai. Zephyr, with Sykes. Ryu, you'll be joining Reno. Petra and Liam... as you're both experienced enough at this point to handle basic escort duty solo, you'll take the lower level assignments and the others will join you as their supervisors deem them ready."

"And on that note... Kai, Scarlet will be traveling to Junon in an hour. She's all yours," said Veld.

"Oh, joy," Kai replied with a feigned smile.

"Professor Hojo is attending a symposium at Midgar University this afternoon. Sykes, you can handle that." he continued, ignoring the commentary, "Reno... you'll be with Rufus again. He has an investors meeting at the Silver Swan over lunch."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied, mentally groaning at the thought of having to guard a dining room.

Veld nodded. "Dismissed," he said, and the Turks seated at the conference table collectively got to their feet and began making their way out to their various offices. The redhead, too, turned to go, only for Veld to add, "Reno... my office."

The younger Turk froze in his bid for the door and repressed the urge to sigh, his escape attempt thwarted. He'd seen _that_ coming a mile away.

He followed Tseng and Veld down the hall, and moments later found himself in the Turk commander's office, sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Tseng had taken up residence beside him. Veld frowned, staring him down.

"Why were you so late this morning?" he asked, without preamble.

"I'm sorry, sir... I... had kind of a shitty night," he replied, somewhat lamely, "I lost track of time gettin' ready for work 'n... just couldn't seem to get caught back up."

Tseng raised an eyebrow, studying his protege in concern.

"Did something happen?" he inquired. Reno shifted awkwardly in his seat.

"Not... _exactly_. I just kinda... took your advice and, ya know... talked to Kai. I didn't expect it to hit me quite as hard as it did. I'da waited on that if I'd realized I was gonna end up not gettin' more than a couple hours sleep..."

"Talked to Kai about _what_?" Veld demanded, and the redhead flinched slightly.

"About a personal issue," Tseng quickly interjected, "Kai and Reno... share some similar childhood experiences. I thought Reno might benefit from speaking to her."

Veld eyed the young Turk for a moment, and the redhead fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze, praying he wasn't going to have to rehash the whole thing here and now.

"Just don't make a habit of it," he said at last. "You may go."

"Yes, sir," Reno breathed softly in relief. He hurried to his feet and was out the door before the senior Turk could change his mind. Once free of the Turk leader's office, he made his way across the hall and preemptively took a seat in front of _Tseng's_ desk next. The odds of his mentor _not_ wanting to speak to him privately were so low, he wasn't even going to bother waiting to be asked.

A few minutes later he was greeted by quiet chuckling as the senior Turk joined him.

"Well... at least I've got you well-trained, at this point," he said, smiling slightly. Reno snorted softly and rolled his eyes.

"Just figured I'd save ya the trouble of hobblin' after me..." he sighed.

"Are –"

"I'm _fine_ ," Reno cut him off, already knowing what the question would be, "Just didn't have a particularly restful night... ya know... after relivin' childhood trauma 'n all."

Tseng frowned slightly and opened his mouth to reply, but Reno quickly interrupted again.

"And 'cause I know you're gonna ask, yes. Talkin' with Kai _did_ help me out with a few things," he stated, at last managing a faint grin.

"Hmph... and to think, _I'm_ the one regularly accused of being psychic," Tseng teasingly responded, "Are you fit for a security detail?"

Reno smirked slightly. "Tch... I've had to function on _less_ sleep. Soon as I get some caffeine in me, I'll be okay."

"Then go and find some coffee," Tseng said, with a pointed look. "I don't want to hear that you managed, in your sleep deprived state, to misplace Ryu on his first assignment."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout that, Boss. I was just gonna put a leash on him, 'n tie him to my belt so he can't wander off..." Reno snickered.

Tseng gave a quiet laugh, and shook his head.

"Somehow I doubt that would end well. For _either_ of you."

* * *

Ryu stormed unhappily into the lounge, following the morning briefing. Of _all_ the senior Turks he could have been paired up with... it just had to be _Reno_. The lazy bastard couldn't even be bothered to _show up_ on time.

"What _now_?" Victor asked, glancing up from the cup of coffee he was pouring.

Ryu narrowed his eyes at his fellow rookie. "You really have to _ask_?"

Victor sighed and reached for the sugar. "Seriously... _why_ are you so pissed about getting paired up with Reno? I mean, sure... he's a little bit of a goof, but everyone _else_ seems to like him, and in case you somehow hadn't noticed while you were sulking about not being the vice president's new favorite Turk after four whole days on the job, he's a pretty damn competent instructor."

"Competent? He walked in halfway through the morning briefing!"

"So the guy was running late this morning," Victor shrugged, "It happens."

Ryu shook his head and planted himself on the couch. "I'm doomed," he stated, "It's as simple as that. I'm utterly _doomed_ to be stuck with him and made to look like an idiot by association when he inevitably gets called out on his antics by the vice president."

A dark eyebrow arched in response. "You _know_... regardless of what _you_ might think of him, _he's_ the one assigned to the vice president's detail. You think Veld would put someone he didn't trust implicitly in charge of such a high level executive's security? And for that matter, do you reallythink _Rufus_ would be okay with it if he didn't trust the guy with his life? He could demand any escort he wanted, up to, and including, Veld himself..."

"Joining his little fan club, Victor?" Ryu shot back. Victor rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying... you've known the guy for all of a week, and you made up your mind about him after the very first _day_. Maybe try actually giving him a fair shake _before_ you pass judgment. Because whether you like it or not, you're going to be working with him from here on out in one capacity or another." He paused a moment, looking the younger rookie dead in the eyes. "And don't _forget_... Reno is Tseng's _personal_ protege and from what the others have told me, they're close. You're worried about being on Rufus' shitlist? Something tells me you don't want to be on Tseng's either..."

"Who's on Tseng's shitlist?" a voice asked from the direction of the doorway, and Victor grinned as he spotted Liam and Petra making their way into the lounge as well. The query had come from the former.

"Ryu, if he's not careful," he snickered, and settled into a chair with his coffee.

"What'd Ryu do to get on Tseng's shitlist _already_?" Zephyr asked, trailing the other two rookies.

"I'm not on _anyone's_ shitlist!" Ryu finally groaned.

"Well... not _yet_..." Victor teased.

"Oh, shut up, Victor," the Wutaiian rookie muttered, annoyed. The older rookie gave an amused snort, but obligingly did as he was told.

" _Anyway_..." Zephyr said, eyeing her rather put out looking cohort, "Who's this Professor Hojo guy me and Sykes are going to be guarding? I don't remember seeing his name on the board of directors... Is he a department head or something?"

"Yeah. He's head of biologic research. _Big_ money-maker for the Company," Liam replied, "His lab is upstairs on the sixty-eighth floor. Well... actually his lab basically _is_ the sixty-eighth floor..."

"I find him _extremely_ unsettling, myself," Petra opined with a slight shudder, "But, like Liam said, he's in charge of some _very_ high-profit projects... and he directly oversaw the implementation of the SOLDIER program back in the day. The whole thing is based on his research."

"How about Scarlet?" Victor queried, "Gotta admit... I've heard more than a fewrumors about _her_. _Everyone_ knew her name in Junon after the war started, with all the new weapons coming in all the time."

"I've never actually been put on one of her details... How about you, Petra?" Liam replied. The senior rookie shook her head.

"She doesn't often request security, and when she does, it almost always seems to be either Remy or Tseng who handle it. I've run into her on _other_ assignments, though," she said, and then giggled softly, "She was very... demanding... from what I saw of her, so I'm kind of glad I'm not going with you and Kai today, Victor."

"Oh, little _Tuuuuurklings_..." a voice called out from the hallway before Victor could respond. Ryu looked towards the source, and a moment later, Kai's head appeared, peering around the doorframe with a wide grin firmly in place. He rolled his eyes at the name. Why in the Nine Hells the woman insisted on referring to them as "Turklings" he'd never know. They weren't _children_ , for Leviathan's sake...

The senior Turk's eyes locked onto Victor.

"Come on, newbie. Chug the rest of that coffee and get a move on. We're leaving in less than an hour and the helicopter isn't gonna prep itself."

"Yes, ma'am," Victor replied, and hurried to comply. He drained the mug and set it aside on the table, before following her out into the hallway.

"What about the vice president?" Ryu asked after he'd left.

"What about him?" Liam replied, with a slight shrug.

"What is _he_ like? Personally, I mean..." Maybe if he could get a better understanding of the man, he could figure out a way to do a little damage control. Preferably before being forced to partner with Reno for the day tanked his career right out of the gate.

"Oh, Rufus is lovely," Petra said, suddenly smiling. Liam snickered loudly at the proclamation.

"Petra has a little bit of a _thing_ for the vice president..." he said, grinning.

"It's not a _thing_ ," Petra replied somewhat indignantly, "I just happen to think he's very intelligent. And well-spoken. And handsome."

"But it's not a _thing_ ," Liam replied, a sarcastic note in his voice that caused Zephyr to lose the tenuous hold she'd had on her laughter up until that point.

"Well, to be fair," Zephyr said, still giggling slightly, "He _is_ very good-looking."

"Oh, but it's not just his looks," said Petra, "People seem to think he's quite snobbish and intimidating, but he really _can_ be quite pleasant. I _adore_ being put on his security details..." She sighed faintly, "But I don't get to very often. He always specifically requests either Tseng or Reno. _I_ only ever get picked if they need backup and none of the senior Turks are available..."

Ryu stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Vice President Rufus _requests_ Reno for his security details?" he asked, more than a little confused. That didn't make any sense. Why request someone you openly loathed? Was it merely to toy with the slum rat?

"Well, he –" Liam began, only to be interrupted as they were joined by yet another senior Turk.

"Hey, Petra... Liam... got an assignment for you two," Reno said, strolling into the lounge. The two rookies scurried to their feet. "Classified cargo courier job. Pickup at Reactor Number Six, delivery at Reactor Number Four."

"We need two Turks for a _courier_ assignment, sir?" Liam asked, cocking his head to one side. The redhead grinned back at him.

"I guess the cargo's kinda on the heavy side. Veld said to send ya both. Use the truck on parking level three," he said, tossing a set of keys to Petra, before adding, "And, uh... ya might wanna swing by building maintenance 'n see if they'll loan ya a cart or somethin'. Those reactor assholes never seem to wanna part with their transport equipment... 'specially the reactor asshole that runs the day shift over at Six."

"Great..." Liam groaned, and Reno snickered loudly.

"Hey, it could be worse, kiddo. Veld _coulda_ told me to send you to lug the damn thing across town all by yourself."

Liam groaned even louder. "I'll... just stop complaining, now, sir. Later guys," he said, giving the other two rookies a quick wave before hurrying after Petra. Reno watched them go for a moment, hands folded behind his head, and then turned to Zephyr and Ryu.

"Guess that means you two get me all to yourselves for the rest of the mornin'," he said, still grinning... and Ryu had to try very hard not to roll his eyes at the proclamation.

* * *

Reno had paused for a brief moment outside of the lounge door, just to collect himself a little before retrieving Ryu and Zephyr for training. It was going to be a long day, but so long as he could keep his mind on the job, he'd be fine. Finally he reached out to push the door open.

"Seriously... _why_ are you so pissed about getting paired up with Reno? I mean, sure... he's a little bit of a goof, but everyone _else_ seems to like him..."

The redhead froze, hand on the doorknob, at the mention of his own name. He blinked, recognizing Victor's voice, and shook his head just in time to hear Ryu respond to whatever further comment he'd missed in his surprise.

"Competent? He walked in halfway through the morning briefing!"

"So the guy was running late this morning. It happens," Victor replied.

"I'm doomed. It's as simple as that. I'm utterly _doomed_ to be stuck with him and made to look like an idiot by association when he inevitably gets called out on his antics by the vice president."

Ouch. Though he could understand why the rookie might think that way. After all... Rufus had been doing a rather exceptional job of being a jackass this week... and if you didn't actually _know_ better, it almost certainly came off as the two of them being at constant odds.

But more importantly, the overheard conversation only served to fuel Reno's earlier concerns about the young Wutaiian. He was putting a _lot_ of emphasis on other people's opinions of him... in particular, Rufus' opinion, apparently. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sound of approaching voices. He frowned slightly and backed away from the door, slipping into a supply closet a little ways down the hall, to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

Reno sighed softly as he waited for what sounded like the rest of the team's rookies to make their way into the lounge, and leaned back against the closet door. All he could think was... he didn't want this kid to end up another Rodney. A Turk so consumed with appearance and pleasing someone who would never be pleased that he'd betray the to team to win their approval. And... he _never_ wanted to be put in the position of having to hunt down a fellow Turk _ever_ again.

For a few minutes, he just stood there, hiding. Thinking.

He couldn't just ignore it, and that meant he needed to talk to Tseng. Preferably sooner rather than later. It would have to wait a bit, though. Tseng had just left to check in with the Doc regarding his injured ankle. During their break, then... after training, before he and Ryu left for Rufus' lunch meeting. He'd bring it up with him then and see what his mentor thought.

* * *

The morning dragged on in a tedious slog. Tseng had been "otherwise engaged", whatever that meant – Ryu wasn't sure what he was doing, given that he was on medical restriction, but he definitely hadn't been in the office – so Reno had been their sole supervisor. As they neared lunch time, Ryu was more or less convinced that there wasn't a Leviathan-be-damned thing on the planet the redhead took seriously.

He'd turned their workout into a game. A _game_. Of course he couldn't be content to just let them run laps like a normal person. He had to try and make it "fun". Training wasn't _supposed_ to be _fun_. It was supposed to be hard work and dedication. But Reno didn't seem to be of the same mindset. Nor, for that matter, did Zephyr, as she'd happily gone along with the stupid idea.

Thankfully, it was over. For _now_ , at any rate. Of course, the fact that it was now approaching lunchtime meant that Ryu would have to put up with him on his own while they escorted the vice president to his meeting at the Silver Swan.

As they boarded the elevator to go and retrieve their charge, the redhead leaned back against the wall, looking the rookie over.

"So how's your first week goin'?" he asked.

"Fine," Ryu replied, in a somewhat clipped tone. The senior Turk raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, huh? That why ya always seem to be off by yourself whenever you got some free time?"

"I-I..." he stammered, not quite knowing how to respond. How the in the _nine hells_ had he managed to notice _that_? He never even seemed to be _around_ during their breaks. Regardless... it wasn't that he didn't _like_ the others. He just felt... a bit out of place. Reno smirked.

"What... you think I'm not payin' attention?" he asked. "I see ya sitting in the lounge on your breaks instead of hangin' out in your office with Victor 'n Zephyr... or with Liam 'n Petra in _their_ office."

"I just... prefer to unwind in a quieter setting," he replied, somewhat lamely. The redhead shrugged in response.

"... 'kay. Just wanted to make sure you were... ya know... acclimatin' okay. You're kind of a loner, huh?"

"What's wrong with that?" Ryu snapped.

"Nothin'... long as it's what you _want_ 'n not just what you're settlin' for. We're more than a team around here. We're a family... _if_ ya want it."

The elevator chimed before Ryu could reply, depositing them on the sixty-sixth floor. The executive offices. Rufus met them with an irritated glare as the doors were opening.

"About _time_ , you deigned to show up..." he sneered at the redhead, before stepping aboard the elevator and turning his attention on the rookie, "What's _he_ doing here?"

"New rookie's gotta learn sometime, sir. Tseng thought he'd toss one of 'em onto _your_ detail 'n see whether or not you end up eatin' him alive," Reno replied, with a wide grin. Rufus scoffed and pressed the button for the parking deck. "Ya ask _me_ , though, Ryu here lucked out. The other two got sent off with Hojo 'n Scarlet."

"Hmph... You may, for once in your meaningless existence be right about something," Rufus quipped. A few seconds later, the elevator deposited them at their destination. The trio made their way across the parking deck and climbed into the waiting limousine.

"Anything specific ya need from us, sir?" Reno asked once they'd all taken a seat, and Rufus shook his head.

"The meeting will be in the restaurant's private dining room. Guarding the doors will be sufficient."

"Oh... so, you're gonna torture us, then," the redhead snickered. The vice president raise an unamused eyebrow.

"What are you babbling about now?"

"Ya think standin' guard while you're starvin' 'n everyone around you is eating gourmet food, 'n waiters are carryin' trays right past ya's _not_ torture, sir?" he asked, grinning.

Rufus pointedly rolled his eyes at the comment, and Ryu couldn't quite cover up the faint scoff that escaped his lips.

"Don't you think about _anything_ other than food?" the vice president asked in an annoyed tone, and the redhead had just opened his mouth to reply when the executive held up a hand, "Nevermind... I already know the answer to that. Enjoy your suffering."

To Ryu's consternation, the senior Turk only laughed in response and leaned back in his seat, folding his hands behind his head. He honestly wasn't sure _what_ to make of the whole conversation. Vice President Rufus was making his general disdain for the slum rat quite plain... and Reno was laughing it off like it was all one big joke. Didn't the man have _any_ sense of self preservation? Any drive to succeed? Of course there were very few opportunities for advancement in the Turks... but Ryu certainly had high hopes for _himself_. If not an _actual_ promotion, than at the very least to become a highly respected senior member of the team. Reno must not have cared about _any_ sort of advancement, if he was so casually dismissive of criticism from an executive.

"And would it _kill_ you to dress as though you _didn't_ do so in the dark once in awhile? I realize you _normally_ tend to spend your lunch hour grazing from the dumpsters behind The Happy Moogle, but the Silver Swan _does_ have a dress code, you know," Rufus continued.

"What are they gonna do? Kick me out for not wearin' a tie?" the redhead asked, and then snickered loudly, adding, "And for your information, sir, the Happy Moogle's dumpsters got nothin' on the ones behind Burrito Loco."

"Ugh... Degenerate," Rufus groaned.

All the while, Ryu was staring at his field commander with an expression of disbelief. The fact that the redhead hadn't yet been jettisoned from the car left him reeling. How could someone who was so _blatantly_ disrespectful of authority ever have been promoted to the Turks in the first place? Let alone _lasted_ in them as long as _Reno_ had.

* * *

Reno grinned slightly as he took in the exorbitantly elegant entryway of the Silver Swan hotel. The place never failed to impress. One of these days he was gonna book a weekend there just to see if the rest of it lived up to the promises made by the front door.

But for now... he wasn't there to enjoy the amenities. He was there to work. And, perhaps of equal importance, to observe. Prior to leaving the building, he'd caught up with Tseng. His mentor had shared his concerns to _some_ extent... but thought that the younger Turk might be reading into the rookie's behavior a bit too much given his previous experience. He'd advised him to remain vigilant... but not to directly confront Ryu just yet. After all... it was difficult, if not impossible, to get a good read on a person not even a week into the job. Even Reno'd had to concede that point. But the senior Turk certainly hadn't dismissed his worries out of hand. He'd told him to watch, and that was precisely what Reno intended to do.

Reno, along with his rookie of the day, flanked Rufus as he made his way over to the hotel restaurant's hostess stand. His gaze wandered momentarily towards the front desk, and the Turk paused briefly as he caught sight of the man standing behind it. He looked oddly familiar.

He didn't have time to wonder where he might know the guy from, however, as they were quickly greeted by a very voluptuous young woman with platinum blond hair and a tight black dress, and his gaze was drawn to her very shapely backside as she led them back to the dining room. Rufus was ushered inside, and the pair of Turks took up their position outside of the doors. Reno was _fairly_ certain he saw a smirk cross the executive's face before he walked away and the doors shut behind him.

Reno sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"Tch... Get comfortable, rookie. It's gonna be a _long_ couple of hours..." he sighed, trying to ignore the mouthwatering smells that were wafting in his direction from the every corner of the restaurant. In his experience, unless Rufus had a personal dislike of whichever investor he was meeting with, the Brat tended to have a nice, leisurely meal with them rather than getting right down to business. Given that he'd been eager to head out as soon as his security had arrived to pick him up, the redhead suspected that this _wasn't_ going to be a _quick_ meeting.

He was glad that Tseng had insisted on conducting their little chat down in the cafeteria earlier. He knew the redhead all too well. Seeing and smelling all the tasty food coming out of the kitchen was bad enough when he knew he wouldn't be eating any of it. Doing so on an empty stomach would have been unbearable. He glanced out at the restaurant and spotted the man from the front desk talking with the drop dead gorgeous blond that had escorted them in, and he frowned as he tried to place him. There was _definitely_ something familiar about the guy.

Apparently, _he_ wasn't the only one who thought so... because a moment later, the man resolutely started making his way towards the pair of Turks. Ryu tensed noticeably, and Reno saw his hand subtly touch his forearm, checking the materia that was slotted in the wristlet concealed by his jacket.

" _Easy_ , rookie... We're in public," Reno said, "Let's see what he wants before ya start settin' shit on fire..."

The man sauntered up to the Turks and stopped directly in front of the redhead. And grinned widely.

"Reno, man... I thought for _sure_ you were fuckin' _dead_ ," he stated, keeping his voice low, but tinged with laughter. The senior Turk eyed him.

"I know ya, or somethin'?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Tch... All the smokes I sold ya over the years, 'n _that's_ all the recognition I get?"

Reno blinked in surprise.

"... _Kel_?" he choked out, finally recognizing his old friend, and the man's grin widened. Reno snickered softly. He had to admit... Kel cleaned up pretty nice. He'd barely recognized him. "Man, the fuck are _you_ doin' topside?" he asked.

"I could ask _you_ the same thing. You just up 'n vanished one day. No one knew where ya went. I figured you must got jumped on the way to work or somethin' 'n your luck finally ran out. You been up _here_ this whole time?" Kel replied.

"Heh... it's a _long_ story. I went back lookin' for ya once, but the neighbors told me you 'n your mom moved out."

Kel laughed quietly. " _Equally_ long story. Well... look, I'm on the clock 'n it's looks like you are, too, so..." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to him, "Gimme a call when you're off. We'll catch up."

"Count on it," Reno replied, returning the grin as he pocketed the card. Kel nodded and hurried back towards the front desk.

"Who is he?" Ryu asked, and the redhead noted that he still looked a little tense.

"Old friend from back in my slum days," Reno replied, "Used to hit him up for cigarettes on the cheap, since I couldn't afford the prices in the shops."

"Hmph... sounds like it was the _habit_ that you couldn't afford."

Reno snorted softly. He figured the kid was trying to get a rise out of him with a comment _that_ loaded... but truth be told, he wasn't far off the mark.

"No shit," he snickered. "But who the hell was gonna tell me not to take it up?"

"Your _parents_ , perhaps?" Ryu replied, rolling his eyes. Reno sighed, and shook his head.

"Try again, kiddo," he said, "Never knew my dad, lost my mom when I was five... and the assholes at the orphanage just didn't give a shit 'long as I kept outta their way. Not that I stuck around _there_ real long..."

He paused, momentarily surprised at just how effortless it had been to say that. Though to be fair, his mother had been on his mind all day. That somehow made talking about her easier... and if he hadn't presently been standing guard outside of a dining room, he might have taken the time to more deeply ponder the implications of that. It would have to wait, though, because it seemed he'd caught the rookie's attention with that statement.

"What do you mean?" Ryu asked, sounding, for once, genuinely curious rather than dismissive. Reno glanced over at him and shrugged.

"I took off when I was nine. Just... finally had enough. They didn't, ya know... abuse us, or anything. It was just general neglect. Like I said... they didn't give a shit. They kept us alive 'n that was about it. I was just a means to a paycheck as far as they were concerned. So I left."

"And... no one bothered to come after you?"

Reno laughed softly. "Hell, I couldn't even swear they ever noticed I was _gone_. Nah, no one came lookin' for me. I was just another slum rat nobody wanted. Tch... and that's pretty much what I was up to the day Tseng came knockin'."

When he looked over at the younger Turk again, Ryu seemed... genuinely astonished. Though over what, Reno couldn't be certain. It wasn't like he was the only kid from the Slums with a sob story to tell. His wasn't even that _bad_ compared to some he'd heard. But then... Ryu's background file said he'd grown up on the Plate, and he knew from experience that kids like that could end up with a somewhat... _inaccurate_... understanding of the Slums. Hell, even Shay, back in the day, had had some pretty strange ideas about what it was like down there, having grown up in one of the rich sectors topside... and he'd had _been_ down below more than a few times as part of his training.

"So... you _weren't_ a gang leader down in the Slums?" Ryu finally asked, and Reno couldn't help himself.

"Me?!" he laughed, eyeing the rookie incredulously, "I was skinny little half-starved runt as a kid... No one in their right mind woulda been threatened enough by _me_ to take orders... Where the hell'd ya ever get an idea like that?"

The rookie went bright red and mumbled something Reno didn't quite catch. Reno shook his head, still grinning in amusement.

"Look... I get that there's some pretty weird stereotypes 'bout the Slums up here. But most of the people down below are just tryin' to get by best they can with what they got. Not everyone runs with a gang. I sure as hell didn't. Shit, most people go outta their way to _avoid_ the gangs as much as possible. Joinin' 'em, though? That shit'll only end one of two ways... either it gets ya killed, or it turns ya into the planet's biggest asshole."

"Then why did –" Ryu began, only to be unceremoniously cut off as the door behind them flew open with a loud bang, and one of the men Rufus was meeting with angrily stormed out of the room, brushing past the two Turks with hardly a second glance. Reno turned to Rufus silently asking him they should stop him, but the executive waved him off. He shrugged and let the man continue on his way.

"Well... It would seem we're adjourning a bit early," Rufus calmly stated, a smugly satisfied expression on his face. The other two attendees – one of whom Reno was almost certain he recognized as Shay's elder brother, whom he hadn't seen since the late Turk's funeral – stood up and said their goodbyes, warmly shaking Rufus' hand, before departing.

"Should I have the driver bring the car around, sir?" Reno asked, but Rufus shook his head.

"Not just yet," he replied with that same self-satisfied smirk, as he pressed a nearby button. It apparently was there to summon a waitress to the private dining room, as one appeared, seemingly, out of thin air seconds later. "I'm rather in the mood for dessert after such a pleasant meeting."

~end chapter 67~


	68. Lessons and Old Friends

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 68: Lessons and Old Friends**

 **by Desha**

Ryu frowned at his target sheet as he called it in from the end of the range. He just couldn't seem to keep a tight grouping, no matter how much he practiced. Were it permitted, he would _gladly_ have limited himself to materia, exclusively. But Turk regulations stated that all personnel must be proficient with a firearm, even if it was only a backup weapon.

Materia was so much more intuitive, though. He hardly had to concentrate at all anymore for simple spells, and his aim with magic, unlike his aim with a gun, was superb. Firing a gun was like having his right hand tethered behind his back and being forced to write out the entire text of one of the Great Wutaiian Tragedies in traditional calligraphy with his left. He could probably _do_ it... eventually... but the results wouldn't be pretty.

That was why he was _here_... alone... on the firing range, at seven 'o clock on a Friday morning, nearly an hour before he had to report for duty. He'd been there since five... unfortunately with very _little_ to show for the effort. Ryu shook his head and replaced the target, pressing the button to send it downrange, and reloaded his weapon.

He heard the door off to his far right open, admitting yet another early-morning shooter, but paid them little mind, as he emptied half of his magazine into the target. When he paused in his firing, he heard a derisive snort from directly behind him.

"I wonder..." a cool and calculating voice said, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he recognized it, "... just how much the company is spending on wasted ammunition in the effort to make you minimally competent with that gun."

Ryu somewhat nervously set his weapon down on the shelf in front of him and slowly turned, and found Rufus Shinra watching him with a somewhat bored expression.

"Sir..." he managed, in greeting.

"Hmph..." was the vice president's only reply before he strode to what was apparently his preferred lane and began to set up his target. Only once his gaze was directed elsewhere, did Ryu dare breathe again. He could feel his heart still hammering in his chest. It was one thing to meet the vice president of the Company with his fellow rookies, or one of the senior Turks. Unexpectedly running into him alone, however... _that_ was intimidating.

And, also, he suddenly realized, an opportunity.

What were the odds that he would have the man's ear all to himself again anytime soon? It was sheer coincidence that they'd both shown up here, on their own, at the same time for the same activity. He could use this fortuitous meeting to _finally_ make a good impression on the executive. He just had to find the courage to do so.

Ryu took a deep, calming breath, steadying himself, and cautiously made his way over to Rufus, who by then, was loading his own weapon.

"Perhaps... you have some advice for me, sir?" he ventured, trying to ignore the sudden dryness of his mouth. Rufus paused in the middle of slipping a bullet into the clip he was loading, only to resume a moment later.

"Finding your instructor's tutelage inadequate, are we?" he quipped, dryly, without looking up. Ryu wasn't sure how to answer... or more specifically, he wasn't sure what answer was expected of him. Truthfully, Reno... _did_ know what he was doing, despite the complaints to the contrary Ryu had made to Victor all last week. He'd gotten a little more insight into the man during their assignment yesterday, and his fellow rookie's advice to give the senior Turk a fair chance had been running through his head ever since. Perhaps he _had_ made a bit of a snap judgment regarding the redhead.

But, still...

 _'Tell him what he wants to hear,'_ a voice in the back of his mind whispered. His father's advice. Never tell someone above you the whole truth. Better to temper it a bit, particularly when the person you're telling it to _has_ a temper. Work hard. Keep your head down. Smile and nod. Agree. That's how you got ahead in life.

"Well, sir... I... can't imagine we're being taught by the best the Turks have to offer. After all, what can one expect of a slum rat?" he answered, and he felt somewhat guilty and ill at ease just saying the words. His personal distaste for Reno's training style aside, he'd done nothing to deserve being thrown under the bus like that.

Another bullet clicked loudly into the clip, snapped into place with far more force than necessary.

"What did you say?" the executive all but hissed, and Ryu felt a chill run down his spine in response.

Why in the _Nine Hells_ had he said it? Not only was it a low thing to do... judging by his tone, it _wasn't_ what the younger Shinra wanted to hear at all. He could hear pure, unadulterated venom in the man's voice. Ryu wasn't sure just how badly he'd miscalculated, but he knew this wasn't going to end well.

"I... I..." he stammered. The vice president calmly set the clip down next to his weapon and turned to face the now-terrified rookie, cold eyes staring at him in utter disdain, and the young Wutaiian instinctively shrank in on himself. Something about that look... It felt as if his entire worth had been judged and utterly dismissed as lacking.

"How many times have _you_ saved my life?" Rufus asked, gaze never wavering.

"S-sir?" Ryu replied, swallowing sharply.

"It's a very _simple_ question. One that I imagine even _you_ would know the answer to. How many times have _you_ saved my life?" he repeated, drawing each syllable of the inquiry out, as though speaking to a small child. The rookie forcibly repressed the shudder that threatened to run down his spine.

"None. Sir." His voice shook embarrassingly as he said it.

"Hmm..." Rufus said, nodding as if contemplating the rookie's answer. "Do you know how many times the Slum Rat has saved my life?" he demanded, an almost predatory look in his eyes now.

"... No, sir," the rookie replied in barely more than a whisper, his own eyes going wide. Rufus smiled an icy smile.

"Frankly... neither do _I_ at this point, it's become such an annoyingly frequent occurrence," he said, and Ryu suddenly began to realize just _how_ badly he'd screwed up. "Do you know _why_ I refer to him as such?"

"N-no, sir..." Ryu only just managed to get out, wishing with all his being that he was _anywhere_ but here right now.

"Because he's my subordinate. I have the _right_ to speak to him as I see fit," Rufus replied, his face growing gradually darker, "Just as I have the right to speak to _you_ in any way I see fit, you mewling little toady. _You_ , however, do _not_ have that right... no matter how irritating and idiotic he may be. You are _his_ subordinate... and you would do well to remember that, rather than making this _feeble_ attempt at ingratiating yourself to your superiors."

Ryu couldn't even squeak out a 'Yes, sir' in response. His voice had utterly left him. The chilling smile returned to the vice president's face, as he savored the young Turk's fear.

"Incidentally... the Slum Rat was the one who taught _me_ to shoot," he said, still smiling at him unnervingly, "Now... remove yourself from my general vicinity."

"S-sir?" Ryu queried, by that point all ability for rational thought having deserted him.

"Get. OUT!" Rufus demanded, and the rookie's eyes widened momentarily before he turned tail and fled. He didn't stop running until he reached the elevator and the doors had shut firmly behind him.

* * *

At around seven-thirty, the intercom on Rufus' desk gave a faint buzz of static, and a moment later his secretary's voice intoned "Sir? Tseng Itsudake to see you."

Rufus chuckled quietly to himself. He'd known it wouldn't be long, particularly given the man's penchant for arriving at work early.

"Send him in," he replied. A moment later the Turk lieutenant shuffled himself through the door, turning somewhat awkwardly on his crutches to close said door behind him.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Rufus asked, smirking. Tseng sighed, exasperated.

"You know perfectly well why I'm here, sir. Was it really necessary to utterly _traumatize_ one of my rookies?"

"Mmm... Necessary?" he mused, "No, strictly speaking, I suppose it wasn't _necessary_..."

"Rufus..." Tseng admonished him.

"You know how I feel about suck-ups and sycophants, Tseng. I will not tolerate it, _especially_ not among the Turks. If that means terrifying a rookie to the point of him requiring a change of pants, then so be it."

"Yes, sir," the senior Turk replied, resigned. Rufus gestured to the chair in front of his desk, and Tseng gladly took a seat, setting his crutches aside. "Just what was it he said to you, anyway? All I could get out of him was your name and steadfast proclamations that his career was over..."

Rufus waved dismissively. "Oh, nothing of any particular consequence. It was just rather blatantly obvious that he was telling me what he believed I _wanted_ to hear rather than anything of substance." His smirk widened noticeably. "Is he _really_ lamenting the irreparable damage done to his career?"

"Sir..."

"I make no apology for my actions, Tseng. It's best he learn his place early," the Shinra heir replied, rolling his eyes, "Ramuh knows that Slum Rat of yours never did, and just look at how _he_ turned out."

Tseng chuckled softly. "Ah... I see. Ryu said something disparaging against Reno hoping to gain your favor, didn't he?"

Rufus snorted softly. "And just what makes you draw _that_ nonsensical conclusion?"

"Experience," Tseng said, smiling slightly, "And the fact that you're very protective of the few people in whom you place your trust, despite pretending otherwise." He shook his head. "Besides which, Reno has had some minor concerns about Ryu that he recently brought to my attention in that regard." He sighed quietly, as if he already knew what the answer to his next request would be. And, Rufus mused, he likely _did_ know. "Please _don't_ do that again, sir. My rookie Turks tend to be under _enough_ strain just in the normal course of their training... They don't need extra."

"I refuse to make promises I don't intend to keep," the younger man said, smiling widely at the Turk, "But so long as they don't do anything that foolish again, they have nothing to worry about, now do they?"

"Yes, sir..." Tseng replied, biting back a laugh. He reached for his crutches.

"And when are you going to be rid of _those_ Ramuh-forsaken things?" the vice president asked.

"According to Dr. Ward, it will likely be another two weeks before the Leviathan-be-damned cast is removed, and then I will need to retrain the muscle... which could take anywhere from two to six weeks before it's entirely back to normal. I am, obviously, hoping to be on the _lower_ end of that time frame."

"Hmph... the Slum Rat fell off the same bridge. How did _he_ manage to walk away without a scratch?" Rufus asked, a vaguely curious note in his voice. Tseng chuckled.

"Reno had the good fortune to be unconscious at the time he fell. _I_ , on the other hand,jumped. Poorly," he replied, and Rufus raised an eyebrow. "My less than graceful leap aside, though, a person is far less likely to sustain injury in such a fall when unconscious. They don't realize what's happening, and thus the body doesn't react to the situation. Where muscles would normally tense on sheer instinct as they brace for an impact, they instead remain relaxed and more pliant... more likely to be capable of absorbing the shock rather than straining against it."

Rufus smirked slightly. "I'll have to remember that should I ever find myself falling from great height."

"Kindly try to _avoid_ doing so, sir..." Tseng deadpanned, "Or at the very least, wait until I've retired and don't have to witness it."

The executive snorted softly, and waved him off with a somewhat wry smile. "I'll take it under consideration. Go and see if your new rookie has stopped sobbing yet."

"Yes, sir," Tseng answered, getting to his feet.

* * *

Reno yawned as the elevator carried him upwards on Friday morning. He'd actually come in a little early today – he supposed, to make up for dragging his ass in late yesterday – and he'd skipped his first morning coffee to do so. Hopefully, Veld hadn't turned on the coffeemaker in the office yet. He needed caffeine, but drinking the Turk leader's idea of coffee was definitely the option of last resort. The elevator chimed cheerfully as it reached his destination, and he stepped out into the hallway of Turk headquarters...

… only to be met by the sound of concerned voices coming from the direction of the lounge.

Reno frowned and followed the sound to its source, pausing in front of the door for a moment, before finally shrugging and pushing it open. He was greeted by the sight of three of the team's rookies surrounding one of their own.

"It's over..." Ryu moaned pitifully, from what looked like a decidedly awkward position on the couch. He was seated in the middle, bent over with his head between his knees, his hands on either side of his head, and looking for all the world like he was about five seconds from spewing his breakfast across the lounge floor. Victor and Petra were on either side of him, apparently making an effort to comfort their comrade, while Liam somewhat hesitantly crouched in front of him, apparently trying to coax him out of the uncomfortable little ball he'd curled himself into.

"... The hell'd I miss?" the redhead asked, looking to the two older rookies for answers. Victor lifted his gaze to the senior Turk, an expression of relief crossing his face.

"Ryu apparently had... an _encounter_. With the vice president."

Reno blinked in surprise. "What kinda encounter, exactly?"

"We're not entirely sure, sir..." Petra piped up.

"Yeah..." Liam added, "He just keeps saying 'It's over' and 'I'm doomed'..."

"Umm..." The redhead glanced around the room and spotted the coffee pot sitting, abandoned, on the side table, the water inside never having made it to its destination. Well... it wasn't _quite_ the same as tossing the kid into the pool, but...

He shrugged and picked it up, before shooing the other rookies out of the way... and then unceremoniously doused Ryu with its contents.

The Wutaiian rookie sputtered, the shock finally drawing him out of his panicked state, and he looked up at the senior Turk, blinking owlishly as water dripped down his face. Reno snickered at his thoroughly confused, and still notably dismayed, expression.

"Heh... 'kay now that I got your attention..." he said, "What the hell's goin' on?"

Ryu shook his head. "My career is _over_... that's what," he groaned again, "The vice president is going to have me summarily fired for insubordination..."

"The fuck'd ya do to piss off Rufus?" Reno asked, raising an eyebrow. Granted, it could be any one of several dozen possibilities, really. If the little shit was in a bad enough mood, just existing in his presence could be enough to get on his nerves... but even so, this seemed a bit excessive, even for the sometimes surly executive. Rufus could be rude, condescending... even downright mean at times... but he was seldom wholly irrational, and he didn't tend to make major decisions – like firing a Turk – on a whim. Well... not since he'd "fired" Tseng and himself during a minor temper tantrum in Kalm a few years back, anyway. _That_ had lasted all of maybe an hour, and he'd never truly been serious about it to begin with.

Though, as far as that went, Reno certainly wouldn't put it past him to make such a threat to a rookie who didn't know any better...

"He attempted to gain favor with the vice president," a voice interjected from the doorway, and the redhead turned to see his mentor standing at the entrance to the room, looking vaguely amused. Reno's face split into a grin.

"Ooooh... yeah, for future reference, don't _ever_ try 'n suck up to Rufus. You're not gonna be doin' yourself any favors. It mostly just ticks him off."

" _What_ future?" Ryu lamented. Reno glanced over at Tseng, who calmly shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.

"Tch... Relax already. You're not gettin' shit-canned."

Tseng chuckled softly as he made his way across the room. "And I thought _you_ could be melodramatic at times," he snickered, patting his protege on the shoulder before taking up the seat recently vacated by Petra.

"Just gonna pretend I didn't hear that..." the redhead shot back.

"Pretend all you like, it doesn't make it any less true," Tseng teasingly retorted before turning his attention back on Ryu. "I think we need to have a little talk. Would the rest of you excuse us, please?"

The other three rookies hurried to remove themselves from the lounge, and Reno turned to follow them.

"Not you, Reno," Tseng called after him. The redhead shrugged and nudged the door shut once the other rookies were through it, and turned back to the pair on the couch. "Now... I've already spoken to the vice president. Would you care to explain _your_ side of the story?"

Ryu stared down at his hands and sighed.

"I was on the firing range, practicing. Vice President Rufus came in to practice as well. I... thought it would be a good opportunity to perhaps make a better impression on him than I had up until that point..."

"By doing what, specifically?" Tseng asked. Ryu glanced up at the redhead and visibly cringed. The Turk leader frowned. "Willing to say it behind his back, but not to his face?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued. Obviously, the conversation, such as it was, had been about _him_. Aside from the fact that Reno was presently the only other person in the room, Tseng didn't often take that borderline furious tone with the rookies unless they're fucked up royally... or done something that he found personally offensive.

"I... don't quite remember _exactly_ what was said, sir, but... I implied that Reno wasn't a suitable instructor. And... I referred to him as a slum rat," the rookie quietly admitted, "I'd heard the vice president call him as much, and... and I thought..."

"You foolishly thought you could win points with him if you joined him in making derogatory remarks regarding a fellow Turk," the Turk lieutenant finished for him.

"Yes, sir," Ryu murmured, "I'm sorry, sir."

" _I'm_ not the one to whom you owe that apology," Tseng replied, cooly.

Ryu slowly raised his eyes again to meet Reno's, and the shame was plainly visible on his face.

"I'm sorry," he managed. Reno snickered and shook his head. The kid was _definitely_ not going to forget _this_ lesson anytime soon.

"Tch... please. I've been called _way_ worse."

"You're... not angry?" Ryu queried, more than slightly perplexed. The redhead shrugged again.

"Nah. Why should I be? I _am_ a slum rat," he replied, grinning.

"For _Leviathan's_ sake, Reno..." Tseng sighed, which only caused his protege's grin to widen.

"The Boss doesn't like that name. Thinks it's disrespectful," Reno snickered, sitting down on the opposite side of Ryu. "Me, personally? _I_ couldn't care less. I'm not ashamed of growin' up in the Slums."

"Personal feelings aside," Tseng cut in, getting the conversation back on track, "There's something I want you to be very clear on, Ryu. Turks come from _all_ walks of life. Some our very _best_ , in fact, have come from the Slums. We do not judge our comrades based on where they were born, how educated they may or may not be, or their family ties. We judge them on ability and what they contribute to the team. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir... I understand," Ryu said in a deferential tone. He glanced up, tentatively seeking out Tseng's gaze. "A-am... I going to be _officially_ reprimanded for this, sir?"

Reno couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips, and didn't bother trying, in spite of the exasperated glare he was receiving from his mentor for it.

"That'd be some kinda record, wouldn't it, Boss? Has there ever _been_ a rookie that got reprimanded his first week on the job?"

"As I recall, _you_ came rather dangerously close..." Tseng replied, shooting him a pointed look, before smirking slightly, "But no... to my knowledge, there hasn't. And Ryu will _not_ have the dubious honor of being the first. Though I don't, strictly speaking, approve of the method, Rufus was more interested in making a point with you than actually seeing you punished for your transgression. He made no request for any further disciplinary action."

"Oh, thank Leviathan..." Ryu breathed.

"I would impress upon you, however, that such very well might _not_ be the case were you to ever find yourself in the cross-hairs of any _other_ member of the executive board. We are not here to ingratiate ourselves to those who sign our paychecks. We are here to protect the Company's interests and it's executives," Tseng continued, "I'm not entirely certain what you hoped to accomplish through earning Rufus' favor, but you're very fortunate that the vice president is... a rather unique case. He's friendly to the Turks to a certain extent... though I don't advise you to abuse his good will. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir..."

Tseng nodded and stood, reaching for his crutches again.

"Then as your day is due to begin shortly, I'll leave you with Reno."

He made his way to the door and turned the knob... only to have _four_ additional rookies – Zephyr having apparently joined the group at some point, as well – fall in a heap at his feet. He turned to the redhead.

"I think perhaps you should try to work in a refresher course on _stealth_ today..." he said, shaking his head in mild amusement. Reno snorted in laughter.

"Subtle, guys..." he snickered, watching them sheepishly pick themselves up and scurry off. Tseng quickly followed, disappearing into the hallway. Reno levered himself off of the couch and snagged the coffee pot from where he'd set it down. "I don't know 'bout you... but _I_ need my caffeine fix. Now."

"Sir?" Ryu hesitantly called out as the redhead turned to go and fetch more water. Reno paused, glancing back. "I... truly am sorry for –"

"Tch... Ya already apologized. Matter's closed, far as I'm concerned," he said, cutting the kid off, and snickering, "Now the Boss, on the other hand... _he_ might be slightly annoyed with ya for awhile yet." Ryu groaned. The redhead grinned faintly and leaned against the door frame. "Look... I pulled some pretty fuckin' stupid shit as a rookie, too. Tseng's kinda pissed right now, but he'll give ya another chance. Just, ya know... learn from the experience 'n don't pull somethin' like that again."

"... For the record, I... didn't mean what I said to the vice president," said Ryu. The redhead flashed him a wide smirk.

"Good... 'cause you're gonna be stuck with me for awhile," he laughed.

"You're far more forgiving than I think _I_ might have been in your shoes, sir..." the rookie replied.

"Yeah, well... I don't like holdin' grudges, 'n like I said, I fucked up plenty as a rookie. Seems kinda hypocritical to hold it against _you_ ," the redhead shrugged. He suddenly grinned. "'Sides... I don't think there's anything _I_ could do that'd be better payback than Rufus scarin' the everlivin' _shit_ outta ya."

* * *

Several hours later, Reno sank into the chair behind his desk with a loud groan. The morning's training had been intense. Between the sparring sessions and taking Tseng's suggestion to review stealth with the rookies – which had inevitably meant that he'd spent the better part of two hours trying _not_ to allow them to catch him unaware – he was more than ready for a break.

Said break was interrupted by a knock at his office door.

"Yeah?" he called out, propping his feet up on his desk. Tseng pushed open the door and made his way inside, pausing briefly to look around the room.

"I _thought_ you were going to clean up this mess..." he said.

"... I _did_ ," Reno replied. Tseng pointedly eyed the overflowing trashcan and the general disorder of the space. "Well... I _started_ , anyway."

His mentor shook his head but didn't comment further on the matter.

"How was training?" he asked.

"Eh... not too bad. Let 'em play hide 'n seek with me around the parking deck for awhile," he replied, grinning slightly. "Um... speakin' of... Ya mind if I borrow Sykes on Monday? If he doesn't end up with anything more important to do, I mean?"

"For... ?" Tseng prompted.

"The guy's the size of a fuckin' car 'n he can _still_ out-sneak _me_ ," Reno snickered. "I mean... I can handle the training myself, but I just thought the rookies might benefit from a little extra challenge."

"Absolutely," Tseng replied. His mentor suddenly chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?" the redhead asked, and Tseng smiled as he cleared off one of the chairs in front of the younger Turk's desk and took a seat.

"Nothing, really. It's just that... when Veld began assigning more training duties to _me_ , it took me quite some time before I was willing to actively reach out to the others for assistance in areas where someone else surpassed my skill."

"Why?" Reno asked, cocking his head to one side.

"I... was perhaps a bit overly prideful at times when I was younger," Tseng admitted. "And _very_ intent upon proving myself. I consider myself rather fortunate that you're a bit more modest than I ever was... at least in _that_ regard. I'm fairly certain I caused Veld any number of headaches, attempting to do everything on my own for a time."

The redhead laughed softly and folded his hands behind his head, leaning back in the chair.

"Well, we know there's at least _one_ area of training I'm _definitely_ gonna need some help in..." he commented, drawing a slight smirk from his mentor.

"Materia," Tseng acknowledged. "And I imagine Ryu will be getting a bit antsy before long regarding that subject, as it's his primary fighting style, and we don't _really_ have an established training or practice regimen for it."

Reno frowned and took his feet off of the desk.

"Yeah... I've been meanin' to talk to you 'bout that. I mean... I know we're still a ways off for that training with everyone 'cept _maybe_ Petra... but I'm not gonna be much good to _anyone_ when it comes to magic, and Ryu's already like... lightyears beyond just about everyone on the team. I... kinda don't really know how I'm gonna handle that."

"You're right. You _are_ at a distinct disadvantage in that subject," Tseng replied. "And given that it's been quite likely over a _decade_ since we've managed to recruit a true materia specialist before they were cherry picked by SOLDIER or the Materia Corps, so is everyone else. It would be a challenge even for one of the other Turks who _can_ use magic."

"Yeah," Reno sighed, "And 'cause of _me_ , SOLDIER's not in any hurry to do the Turks any favors, so lettin' him practice with _them_ is probably out."

"It's not _your_ fault Director Faine is one to hold onto a grudge like a Nibelwolf with a fresh kill," Tseng said, firmly, "But... as you say, our strained relationship with her department _does_ present a small logistical problem, seeing as all of the facilities appropriate for high-level materia training are located in _her_ domain." He smirked faintly. "Fortunately... I happen to be on very good terms with a certain lieutenant commander in Junon who _also_ specializes in materia-based combat."

"You wanna send him to Junon to practice with the Materia Corps?" the redhead replied, blinking in surprise.

"It's admittedly a bit of a commute... but I think we can manage to work it into his schedule once or twice a week, and Petra might benefit from such an arrangement as well, if she's interested in expanding her knowledge of the skill beyond weapon augmentation."

Reno nodded. It _did_ make a lot of sense. After all, the Junon Materia Corps were kind of the undisputed experts when it came to magical combat. Even SOLDIER often sent their new recruits to Junon for awhile to train with them. Hell, Tseng had sent _him_ to Junon when he was struggling with the skill... not that it accomplished much in _his_ case, but still...

"Um... ya think I could maybe go with on occasion?" the redhead somewhat hesitantly inquired. "I mean... I know I'm probably never gonna be able to do much more than zap _myself_ with that shit, but... I gotta admit, I wouldn't mind bein' a _little_ more knowledgeable, if I'm gonna be one of the people the rookies are comin' to first with questions 'n shit..."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Tseng replied, "Though... I believe we'll hold off on sending you along until I'm finally rid of these damned crutches. As important as it is for you to continue to learn, I'm afraid I _do_ rely on you to excess at the moment."

"Heh... No rush, Boss," the younger Turk snickered.

"While we're still, more or less, on the subject of Ryu... how is he after his little scare this morning?"

Reno grinned and let out a laugh. "He's _definitely_ been on his best behavior. Ya know, I know you said you didn't approve of what His Royal Brattiness pulled, but... I kinda think Ryu mighta needed the reality check."

"You may be right about that. Though I _still_ would argue that risking permanent psychological damage was not the way to go about _delivering_ said reality check."

The redhead shrugged. "Hey, if it works, it works. I'm still gonna keep an eye on the kid, though. He's _definitely_ got somethin' to prove. Might need a little help provin' it in the right _way_."

"Let me know if you notice any further issues," Tseng replied, "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nah... but I got a lunch date in a few. Ran into an old friend from Two yesterday... workin' at the fuckin' _Silver Swan_ , of all places. Gonna go catch up 'n find out how the fuck _that_ happened."

"Well... your friend would hardly be the first denizen of Sector Two to wind up with a good job on the Plate," his mentor chuckled.

"Heh... true," Reno laughed.

* * *

Reno stretched his arms over his head for a moment, working out some of the soreness from the earlier training sessions that had begun to settle into the muscles, as he gazed out at the street from his table. He glanced at his watch, faintly grumbling to himself.

"Hey! Reno!" a voice called out and he looked up, immediately spotting the person he'd been waiting on.

"Tch... You're late," he said, grinning at his friend.

"Heh... Yeah, sorry to keep ya waitin'. Could _not_ get away from the Hades-forsaken desk. This stuck up bitch kept demandin' more 'n more free shit 'cause room service screwed up her breakfast order this mornin'," Kel replied, shaking his head, "I mean... we're _s'posed_ to be accomodatin' – customer's always right 'n all that bullshit – but come _on_... There's a limit, man. You order yet?"

"Nah... I just got here a little while ago. Figured I'd be polite 'n wait," Reno replied, and then smirked, "You had about thirty seconds before I said the hell with it 'n flagged down the waitress anyway."

Kel laughed and grabbed one of the menus on the table. A few short minutes later, the pair had placed their orders, and settled back to wait.

"Fuck, man... I still can't believe I just ran into you after all this time," Reno snickered.

" _You_ can't believe it? I half thought I was lookin' at a ghost when I saw you come in," Kel laughed. "Seriously, man... The Turks? How in the everlivin' _fuck_ did you manage to pull _that_ one off?"

"Boss just... showed up one day," he said with a shrug. "I was comin' back from droppin' Lira off in Wall Market. Took a little shortcut I shouldn't've 'n got jumped by some strung out junkie. Next thing _I_ know, there's some guy in a suit, pointin' a gun at 'im 'n tellin' him to let me go. Then he shot 'im right between the eyes when he _didn't_."

"And that's how you became a Turk?" Kel asked, incredulously. Reno snorted.

"Yeah... no. That's how I damn near _shit_ myself," he grinned drawing a laugh from his friend. "Nah... he just left me there. Then he turned up _again_ a few days later. _Inside_ my apartment... which is when I about shit myself the _second_ time."

"Heh... Oh, yeah... If I was lookin' for a Turk, you'd _definitely_ be _my_ first choice," Kel sniggered.

" _Anyway_... turns out he was this guy I did a solid for one night at the bar. Didn't know he was a fuckin' Turk at the _time_ , but... I guess I made one hell of an impression, and when they were in the market for some fresh meat, he decided to come pay me a visit. Made me an offer, 'n I ended up sayin' yes. Soon as I did, I was on the next helicopter topside. Barely even gave me time to pack."

"Un _real._.." Kel said, shaking his head.

"Heh... _Tell_ me about it. What about you? How'd _you_ manage to get outta that shithole?"

Kel shrugged. "Pure luck, mostly," he replied. "After Gran died, Mom 'n me decided we'd finally had enough of Two 'n started saving. Took awhile, and I definitely made a few enemies in the process, but we eventually made it over to Three, 'n then to Five. Then, since we were so close to the station in Wall Market, Mom managed to get hired on as cleaning staff, topside. She got _me_ in at the Swan as a bellboy."

"Heh... so where's the luck come in with this story?" Reno snickered.

"Well... awhile after I got the job, the daytime concierge just up 'n vanished. No idea where he went. Just stopped showin' up for work one day. So... ya know... there was a vacancy. Lucky me! They moved the weekend guy to days, 'n moved the night guy to weekends, and I talked _my_ way into working the night shift at the desk. Did that for about a year, 'til the weekend guy got married 'n moved back home to Nibelheim, so I moved up to _that_ job, 'n now I work the weekend shift and sub days during the week whenever the daytime concierge needs to take a day off."

By then their food had arrived, and the redhead was only too happy to dig in to the plate of spaghetti and meatballs placed in front of him.

"Good money?" the redhead asked between bites, curious.

"Pays a hell of a lot better than hustlin' the blackmarket down in Two ever did," he said, and then smirked, "But, uh... just between you, me, 'n the table I _still_ do that sometimes as a little bit of a side gig... _and_ since I'm technically management now, I get free room 'n board at the hotel as part of the benefits package, so... kinda hard to complain."

" _Sounds_ like ya got it made."

"Tch... says the guy workin' for Shinra Company. How much _do_ they pay you Turk assholes, anyway? I know their goddamn informants make bank... so the real deal's _gotta_ be rakin' in the cash."

Reno grinned. "They pay us _more_ than enough," he replied, "We earn it, though. I spent like a month recoverin' from gettin' shot in the goddamn _lung_ not that long ago... 'n, ya know... ya lose people sometimes, which sucks hard. Not gonna lie, it definitely has its shitty days, but... I like it."

They continued on with their lunch, largely making small talk, catching up on news of past acquaintances, comparing notes on their experiences Plateside, and the like. It was kind of weird running into Kel after so long... and kind of awesome, too. They'd never been _super_ closefriends... but it was certainly good to see him again, and Reno was glad to know that he was doing alright for himself. Kel and his mom had always been some of the good ones down in Two. It was nice knowing they'd gotten out.

"So what's your mom up to _now_? Still at the Swan?" Reno asked. Kel shrugged.

"Nah. She worked there for awhile, but once I started makin' decent money on my own, I helped her open her own little shop over in Sector One. Sells all the stuff she makes. You know how she always liked sewin' 'n knittin' 'n that sorta thing. Well, now she can do it whenever she wants... not just when she can afford to buy fabric 'n shit. She was _gonna_ move to Kalm, but uh..." Kel suddenly grinned.

"But what?" Reno prodded, eyebrows rising. Kel's grin widened.

"But... she wanted to stay close when she found out she's gonna be a grandma," he replied. Reno blinked, stunned.

" _You're_ havin' a kid?" he asked in disbelief.

"Heh... yep. In about four more months. Marryin' my girl in a couple weeks, too. Doin' the whole family man thing..."

"Uh... Congrats?" Reno replied, snickering slightly. "Gotta admit, never really pegged ya as the type."

"Yeah, well... full disclosure, neither did I. It was kinda... ya know... an accident. But I'm lookin' forward to it. _Now_ , anyway. 'Bout dropped dead from shock when I first found out."

"Better you than me," the redhead laughed, and Kel immediately joined in.

"Tch... the way _you_ always used to sleep around, I'm kinda surprised you didn't beat me to it," he teased.

"Used to? Trust me, I still _do_. But I ever get someone knocked up without meanin' to, Lira'll fuckin' _kill_ me when she finds out. That's incentive enough to be careful."

"Yeah, she always _was_ a little terrifyin' when she was pissed off... and _I_ oughta know. She was pissed off every time she _saw_ me," Kel sniggered, "She still workin' the Market?"

"Yeah... I keep offerin' to bring her topside. She won't come. She's happy where she is," Reno said with a shrug. He'd never _really_ understood why the woman wanted to stay. Even if Wall Market was exponentially better than the other sectors down there, it was _still_ the Slums. She'd always told him that she preferred being close to the land... but it _had_ to more than just that. In the end though, he couldn't force her to leave. But he damn well could make sure she was taken care of, regardless. She knew that if she needed something... _anything_... all she had to do was give him a call.

"Ah, come on... it's not _all_ baddown below. Not sayin' I wanna go _back_ or anything, but outside of Two, it's decent enough."

"Yeah? That's _your_ opinion. There's not enough gil on the planet to make _me_ wanna move back. I got out... I'm _stayin'_ out. Only reason I even set foot down there now's to see Lira, or if I got an assignment. Or... ya know... to visit Mom."

"Still stoppin' by on her birthday, huh?"

Reno shrugged. "Not like anyone _else_ is gonna..."

"Yeah, well... when ya go this year, watch yourself. New gang's been takin' over territory down in Two lately. They're musclin' out the old gangs... _hard_. Gonna be the new top dogs pretty soon. You remember your old pal, Jericho, don't ya?"

"Tch... Old pal, my ass," the redhead snorted, "I still got the scar from when he fucked me up with that knife. Don't tell me... that asshole's running things with this new gang."

"Yup," Kel acknowledged. "And he's just as big an asshole as ever."

"How do you know all this if you've been up _here_ the last few years?"

"I told ya. I'm still doin' my blackmarket thing on the side. I got contacts."

The redhead nodded in understanding. "Thanks for head's up." He glanced at his watch. "Ah, hell, I'm gonna have to get back to work. I gotta go corral five rookies for range practice right after lunch."

Kel snickered. "Man, no matter how hard I try, I _really_ can't picture a skinny little twerp like you doin' all that Turk shit..."

"Yeah, fuck you, too, Kel," Reno laughed, shoveling the last few bites of his lunch into his mouth. He grabbed his wallet and tossed enough onto the table to cover both their meals. "Lunch is on me today."

"Heh... I'll getcha next time, then," Kel replied. The redhead grinned and got up from the table, casting his old friend a quick wave before heading back to work.

~end chapter 68~


	69. A Return to Wutai

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 69: A Return to Wutai**

 **by Desha**

It had taken days. Days of patient, tedious waiting. Days of being hunkered down on a grimy little fishing trawler, at the Wutaiian capital city docks. Days of painstakingly watching.

But it was finally going to pay off.

The Zenshou had been quiet, but not quiet enough. Rude had found a source, and that source said that they were prepping a shipment of Shinra weapons technology and other items, due to leave tonight. It was bound for somewhere on the western continent. If they played their cards right, not only might they be able to reacquire their stolen weapons... they could _also_ find out once and for all who the Zenshou's middleman was – the one coordinating the orders for those weapons to begin with.

They'd need to be careful, though. Thus far, he and Remy had gone to great pains to stay under the radar, but once the Zenshou set things in motion, the two of them would have to move out into the open. They needed to take them all... If one of them escaped and got back to their base to warn their leadership that the Turks were on their trail, everything they'd done up to this point would be for naught. The thieves would cut their losses and vanish again, Rude was sure of it.

To that end, he and Remy had split up... she was watching from the docks, while Rude was on board the fishing boat, preparing to cut off their exit. The Zenshou had the numbers – there were four of them presently in the city – but with the element of surprise on their side, Rude was confident that they could make quick work of them.

All that was left to do now... was wait for nightfall.

* * *

Remy glanced out at the tranquil water of the bay as it shimmered in the moonlight. Wutai _always_ seemed to have a sort of peace that lingered over it like a veil. Even after having weathered a war, that somehow hadn't changed.

It had been a very long time since she'd come purely as a visitor. In fact, now that she thought about it... she was pretty sure the last time she'd been in Wutai for anything other than Turks' business had been nearly six years ago, when her grandfather had died. She'd only just been starting out in the Turks at the time... recently promoted from rookie, and still very green. Barring a handful of fairly distant cousins, he'd been her last living link to her father's ancestral home.

Though she was really only _half_ Wutaiian. The other half of her heritage could be found in Mideel, where her mother's side of the family was quite... well-established. In fact, she was actual very – _VERY_ – distantly related to Sato and Saya through the marriage of one of her fourth cousins, apparently. It was never a relationship she'd given much thought to, as she herself have never even _lived_ in Mideel and hadn't known either of them until they'd been promoted to the Turks... but Mideelian natives practically lived and breathed genealogy, so naturally she heard all about it when she mentioned the pair to her maternal grandmother one Christmas. But... it _had_ been one of the reasons she'd traveled to the little island country for Sato's funeral. He was... family. Both Turk brethren _and_ kin... even if only just.

The other reason she'd gone had been the guilt she'd felt over the way they'd last parted. The man was endlessly annoying, bordering on insane – and she had _frequently_ been the target of his efforts to cause mayhem around the office – but she still, to this day, regretted the things she'd said to him the last time she'd seen him alive. She regretted that her last memory of him was one of anger.

The Turk sighed and shook her head, forcibly pushing aside her musings. After all... now was hardly the time or the place to wallow in one's own regret. She was _supposed_ to be keeping an eye out for the Zenshou. Wutai always seemed to bring out her introspective side.

Two quick flashes of light from somewhere offshore brought her back to the present, however. Rude's signal. He'd spotted something on the water. A moment later, the hum of an engine could be heard from somewhere out in the darkness.

And a moment after that, she heard the faint sounds of footsteps...

* * *

Rude watched in silence as the small speedboat made its way across the bay and towards the docks. He _almost_ hadn't even noticed it until it was practically right on top of him. The craft was quiet, stealthy, and fast... the perfect method of transportation for people who didn't want to be seen coming and going.

The fishing boat he and Remy had borrow was anchored a short distance out in the water, nestled between two fairly large freighters that were far too deep on the draft to safely reach the Wutaiian docks themselves, and relied on tender boats to ferry cargo and crew to and from shore. As the speedboat had approached, he'd hurried to signal his fellow Turk before pulling up anchor and creeping up to the boat's wheelhouse, preparing to start the engine. If they were quick, they could pen the Zenshou in. Take them by surprise. Remy would confront them as soon as they set foot on land, and Rude would block their boat's escape and provide cover if necessary from the water.

The smaller boat slowed as it approached the docks, and Rude turned his own vessel towards them, easing the throttle forward.

Just as he was moving into position, however, the Zenshou's engine suddenly revved up to full speed, and they were flying towards the docks. The speedboat whipped around, and cut its engine, allowing it to drift sideways towards the dock, while reorienting itself so that it was pointed out to sea, and Rude's eyes widened. They were preparing to make a run for it.

He was close enough by now that he could see three shadowy figures on shore heading for the new arrivals... One of said figures was struggling against the other two.

"It was a trap!" Remy's voice called out, and Rude's heart leapt into his throat as he realized that _she_ was the prisoner.

One of them struck her, hard, over the head, and Rude heard a faint cry of pain before Remy went limp in her captor's arms. The Zenshou unceremoniously hauled her aboard the speedboat.

"Damn it!" Rude hissed, and shoved the throttle to full forward, simultaneously reaching for his gun. The Zenshou's boat shot forward as well, making a quick escape from the approaching Turk.

Or... at least that's what he _expected_ them to do. He _didn't_ expect the Zenshou to aim their boat directly at his in some sort of deranged game of chicken. Rude abandoned the controls and took aim at the approaching speedboat, squeezing off several shots at their engine, hoping to cripple them... but they were moving too fast for him to get a solid lock on his target.

As they came closer, one of them stood up at the front of the boat. A faint plume of smoke launched towards the Turk, pale and barely visible in the moonlight. It took Rude _far_ longer than it should have to realize what it was... and when he did, his blood ran cold.

The Zenshou had just fired at him with a goddamned _rocket launcher_.

He didn't have time to think... only to act. Rude turned and fled to the side of the fishing boat, and dove, hitting the cold water just seconds before the deafening explosion, muted only slightly by his submersion, turned his vessel into driftwood. He forced himself deeper as flames lit up the world above him, and _stayed_ down until his lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen.

When he finally surrendered to the need to breathe, his head emerged above the water's surface, and he drew in deep lungfuls of air. The burning remains of his boat were scattered all around him, being pushed back and forth by the waves, and in the distance, he could hear the whine of a speedboat engine fading into the night.

For a moment, he could only stare in disbelief as they vanished into the darkness. They'd taken Remy. He swore loudly and started for shore. He needed to contact headquarters. _Now._ Shiva only knew what the Zenshou would do to their prisoner...

* * *

As the elevator made its way down to the ground floor, his PHS rang. He hurried to dig it out of his pocket, not really having to wonder who'd be calling him so early. It wasn't unusual for Tseng to catch him before he left for work if there was urgent assignment waiting for him. When he noticed that the caller ID displayed Veld's information, however, his concern deepened.

"Reno here," he answered.

"Where are you?" the Turk commander demanded.

"Literally just walked outta my apartment. I'm headin' for the car," Reno replied.

"Don't bother. Get up to your roof. Kai's on her way. You're going to Wutai."

Reno blinked in surprise just as he arrived in the lobby and reflexively hit the button for the building's rooftop instead. The doors swished closed again and the elevator started upwards

"What's goin' on?" he asked. If he was being sent to Wutai first thing in the morning, before he even made it to the office, obviously _something_ had happened... Most likely, something involving Remy and Rude and their investigation.

"Rude needs your help, and speed is of the essence. Kai will fill you in on the details," Veld replied, and the call ended. He was still vaguely mystified. Whatever was going on, it must have been serious if Veld wasn't even taking the time to brief him personally. That likely meant that he had other tasks that he was juggling that were just as urgent.

The doors opened on the top floor of his building, and Reno hurried to make his way up the narrow staircase that led out onto the roof. As he emerged, he was greeted by the sound of a helicopter streaking towards his location. He sprinted towards it as it arrived, shielding himself from the buffeting downdraft of the rotors as he hoisted himself in through the open door on the side of the aircraft before it had a chance to land.

Reno dragged the sliding door shut and made his way into the cockpit, dropping into the copilot's seat next to Kai and pulling on a headset.

"The fuck's goin' on? I just got a call from Veld tellin' me to get my ass up here 'cause we're goin' to Wutai."

"Rude checked in about fifteen minutes ago. Something went wrong on their op, and Remy's been taken prisoner by the Zenshou," the diminutive Turk responded, as she turned the helicopter away from the building and took them higher. Reno quickly pulled the harness across his body, strapping himself in.

"So what the fuck are we waitin' for? Get a fuckin' move on!"

* * *

Midgar to Wutai was going to be very _long_ flight. It had taken them significantly less time in the Highwind than it would in the much smaller aircraft they were currently aboard. The Turks' helicopter didn't have anywhere near the speed _or_ the range of the massive airship. They'd be traveling a good three and a half hours to Costa del Sol – and that was with the wind cooperating – where they'd refill the fuel tanks, and from there it would be another four to five hours to Rocket Town for a second refueling. And _then_ , nearly eight hours to the Wutaiian coast, plus however long it took them to reach the region of the island they were meeting Rude.

All told, they were looking at anywhere from a fifteen to eighteen hour flight, _not_ counting the time it would take to refuel twice on the way, and again when they got there. Over half a day, just getting there. And _then_ they had to find Remy.

Reno couldn't help but worry. Eighteen hours was a _long_ time to be a prisoner. Anything could happen to her before they even got anywhere near the island nation. And Rude was on his own, too... Not captive, but still in potentially hostile territory with no backup.

"Hey," Kai said, nudging him slightly. He looked up at her, setting his concerns aside for the moment. "I'm gonna take the controls for the trip to Costa del Sol and the jump over to Rocket Town. When we get to Rocket Town, you take over for me, okay? And... try and get some rest if you can before then. It's a long flight, and it's going to _feel_ like it."

"Yeah... Sure," the redhead nodded. He couldn't really find any fault with that logic. The last part of their trip was going to be the long haul. It made more sense to have a fresh pilot at the controls for _that_ , rather than trying to split the two shorter legs of the flight between them. "Hey, Kai? Ya think she's still... ya know... alive?"

It wasn't a question he'd wanted to voice... but it had been on his mind since the moment Kai had filled him in, and he felt as though, if he _didn't_ ask it, it was going to drive him crazy. There were plenty of reasons for the Zenshou to keep Remy alive. Ransom. Leverage. Information. But there were just as many reasons to off her... not the least of which being revenge. The Turks had taken and tortured one of theirs... Now, _they'd_ taken a Turk.

"If she's not..." Kai said, with an audible growl, as they reached the edge of the Plate and Midgar disappeared from beneath them, "... they're not going to live long enough to regret killing her. And I'll _start_ with that lying bitch whore that got away from us."

Reno had nothing to say to _that_.

* * *

Victor helped himself to a cup of coffee... and immediately grimaced at the overwhelming bitterness of the liquid. Whoever had made it certainly liked it strong. He heard quiet snickering behind him, and turned to see Sykes walking through the lounge door.

"Sorry... I meant to warn you sooner. Veld was the first one in this morning. It's... usually better to just avoid it when he makes the coffee."

The rookie grinned and took another sip of the harsh, black liquid.

"Nah. This is the way I like it," he laughed, "Reminds me of the stuff I drank back in Junon. Besides... this just _looks_ like motor oil. I think the mess hall on base uses _actual_ motor oil in theirs."

"Oh, that's right... you're former military, aren't you?" Sykes said, nodding.

"Airship crew, five years. General infantry for a year before that. Joined up right after I turned eighteen."

"So, why the sudden change of career?" the senior Turk queried. Victor shrugged.

"I did my part in the war. Lost more than a few good friends. Was proud to serve," he said, shaking his head slightly, "But, afterwards? I don't know if it was the military that changed after the war, or if it was me. I just... didn't feel like I really belonged there anymore. Then I heard about the recruitment program and thought I'd try my luck."

"Where'd you come from originally?"

"Little mining town in the mountains called Corel. Heard they built a reactor up there a few years ago, but I haven't been back in awhile. Rest of my family up and moved to Costa del Sol soon after I left 'cause my granddad just couldn't handle the winters anymore. Not after working the mines for so long. How about you?"

"My hometown's so tiny it doesn't really _have_ a name," Sykes snickered. "It's a little village about fifteen minutes up-slope from Icicle Inn with all of eight buildings to show for it... _if_ you count the chocobo barn. Started out as rescue base and avalanche watchtower for the ski resort. Then the lookouts brought their families up the glacier, and built themselves their own little town."

"Sounds cozy."

"Definitely was in the winter," Sykes teasingly replied, "About all you really wanted to do was huddle under a blanket next to the fire all day with everyone else."

Victor chuckled and settled himself on the couch with his coffee. He liked Sykes... but like most of the senior Turks, he hadn't had much of an opportunity to really sit down and get to know the guy on a personal level yet.

"Been a Turk long?" he asked, and Sykes shook his head.

"Not really. A year and change. _Almost_ two. I was actually _just_ promoted to full status... so... to be honest I still _feel_ a little like a rookie sometimes."

The rookie nodded, now recalling that Tseng had briefly mentioned something about the younger man being recently promoted during their initial introductions. And he certainly understood the feeling. He remembered when he'd been promoted to airship duty and how long it took to get used to the idea of some of his friends back in the infantry referring to him as "sir" all of a sudden and it not being just them teasing him. It was a little strange to think that... he'd be going through that all over again.

The truth was, he'd _almost_ backed out of the recruitment program altogether at the last moment – right after he'd seen just how young everyone _else_ in the little hoard of incoming recruits had been compared to himself. Some of them – like Zephyr – were barely more than kids, and he'd wondered if he was making a mistake. If he was just... too old... to be there. Eventually, though, he'd shoved those thoughts aside and done what he'd come there to do. The next thing he knew, he was officially a recruit. And now... now he was a _Turk_.

"So... what's it really like around here? You know... when we're _not_ training our asses off..." Victor asked, putting aside his musings for the moment.

"Exhausting... Stressful... Dangerous," Sykes snickered, "But... once you get into the routine, it's pretty great. Everyone's got each other's back. We're like a weird little family." He paused for a moment, grinning slightly, "A weird and borderline _psychotic_ family, sometimes, but..." He shrugged, trailing off.

Victor choked slightly on the sip of coffee he'd just taken, laughing. "I had a few buddies back in Junon that could fit that description, too. I'm starting to look forward to getting to know everyone better."

"Well, you'll get to know Liam and Petra _real_ well, since you'll be training with them pretty much... _all_ the time," he snickered, "And since Tseng's in charge of everything related to rookies you'll _definitely_ get to know _him_ once he's off medical restriction. Reno'll still be handling a lot of training stuff, too." He grinned slightly. "Just between you and me, though... I always kind of liked training with Reno better. Tseng can be a little too by the book. Reno... not so much."

The rookie grinned widely. "Yeah, Reno definitely seems like a character, all right," he chuckled, "I get the feeling he knows his shit, though."

"Oh, he _does_ ," Sykes replied, nodding. "And, well... I mean, he certainly _should_ , considering..."

"Considering what?"

The senior Turk laughed softly. "Considering that he's going to be the next second in command. He's not working with you rookies _just_ because Tseng got hurt, you know..."

"Really... ?" Victor replied, somewhat surprised. Though... maybe he shouldn't have been. After all, the redhead had not only been present at their final evaluation, he'd been introduced specifically as Tseng's personal protege. What bother giving them that information at all right out of the gate if it didn't have some significance?

"Hey, Sykes," a voice greeted the senior Turk before the conversation could continue, and pair looked up to see Liam making his way into the lounge. "Where the heck _is_ everyone? The morning briefing is starting in less than five minutes, and I haven't seen Veld, or Tseng, or Kai, or Reno anywhere. Neither has Petra."

"Um... I think they're in the Commander's office," another familiar voice piped up from the direction of the door, and Victor saw that Zephyr had silently crept in behind Liam. "Or... _someone's_ in there, at least. I could hear voices when I walked past a minute ago."

Sykes glanced over at Liam and frowned. "Something must have happened if Veld pulled them _all_ into a private meeting right before the briefing."

"Maybe Remy and Rude found something in Wutai?" Liam offered. Sykes nodded.

"Could be."

"What's going on in Wutai?" Zephyr asked.

"Long story..." Sykes replied, "The short of it is that we've been dealing with a group of thieves that have been causing Shinra some serious problems lately. Remy and Rude were sent to try and track down information on who's paying them to steal from the Company." He looked over at the clock hanging on the far wall. "But like Liam said, it's almost time for the briefing. If something's going on, that's where we'll find out."

Victor set his now-empty coffee mug aside, and got to his feet, quickly falling into step behind the others as they made their way out into the hallway and down to the conference room. When they walked in, he somehow wasn't especially surprised to see that Ryu had beaten them there. He was seated near the head of the table, somewhat grudgingly talking to Petra. Victor smirked slightly. Ryu was kind of the epitome of anti-social. He really only dealt with people if he absolutely _had_ to, and much preferred to simply be left to his own thoughts. By the looks of things, though, he'd met his match in Petra, as she was quite happily chatting away, and ignoring the annoyed look on the young Wutaiian's face. Since his little run-in with Rufus, though, Ryu _did_ seem to be making more of an effort with the others, so maybe this was just Ryu being "personable".

The new arrivals quickly took their own seats... just in time, as it turned out, as mere seconds later, Veld stepped into the room, followed closely by Tseng. There was, however, no sign of either Reno or Kai.

"Our day seems to have started early," Veld began, as Tseng took his seat nearby. "As I'm sure you've by now noticed, we're a couple of Turks short this morning. Remy has been taken prisoner by the Zenshou. Kai and Reno left a short while ago for Wutai to assist Rude in a rescue operation."

Victor heard a somewhat startled gasp from the other end of the table, and saw that Petra was staring wide-eyed at the Commander.

"Unfortunately, that _also_ means our numbers are going to be stretched even thinner than they already were, as we still have escort assignments to handle," Veld continued, before glancing over at Sykes. "Sykes, you're on Heidegger's detail today with Victor. He's traveling to Fort Condor." 

"Yes, sir," said Sykes.

"Petra... you and Liam will be accompanying Palmer to a Rocket Town. Be prepared to stay overnight."

"Understood, sir," Petra replied, with a nod. Veld turned his attention on the other rookies.

"Ryu... Zephyr... the training hall awaits. Tseng will conduct as many exercises as he is physically able, and I'll fill in for the more hands-on lessons as my time allows. If an appropriate opportunity comes up, I may have one or both of you join _me_ on assignment. I have a feeling I'll likely be relegated to escort duty myself before long."

* * *

Reno groaned faintly and took his hand off the controls just long enough to rub his eyes. He yawned and cracked his neck as he returned his gaze to the darkness outside.

It was now nearly one in the morning. They'd been traveling for sixteen hours straight – barring very brief stopovers for fuel and food – and had another hour to an hour and a half to go before they hit Wutai. Kai was asleep in the copilot's seat, her head lolling to one side in a way that _probably_ wouldn't leave her neck feeling particularly pleasant when she woke up.

He'd managed to doze a bit between Costa del Sol and Rocket Town himself... but not for long. The vibrations of the aircraft had inevitably jarred him from sleep shortly after he'd achieved it, every damned time. Eventually he'd given up on the idea altogether. Instead, he'd passed the time talking to Kai and watching the sun as it reached its zenith and then began its slow decent. By the time he'd taken over as pilot, it was well and truly setting... and at this point, he was surrounded by almost pitch darkness. Even the stars were hiding tonight, as some fairly heavy cloud cover had rolled in over the ocean just after sunset.

It was a little intimidating. He'd flown at night before, but he'd never felt quite so... isolated. They were over water right now, so even if there had been a little bit of moonlight to see by, there really wouldn't have been much of anything _to_ see. Everything below him simply fell away into inky blackness, and the view upwards was no better. The only thing that told him he was even moving forward at the moment was the faintly illuminated instrument panel.

Reno heard a loud groan over his headset, and turned to his right to see Kai grudgingly rousing herself. She yawned and looked over at him.

"How long 'til we reach the shore?" she asked, rubbing her, now likely stiff, neck.

"Probably another hour or so. We picked up a tailwind a little while ago, so... that's helpin' a little."

"Have you checked in with Rude yet?"

"Yeah, about fifteen minutes ago," the redhead responded. "He'll be waitin'. Says he's got someone who might know where they took her..."

When they'd left the city, Rude had still been trying to piece _that_ together. He hadn't been able to follow them after the fact – owing to the untimely destruction of the boat they'd taken down the coast. Apparently, it had taken him most of the night to get back to shore and find a way to contact headquarters... his PHS having been lost to the deep during an unexpected swim to escape the explosion.

But Reno wasn't at all surprised to learn that his friend had found someone who could point him in the right direction. When he'd checked in with him earlier in the day, as they were refueling in Rocket Town, Rude had told them that he was essentially going to be breaking cover and forcing the location of their base out of the next Zenshou he crossed paths with. It was a risky move, and one he and Remy had initially wanted to avoid, as they hadn't wanted the thieves to even know they were _there_ , let alone watching them... but now that they _had_ Remy – and obviously knew they'd been under surveillance – the old plan was kind of out the window anyway. Secrecy no longer mattered. The information did.

"And Veld? Did you check in with headquarters?"

"Not since Rocket Town, but he said he'd call if he had any updates... and he hasn't."

"No demands, then..." Kai said with a sigh. Reno shook his head. That little detail worried him more than anything else. The Zenshou were after a profit. It stood to reason that they'd nabbed the Turk primarily to ransom her back... but it was going on twenty-four hours since Remy's capture, and they hadn't heard a peep from her kidnappers. If they hadn't taken her for a quick payday... then what _were_ they doing with her? Most of the possibilities weren't good ones.

Kai lapsed into silence, staring blankly through the windshield, lost in thought. After about thirty minutes of an uncomfortable lack of conversation, the redhead suddenly spotted the welcome sight of faint lights, far in the distance, outlining the little village to the north where Rude had said he'd meet them.

"Hey... Kai..." he said, drawing her attention to them.

"About damn time," the senior Turk muttered as she sat up in her seat.

* * *

He hadn't slept. Not since Remy had been taken. The first few hours after her capture had been spent in a desperate attempt to find a way to notify headquarters of what had happened. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that when he'd discovered his PHS missing from his pocket, Rude had very nearly panicked. He was cut off at the worst _possible_ time, and it had taken until the following morning to find a damned phone.

Since then, he'd been spending a great deal of his time thinking. Judging by the way they'd hauled ass out of there, the Zenshou had known ahead of time that they'd be watching. Maybe they'd even been stalking the two Turks beforehand. He had no way of knowing how long ago their presence had been noticed.

He'd also been thinking about ways to _find_ his fellow Turk.

South. That the best he could do to describe the Zenshou's destination. They'd fled to the south and vanished into the night. He _could_ have found another boat and gone after her, in the hopes of getting lucky... but his training urged him to take a different approach. Tres had always taught that if it came down to a choice between the known and the unknown, the known was almost always the better option. In this case, the "known" was the little village he and Remy had been staked out in initially, watching the Zenshou safehouse. There had been at least _one_ other Zenshou still there when they're left to tail the others... and Rude caught up to him as quickly as he could.

Rude rubbed his tired eyes and leaned back in the chair he'd taken up residence in. He'd _tried_ to get some sleep – after all, he knew that, though they were coming as fast as possible, Reno and Kai wouldn't be there until the early hours of the morning, and there was nothing he could do before then – but sleep had been elusive. He'd finally just settled for resting quietly while he waited for them to arrive.

And occasionally checking in on his _own_ prisoner, naturally.

The Zenshou he'd tracked down in the hours since he'd made his call for help was nothing special. Just a kid really... probably a fairly recent recruit, and not experienced enough to know when to get the hell out of town because someone might come looking for him. He hadn't known much – Rude had gotten the distinct impression that he was little more than an errand boy for them rather than an actual member of the gang – but he'd given him strong contender for the location of the group's main hideout after a little _persuasion_. Hell, he hadn't even had to do much more than scare the poor kid, in the end. He'd given up everything he knew with barely more than the threat of a beating.

Well... and Rude putting his fist through a door had probably encouraged him a bit, too.

Rude glanced down at his watch. It was almost two in the morning, and he wondered how much longer it would be before his backup got here. He was normally a very patient person... but knowing that Remy was – at best – being held prisoner somewhere made him anxious to do something about it.

Almost as soon at the thought entered his mind, though, the faint, but welcome, sound of rotor blades slicing through the air was carried through the open window on the night breeze. Rude breathed a quiet sigh of relief and got to his feet, walking over to the window and peering out into the darkness. He couldn't see much. Rain had been threatening since before sundown, and though the weather had yet to turn, the clouds had firmly rooted themselves in the heavens for the time being, blotting out the stars and the moon. It wasn't long, however, before the familiar flashing red light on the helicopter's tail could be seen somewhere out over the water, as the sound that had roused him drew closer to shore.

* * *

Reno shut down the engines, and flipped on the overhead lights in the cockpit. They'd set down a short distance from a little fishing village on the eastern coast of Wutai... and hopefully hadn't woken up too many of the locals doing so. The last thing they needed was a bunch of civilians getting curious and coming to investigate.

"Give Rude a call and wake him up. Let him know we're here," Kai said, unstrapping herself from her seat's harness and getting to her feet. "I'll keep an eye on things outside while we wait."

"Yeah, okay, I'll –" the redhead began, only to be cut off by the insistent ringing of the PHS in his pocket. He grabbed it and flipped it open, noting the caller ID with a snort of laughter. "Guess he was waitin' up for us." He hit the button to answer the call. "Hey. Guess ya already figured out we're here. Where do you want to meet?"

"I'm coming to you," Rude replied, "Don't get comfortable. I have a possible location."

"We'll be waitin'," Reno replied, grabbing Kai by the arm as she was making her bid for the door to start her patrol. He hung up the phone and glanced up at her. "Might as well strap back in. Rude's on his way and he knows where we're goin'."

Kai nodded her head and slipped into the back, grabbing one of the jump seats in the cargo area, presumably, Reno mused, to leave the copilot's seat open for their incoming navigator. A few short minutes later, the redhead spotted a dark figure emerging from the shadows and approaching the aircraft. In due course, the door on the side of the helicopter slid open, and Rude all but tossed a teenage boy inside, bound and gagged, before hurriedly climbing in himself.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you two..." he said, by way of greeting.

"Who's the kid?" Kai queried.

"Hmph..." the bald Turk replied. "He's with the Zenshou. Only one dumb enough to stick around a known safehouse after they grabbed Remy."

Reno twisted in his seat to get a better look at the kid. He couldn't have been more than fifteen or sixteen. And he was _terrified_. The redhead suddenly blinked in surprised recognition.

"Tch... Didn't learn your lesson the first time, huh, kid?" he said, addressing the young Wutaiian. Rude looked over at him, questioningly. Reno shook his head. "This is one of the assholes that got away from us in Junon. The one that jumped outta the end of the damn cannon." He turned his gaze on the boy again. "You _gotta_ find yourself some better friends, man..."

Kai hauled the door shut. "No time for reunions," she said, briskly, "Where to?"

"Southeast," Rude replied. "Our new friend here says they've got a hideout on the coast about 40 minutes from here by boat."

"Southeast it is..." Reno said, as he powered up the engines.

* * *

The pain was enough to take her breath away... so much so, that the scream that would almost certainly have escaped her lips was strangled before it even fully formed. Her vision grayed slightly, and had she not been strung up from a wooden beam that ran the length of the space, she had no doubt that the blow would have dropped her to her knees. As it was, her tenuous balance faltered and the ropes took her full weight, digging sharply into her wrists. Remy hurried to find her footing again, to relieve some of the tension on the ropes.

She'd been like this for hours... wrists lashed together and hoisted over her head, the rope pulling them higher and higher, until only her toes remained on the floor to support her. She felt as though she was being stretched. Her shoulders still burned from the futile efforts she'd made to try to escape, and by now, she could hardly even feel her fingers anymore.

They'd simply left her like that. At _first_.

For a time, she'd thought she was merely a prisoner. No one seemed interested in interrogating her, and her bonds, though supremely uncomfortable, weren't likely to inflict any lasting damage unless she struggled too hard against them.

But then _she'd_ appeared.

The malice in the woman's eyes was unmistakable, and Remy didn't have to wonder where it came from or why it was directed squarely at her. After all... she'd spent nearly a month systematically torturing the Zenshou woman. Now, it seemed, it was _her_ turn to suffer.

There had been no questions. No demands for information. Remy had lost track of how long it had been going on. At _some_ point, she was almost certain she'd passed out, only to be revived so that the beatings could continue. Knowing that her tormentor was after nothing more than pure revenge instilled in her a sense of dread, the likes of which she'd never known before.

She knew there was to be no reprieve. No mercy. This woman was going to continue to inflict pain until she either drove the Turk to madness or killed her outright... or until she was rescued.

And Remy wasn't entirely certain which might come first...

~end chapter 69~


	70. Rescue & Revenge

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 70: Rescue & Revenge**

 **by Desha**

Ryu staggered backwards, reeling from the blow to his chest, and tried admirably to regain his balance... but his opponent beat him to the punch. Literally. Zephyr's fist connected with his stomach, and he dropped to his knees with a loud _oof_.

"Alright," Tseng's voice interrupted before they could begin again. "That will do. Ryu, take a break. Victor. Onto the mat with Zephyr."

Ryu groaned in relief and stepped off of the mat, swapping places with his fellow rookie. His game was off today, and he was pretty the others could tell. But the news from Wutai, and the fact that half of the team was presently trying to rescue one of their own had caught him off guard... and he couldn't stop thinking about it.

He had yet to even _meet_ either Remy _or_ Rude... and yet he was undeniably worried about them. His rather spectacularly unpleasant encounter with the Vice President last week had given him a somewhat revised outlook on his new teammates. Every last one of them had gone out of their way to ensure that he would be alright. Even when the truth of what had happened had come to light, both Reno _and_ Tseng were surprisingly quick to forgive and reassure him that he would face no serious consequences for his inexcusable stupidity. They'd... treated him like family, even though he wasn't personally convinced he deserved it.

And now one of theirs was in serious danger. A week ago, he wouldn't have expected it to affect him in the slightest... but it was.

He took a seat on the bench to sit back and watch the current match, while awaiting his next turn, and reached for his water bottle.

Yes... he _was_ worried about the others. He wasn't quite sure _what_ to think about these "Zenshou" people. He'd certainly never heard of them prior to being promoted... but that was hardly surprising. Ryu had never made a habit of studying the criminal element of Midgar, much _less_ that of other regions. He'd asked Tseng about the group, and learned that they were considered _extremely_ dangerous. They were, in fact, the reason the Turk lieutenant had ended up on crutches... and were apparently responsible for Reno being seriously injured not long ago. Not only that, they were the direct cause of the reactor explosion in Gongaga, were behind several significant thefts of Shinra weapons technology, and had murdered a member of SOLDIER in cold blood.

Of course, even SOLDIERs weren't infallible. It was conceivable that they'd simply gotten lucky in that regard. But still...

Ryu silently shook his head as he watched Victor take Zephyr to the mat... only to be very quickly outmaneuvered and pinned himself by the smaller rookie. What Zephyr lacked in strength – though to be fair, she didn't lack _much_ , owing to years spent climbing in the mountains – she made up for in sheer nimbleness. Her opponent's size didn't seem to matter to her. If she could find an opening – _any_ opening – she could exploit it and take them down in a one on one match. Her biggest weakness, when it came to hand to hand, was that she didn't handle _multiple_ opponents well.

"Well... _that_ was impressive," a voice to his right stated, the sarcasm rather difficult to miss. Ryu jumped in response, nearly choking on the sip of water he'd just taken as his gaze snapped to the source of the comment. The rookie was shocked – and more than slightly aghast – to see Rufus Shinra standing just to his left, watching their practice once again. How long had _he_ been there? Ryu genuinely _hoped_ he hadn't been watching his _own_ match against Zephyr.

"Sir," Tseng greeted the executive with a nod, not bothering to step away from the training space.

"I see the little girl _still_ has the upper hand. Are the other two even _trying_?" Rufus replied with a note of disdain. He didn't even so much as _glance_ at Ryu, but the rookie somehow felt as though he were under direct scrutiny anyway. Tseng chuckled softly.

"Sir... if you continue with such commentary, I'm going to be very tempted to insist that you follow Reno's suggestion from _last_ week's sparring session and challenge one of my new rookies personally."

Rufus snorted softly.

Zephyr sent Victor tumbling to the mat. The senior Turk smiled slightly.

"Well done, Zephyr," he said, before glancing over at the Wutaiian rookie, "Ryu... let's see how you fare against Victor this time."

Ryu hurried to stand up and make his way out onto the mats, where the older rookie was waiting for him. As he did so, he heard yet another derisive snort, but the executive said nothing further. Ryu cringed slightly. He really _had_ made an ass of himself last Friday, and he wondered just what it would take to redeem himself in the eyes of the vice president.

"Was there something you needed, sir?" Tseng asked, "Or are you simply here to observe?"

"I _was_ looking for your pet Slum Rat. When I failed to locate him – or anyone _else_ for that matter – in your offices, I assumed he would be with _you_."

"We've been rather busy since the new security measures when into effect. Most of the team is out of town on one assignment or another at the moment," the senior Turk replied, "Reno, specifically, is currently in Wutai."

The vice president blinked in momentary surprise, before his expression morphed into an annoyed scowl.

"I see..." Rufus replied, "And just how _long_ do you expect him to be gone?"

"I'm not certain, sir. Another team ran into some... difficulties. Reno and Kai have both been dispatched to assist."

Rufus nodded, though it seemed to be more to himself to Tseng.

"And Veld?"

"I believe he's in a meeting with your father and Heidegger, sir. Or at least that's where he was heading when the rookies and I leftthe office a short while ago."

"Very well. Carry on, then..." Rufus replied, before turning on his heel and striding out of the training hall.

* * *

It was some time later that Tseng had finally dismissed the rookies for lunch... and _himself_ for a much needed break. He settled himself in his office, his injured leg propped up on a stack of cushions he'd commandeered from the lounge, and silently sipped a cup of tea. The blissful silence was not to last, however.

A sharp knock on his office door announced his visitor, who, without further preamble, stormed inside and shut the offending portal behind him with far more force than was strictly necessary. Rufus paused in front of his desk, arms crossed over his chest.

"What in Ramuh's name is your idiot protege doing in Wutai when _I_ need an escort?" he demanded.

"Hopefully, rescuing one of our number who was taken by the Zenshou," Tseng replied, somewhat grimly, and he didn't miss the fact that Rufus momentarily paled at the mention of the Wutaiian traders.

"... You sent him _back_ to those barbarians?!" he sputtered, and Tseng shook his head.

"The Zenshou have been a perpetual thorn in our side for quite some time now. Remy and Rude were sent on a reconnaissance mission with the objective of learning the identity of the person ordering the thefts of Shinra property. Unfortunately, something went wrong and Remy was taken prisoner. Reno and Kai were _both_ sent to assist Rude in retrieving her and to _complete_ said mission."

Rufus glowered at him and, grumbling, took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Tseng's desk. The Turk lieutenant smiled slightly.

"There's no need to be concerned about him, sir."

The younger man scoffed indignantly. "I'm not _concerned_ about that idiot," he shot back, "I... am merely extraordinarily irritated at being deprived of both my preferred security _and_ the only _other_ Turk I find acceptably competent to fill in."

Tseng stared him down and set his tea aside. "Sir..." he said, with a note of long-standing exasperation, and Rufus deflated slightly and sighed.

"You have never been anything less than honest with me over the years, Tseng... so I suppose I owe you the same the courtesy. You know full well that the Slum Rat... _Reno_... is one of a very select _few_ that I trust. Implicitly. He's nothing short of utterly _infuriating_ ninety percent of the time, but that doesn't change the fact that I trust him with my life the same as I would trust _you_. I will not be _pleased_ if the Zenshou succeed _this_ time where they failed _last_ time. I cannot afford to lose him... nor would I wish to, even if I _could_."

Tseng's gaze softened slightly, and Rufus glared in response before the Turk could reply.

"And if you know what's good for you, you will _never_ repeat that to that little miscreant of yours," the executive added. The Turk lieutenant smiled faintly and shook his head.

"Reno will be alright."

"How can you _possibly_ know that?" the younger Shinra asked, rolling his eyes.

"To be fair, I don't. But allowing myself to think otherwise before I have a reason to wouldn't do _anyone_ any good." He settled back slightly in his chair and fixed Rufus with a pointed look. "Shinra's Turks are exceptional. _Reno_ is exceptional. He will be alright. With luck, they will _all_ be alright."

Rufus eyed the senior Turk.

"I see I'm not the only one who's worried," he said after a moment.

* * *

Petra frowned slightly as she gazed out at the distant shore. Rocket Town was well inland... but the plains beyond were so flat and sparse that one could see all the way to the ocean on a clear day. Normally, she'd enjoy the view... even with a chilly autumn wind whipping across the plains... but at the moment, all she could think about was the fact that just beyond that stretch of ocean, three of her fellow Turks were preparing for a rescue mission, and a fourth was in the hands of the Zenshou.

Meanwhile, _she_ was stuck _here_... a tiny little town of pilots that had sprouted up around the Shinra Space Program's launchpad. And even that, she likely would have found unbearably interesting under normal circumstances. The huge rocket that was being constructed was quite a sight to see. She'd been under the impression that the space program had vastly scaled back over the years due to a series of accidents... but the new Shinra No. 26 rocket was proof to the contrary. It was due to launch next summer. Shinra's first manned space flight.

 _Palmer_ certainly seemed ecstatic about it. That was why they were here to begin with. The executive had come to inform the crew of the recently approved timetable _personally_. The news had been met with quite a lot of excitement... particularly on the part of the man Petra understood would be piloting the rocket.

"Hey, Petra? The helicopter is prepped and ready. Our flight crew says we can leave any time," Liam said, as he made his way over to where she was positioned, guarding the door of the house Palmer and his lead mechanics and pilot were still meeting.

They'd been in Rocket Town since yesterday afternoon, having departed via the executive helicopter earlier the previous day. It had been the first time Liam had ever ridden in the luxury aircraft... and only the _second_ time she'd done so.

"Palmer is still talking to Mr. Highwind and the others," she replied, "I... think it's going to be awhile yet."

She'd been able to hear the executive's high pitched voice even through the closed door... though between the barrier and the speed at which the man tended to ramble, she hadn't been able to make out much of what they were actually discussing. It was, however, very clear that he was excited about the plans being made.

Liam shrugged. "Fine by me. It's been awhile since the last time I was here. Kind of nice to be back."

"Oh... was Rocket Town one of the places your father was stationed?" she asked, curious.

"Yeah, for a little while when I was around eight or so. He helped design and build a new launchpad and gantry after one of the earlier rockets exploded and damaged the old one. We didn't stay long... but I always thought all the planes and stuff around here were pretty cool."

"You know... Rude's from Rocket Town. I wonder if he was still living here when your family was here?"

Liam cocked his head to one side. "Huh. I guess he _could've_ been. I don't remember him, though," he said, shrugging, "But like I said. We weren't here long... and I was kind of a bookworm as a kid, so I didn't socialize much."

Petra giggled, and nudged the small satchel hanging from his shoulder... which she knew had _at least_ three novels tucked inside for the trip. "Liam, you're _still_ a bookworm who doesn't socialize much."

The younger Turk grinned. "Yeah, I know."

Petra glanced down at her watch and sighed. "At _this_ rate, we're definitely not going to get out of here before noon like we were planning on."

"Should we contact headquarters with an update?" Liam asked, but the senior rookie shook her head.

"I'm sure Veld and Tseng have their hands full right now, with so many of us on assignment... and there's really nothing to report, anyway. We're not even _technically_ behind schedule, since our schedule was pretty loose to begin with. I don't think there's any point in bothering them with an update until we actually _have_ an update. We'll hold off until Palmer is ready to leave so we can give them an accurate ETA."

Liam nodded, and sighed, lapsing into an awkward silence as he joined her standing guard at the door to the small cottage. His gaze turned toward the ocean, and he frowned.

"Think they'll get her back?" he finally asked. Petra didn't have to ask who he was talking about, in spite of the abrupt change in topic.

"I hope so..." Petra whispered.

* * *

"You're _sure_ that's the place?" Reno asked, narrowing his eyes at the kid. The boy swallowed sharply and nodded.

"Well... We can't go in like this," Kai said, gesturing to the aircraft. "They'll see us a mile off... and they're _hear_ us even before they see us."

At the moment, they were still quite some distance from their target, having landed on a small peninsula of land southeast of the Wutaiian capital. Their ultimate destination was not an island, as Rude's intelligence had initially led him to believe, but rather a narrow sliver of land jutting out into the ocean. The terrain was rocky, and from their current vantage point – and with the aid of some high tech binoculars from the R&D department – Rude could just make out the entrance to a cave.

By the time they'd found it, though, the sun was up, and as Kai had said, approaching from the air in broad daylight was a bad idea. It was just asking to be shot down. Given Rude's most recent run-in with the Zenshou, they knew the thieves had the artillery on hand to do just that. They'd need to take a slightly more subtle approach... and if there was one thing a helicopter was _not_ , it was subtle.

Rude looked back at the redhead, who, by then was frowning in thought as he gazed out at the cave.

"That place is gonna be a _bitch_ to sneak into," he said shaking his head. "Think there's a back door? 'Cause ya _know_ they're gonna have someone watchin' the front."

" _That's_ not the front," Kai replied.

"Wanna run that one by me again?" Reno asked. The diminutive Turk flashed him a slight smirk.

"That's a sea cave. The coast north of Junon is full of them. I spent a _lot_ of time exploring them as a kid," she said, "There's _always_ seaward opening. They form from _that_ side, not the landward side. What we're looking at right now technically _is_ the back door. We need to find the front... Feel like going for a swim Baby Turkling?"

"Heh... Sure, why not?" Reno replied with a snort of laughter. He glanced into the cargo section again, where the young Zenshou was bound and gagged on the floor. "But we _did_ bring the kid along... Think they'd be up for a trade? They came all the way to Midgar for oneof theirs, after all."

Rude shook his head. "Not sure we wanna risk asking. Kid's not exactly high up in the pecking order. They might not see it as an even trade, and we'd lose the element of surprise."

The redhead nodded. "Alright..." he breathed, pausing in thought. A moment later, he spoke again. "I know neither of you are gonna wanna hear this, but our best chance of gettin' Remy outta there in one piece is to hold off 'til it gets dark."

Kai opened her mouth to protest, but Reno shook his head.

"Yeah, _I know_. I don't like leavin' her there, either. But let's face facts here. There are three of us, and an unknown number of them. They got terrain on their side, plus fuck only know what kinda armory in there, as well as a hostage we don't want 'em to kill. Night is our best shot at this, 'cause if we don't catch 'em by surprise, we're royally fucked. 'Sides... if we're goin' in from the water, we're gonna need some equipment. We're no good to Remy if we drown before we even find her."

The more senior Turk frowned, but finally nodded in assent.

"We'll head back to the capital, get what we need, 'n then find a place to sit tight 'til nightfall," Reno continued, "Rude, you'll stay with the copter. We might end up needin' a quick escape if things _do_ go south. Me 'n Kai'll work our way down the beach and find that second entrance, get in, get Remy, 'n run like hell. We get lucky, they won't even know we were there 'til we're on our way back to Midgar."

"What about him?" Rude asked nodding to their captive. The redhead shrugged.

"Keep 'im as Plan B. We end up in serious shit, we got nothin' to lose tryin' to trade him back to 'em... and if everything goes our way, we go home with Remy _and_ a bonus prisoner."

* * *

By sunset, Liam would have liked nothing more than to have been on his way home. Palmer, however, seemed to have had _other_ ideas. Not only had he insisted on sequestering himself away with several members of his engineering staff, he'd also decided that a celebratory dinner was in order.

A dinner to which neither Turk had been invited, naturally.

His stomach growled in protest, as he stood guard outside of the door to the little cottage the group had been working out of all day. A short distance off, he spotted Petra making her way back over towards him from her latest patrol.

"Why don't you go take a break?" she said, "Grab something to eat at the inn. I'll take over again for awhile."

Liam breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he replied, gladly switching places with the older rookie, "Did you already let Veld know what's going on, or do you want me to?"

Petra shook her head. "Already taken care of. He sounded... annoyed... that we're going to be tied up overnight again, but agreed that there wasn't anything else we could do but wait until Palmer was ready to leave."

"Poor Sykes..." Liam snickered as he turned to go, "He's the only senior Turk not on medical restriction _left_ at headquarters right now. Besides Veld, I mean. He's going to be _busy_ if we're not back soon."

"I feel more sorry for the newbies..." Petra giggled. "Remember what a pain it was when _everyone_ was busy and all _we_ ever got to do was spend the day in the training hall because we weren't field-ready yet?"

"Ugh... All too well," Liam groaned, "I'll be back in a little while."

"Take your time," Petra replied, and sighed softly, "I have a feeling they're not in any hurry to get to bed."

Liam laughed and gave his fellow rookie a quick wave before heading off towards the small inn near the center of town. When they'd first been sent out, they'd planned on being here one afternoon and the following night and returning next morning. They were coming up on night number two... and while he was glad to have been trusted with the responsibility – one which far exceeded any he'd been given to date, if he was honest – he was finding it hard not to think about his fellow Turks and half-wishing he was back in the office where updates on the rescue team's progress would arrive first.

But of course, he couldn't be. They were needed here, and, as Reno was so fond of saying, orders were orders. It didn't change the fact that he felt woefully out of the loop right now, however.

Which, when he really thought about it, was silly. Reno and Kai and Rude were mid-operation by now. It's not as if they were calling in every couple of hours to update the rest of the team. In fact, they probably _wouldn't_ report in at all until they did whatever it was they were planning to do. They had more important things to be worrying about right now.

As Liam made his way along the dusty road that ran through the center of town, he paused long enough to gaze up at the gantry and the massive rocket that was still under construction beside it. Like he'd told Petra, the gantry had been one of his father's designs. Liam hadn't seen it in person in _years_ , but it was still just as impressively large as it had seemed when he was little. He had never manifested his father's gift for technical design – _that_ , apparently, had been inherited by his younger sister, exclusively – but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate all the effort that had gone into that structure. Built to pull safely away, like the petals of an opening flower, from the rocket as it launched, the three spires that supported the craft could easily be lifted back into place by a series of hydrolic systems afterwards for subsequent launches. Previous iterations had been single use only, simply falling to the ground on a timed release.

It had been built to replace the one that had been destroyed by the tragic accident that had befallen the Shinra No. 24 rocket. It had happened before he and his family have ever arrived in Rocket Town, but he'd heard the story. The whole thing had gone up in flames on the day that would have been its maiden flight, taking the crew with it. A catastrophic failure during launch had obliterated everything inside of the fuselage, and _melted_ a significant section of the old gantry and launchpad. He'd watched the new structure go up over the course of about six months as a child. It had been fascinating. And now, it was _finally_ going to be used.

As he was turning to head towards the inn, a slight movement on the stairs leading up to the rocket's main entrance caught Liam's eye. He frowned, and squinted into the encroaching darkness, scanning the staircase. Finally, he spotted a dark figure furtively making their way upwards. The rookie reached for his PHS.

"Hey, Petra..." he said when she answered, "There's someone sneaking around over at the rocket. I'm going to check it out real quick."

* * *

Reno trailed silently behind Kai as she slipped into the dark water at the beach. Night had fallen, and the Turks had returned to the Zenshou's little hideaway... and they were well-prepared for what they were planning to do. The redhead made it out to where the water came up to his waist and slowly lowered the rest of his body beneath the surface before kicking forward to follow Kai along the shoreline.

"You're _sure_ we can get in like this, right?" Reno asked, keeping his voice at a whisper.

"I told you. A sea cave _always_ has a seaward entrance. We just have to find it," the senior Turk replied. Reno nodded and swam after her as she made her way towards the outcropping of rock that the waters had, over the years, carved into a hidden lair. They moved by moonlight alone, not daring to use the flashlights they'd procured just yet. The last thing they needed was for someone keeping watch to spot them before they were even close enough to start their search.

Reno had to admit... he was a little nervous about this plan. Not because he doubted its chances of success, but rather because, from the moment he'd started pulling on the diving gear, his _last_ underwater mission had been gnawing persistently at the back of his mind. That assignment, too, had been conducted largely in darkness. He'd had to remind himself that in _that_ instance, it had been from the depth of the water... not the lack of sunlight. Still... he couldn't help but draw some disturbing parallels.

He was, again, looking for an underwater entrance to squeeze himself through. And again, he had no idea what might be waiting for him on the other side of said entrance. The biggest difference was that, _this_ time, he didn't have Tseng holding onto his rope, waiting to reel him in if he got himself into trouble. He didn't even have a _rope_.

And while he knew that Rude and Kai had his back, just has he had theirs, the prospect of doing this was still more than slightly off-putting. He hadn't realized just _how_ off-putting until he'd waded out into the waves and pulled on a pair of fins.

Water had never scared him. In fact, he didn't actually think it was the water itself that scared him, even now. It wasn't even the possibility of dying that worried him. Ifrit knew he faced _that_ fear on a regular basis. But he'd been goddamn lucky to walk away from the mission in Junon. Now he was tempting fate and doing it again... and if he failed, not only might _he_ not be going home, but they might not get Remy back, either.

He couldn't let those thoughts stop him, though. Remy, if she was still alive, was depending on them.

They gave the rocky protrusion the cave sat on a wide berth, swimming out a fair distance from shore, between turning sharply and diving deeper to head back in. Once they were under the water, Given her greater experience, Reno let Kai take the lead. He had only a small light attached to Kai's waist to guide him, and he was careful not to lose track of her in the darkness. She, meanwhile, carried a small palm light that she kept focused on the seabed, careful not to let it be seen from above. It took them several long minutes to cover the distance to the outcropping of rock jutting out into the water.

It was different here than it had been in Junon. The water was warmer... murkier... and being so close to the shore, Reno could make out the muffled sound of waves crashing on the beach above the sound of his own breathing through the regulator. Kai raised her light slightly, and signaled him to turn his own light on and follow her upwards.

Reno moved carefully, eyes wide in the dark water, feeling his way more than seeing it even with the aid of his light, as they began their search for the cave entrance. The minutes stretched on, and after awhile, the redhead began to wonder if Kai really knew what she was talking about. He hadn't encountered anything that even remotely looked like an underwater cave. Kai moved up farther along the rocky wall, while Reno continued on laterally, still finding nothing.

Just as he was beginning to consider coming up with a new plan, he felt the inextricable pull of a strong current against his body. Before he could swim out of it, it had dragged him into the rocks. Reno grunted loudly as the hard, rough surface grated along his exposed forearm, and scrabbled for a handhold to stop himself from being swept along with the current. Just as he found one, the rush of water switched directions, pushing him back. He blinked in surprise, and trained his light on the wall again, scanning along the surface until he saw it.

In the darkness, it was almost like a supernatural void. The surface just... blipped out, and beyond where solid rock _should_ have been was... nothing. Pure blackness, that seemed to breathe in time with the waves.

Yeah... _that_ wasn't intimidating at all.

He briefly flashed his light at Kai, and the diminutive Turk hurried towards him. Reno pointed to the opening, and Kai nodded, flashing him a thumbs up before swimming closer to check things out. By then, the current had switched directions again, flowing back into the opening... but this time the redhead was ready for it, and braced himself against the pull near the opening. Kai waited until it stopped, pausing momentarily before the outflow began again, and as soon as it _did_ she waved Reno forward and plunged headlong into the cave.

Reno hurried to follow. It took some effort, swimming against the current... but Kai had told him before they'd gone in that sea caves could be treacherous. Trying to swim into one while the ocean was flooding into the space, either with the tide or just with normal wave action, could send you careening into a wall or worse. It was especially dangerous if you didn't know the twists and turns of the opening.

They made their way through the darkness, bracing themselves when the current changed again, and continuing on once it shifted back. The short wait seemed to take ages, but was barely more than a minute... if that. The pair continued to feel their way along the rocky interior of the cave until, finally, Kai stopped, and Reno followed her gaze towards a faint circle of light a little ways above them.

Kai went first, slowly swimming up the shallow incline towards what had to have been an opening. A moment later, she motioned for him to join her, and Reno surfaced in a tiny pool surrounded by stone. The light was coming from a narrow crack in the wall just beyond the edge of the pool, and judging by the flickering, the source was a fire or perhaps a lantern.

The redhead stripped off his diving mask and held a finger to his lips, cautioning his fellow Turk to stay silent, and then eased off his air tank and fins. He slipped out of the water, the rock surprisingly smooth against his bare feet, and darted over to the crack... and then froze as a pained scream sent a chill down his spine.

Kai was at his side in a matter of seconds, having shed her own gear. She moved to push past him, a look of pure rage on her face. Reno only just managed to grab her before she started to wriggle her way through the narrow opening.

"The fuck are you doin'?!" he hissed, hoping his voice wouldn't carry.

"That was Remy's voice," Kai replied, anxiously.

"I know... but we're gonna be a pretty shit rescue party if we alert every goddamn Zenshou in the place that we're here..." he replied. The words had barely left his lips when a figure drifted past the opening, momentarily blocking out the light. The redhead instinctively clamped a hand over the diminutive Turk's mouth and dragged her back into the shadows, holding his own breath as he did so. He watched, eyes wide, as the figure paused for a few seconds, and then moved off, before finally disappearing entirely. What sounded like a door shut with a loud thump. When he was certain they were alone once more, he slowly exhaled.

Kai's hand frantically tapped the one covering her mouth and Reno blinked as he realized he was still silencing her. He let go of her, and she pulled in a gasping breath before shooting him a dirty look.

"You didn't have to try and _suffocate_ me..." she whispered.

"Sorry..." he replied, his voice barely audible. He peered through the crack, and saw that the coast was now clear. "Let's go."

The opening was a somewhat tight squeeze, but nothing the two Turks couldn't navigate. Reno _was_ a little concerned, however, about getting Remy back out the way they'd come in. By the sound of that scream a minute ago, she _probably_ wasn't exactly in top form at the moment, and the swim they'd made to get there wasn't an easy one. His hope had been to sneak in, free her, and leave before anyone was the wiser... They might have to switch to the backup plan if Remy was too injured to make it through the underwater entrance.

He _hoped_ they wouldn't have to switch to the backup plan. It had a much higher likelihood of one of them getting shot.

Emerging from the crack, the pair found themselves in a small store room. There were crates upon crates of munitions and other goods – stolen, no doubt – stacked in the cramped space. He was a _little_ surprised that the back entrance wasn't guarded... but then... it had taken the two of them no small amount of effort to find and traverse it. It wasn't as if they'd just walked right in. Maybe they didn't consider it a significant vulnerability. Or hell, he thought, glancing back at the opening in the wall, maybe they didn't even realize it _was_ a viable way in. The only way they'd have known for sure is if they'd taken the time to squeeze someone through that crack and gone for a dark, scary swim in a cave that, for all they knew, might not actually lead anywhere... They were isolated enough out here, they _might_ not have bothered.

Another scream ripped through the corridors of the cave, echoing painfully off the walls. Reno took the lead this time, crouching as he wound his way around the crates towards the makeshift door at the far end of the storage area. He slowly eased it open, and peered out. Beyond, was a tight corridor.

"We're not gonna have any cover once we step outta here," he noted. He could hear the sound of voices from closer to the cave's landward entrance. Several of them, all laughing and talking animatedly in a language he couldn't understand. More than he'd expected, if he was honest... which meant that if they _did_ end up having to fight their way out, it wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park.

"Then let's do this fast and clean," Kai replied. She already had one of her knives in her hand. Reno, too, pulled his EMR from the pouch fastened to his weight belt, and readied it. He nodded and crept through the door.

Remy _wasn't_ difficult to find. Between her cries, and the intermittent sobbing, there was also the sound of something thin and flexible striking flesh. The redhead's teeth clenched as he bit down on the impulse to charge in and beat the crap out of whoever it was that was hurting her. Because as much as he would have _liked_ to... they _needed_ the element of surprise. The two Turks easily followed the sounds of torture until they came to another spot where the cave opened up.

"So tell me... how do _you_ like it?" a young woman, her hair bleached to an almost white blond, asked as she slowly circled Remy, tapping a slender wooden cane against the palm of her hand. Reno recognized her easily. It was their former prisoner.

The Turk was strung up from the ceiling, her toes barely touching the ground, muscles straining as she struggled to regain her tenuous footing on the floor and take some of the weight off her arms. She'd been stripped naked and the skin on her back – the only angle Reno could see from his present position – was criss-crossed by an intricate lattice of deep welts... some of which were freely bleeding and others that had begun to scab over.

"Get Remy," Kai whispered. "I'll take care of the Zenshou."

The redhead side-eyed the more senior Turk, uncertain as to whether or not that was the best of ideas, considering the history between the two... but when the Zenshou brought the cane down across the backs of Remy's legs, knocking them out from under her and forcing her arms to, once again, take her full weight, he growled softly and stepped aside to let Kai do her thing.

The smaller Turk stepped fully into the room, and the silent intrusion was enough to get the woman's attention. She turned, staring at them... but before she could raise the alarm, Kai had let fly a single blade. It stuck neatly in the Zenshou's throat, silencing her before any sound beyond a strained gurgle could escape. Kai smirked, and made her way across the space, pausing in front of the woman as she dropped to her knees, blood gushing from the wound.

"Get Remy out of here," Kai said softly, turning to look over her shoulder at him, "This bitch and I have some unfinished business."

Reno frowned, but hurried to cut Remy down, only just catching her before she collapsed. He hoisted her into his arms, and started back the way they'd come.

"Just make it quick, will ya?" he finally said. Kai could take care of herself. It was Remy who needed him right now.

He still had his doubts about the injured Turk being able to make the swim... but plan B was a bust. There was no way he could fight his way past what sounded like close to a dozen Zenshou, _and_ protect Remy. Not even with Kai's help and the having the benefit of having the jump on them. It just wasn't going to happen. That just left the underwater cave.

Reno swiftly carried Remy down the cramped corridor and into the storage space, all the while trying not to listen to the muffled sobbing of the woman in his arms. She'd pressed her face into his shoulder, by then, apparently aware enough of what was happening to know not to give them away. Shifting her through the crack in the wall was no easy task, given that her legs could barely support her and it was clear that every little movement was agony... but somehow they managed it.

"This isn't gonna be fun," Reno said, as he lowered her to the floor next to the pool, "... but it's all we got. Think ya can hang in there a little longer?"

Remy nodded, and slowly swung her bloody legs into the water, biting down on her fist to stifle a cry as the salt stung the open wounds. Reno grabbed his fins and his mask, pulling them on, and then reached for the air tank.

"We're gonna have ta share, 'kay?" he said, checking the regulator before dragging the straps over his shoulder.

"I knew someone would come..." Remy replied, closing her eyes tightly as he helped her completely into the water and followed her in. "I knew you wouldn't just leave me..."

"Don't worry, Remy. I gotcha," he said, pressing the regulator into her mouth. "All ya gotta do is breathe. Just leave the rest to me."

He cast a swift glance behind him, hoping to see Kai... but he couldn't wait. He needed to get moving with Remy before anyone _else_ came to investigate. With that thought in mind, he took a deep breath, and ducked beneath the water, pulling Remy along with him.

* * *

Kai straddled the Zenshou as she lay on the floor and brought the blade down again, and again, and again. Her hands were already slick with blood, but she couldn't stop. She didn't _want_ to stop. This _monster_ had used her in the worst way imaginable... had used herto hurt _her_ family. Death was too good for her... but it was the most Kai had to offer.

Meifen. That name would stick with her until her dying breath. Kai didn't even know for sure if it was the woman's real name or just one she'd made up to give to a gullible lover, but it was the only name Kai knew. By then, Meifen's eyes stared blankly back at her, devoid of life and devoid of the smug look of self satisfaction she'd worn the last time Kai had seen her.

The Turk had lost count of how many times she'd stabbed her... but at this point, all she was stabbing was a corpse. She finally forced herself to stop, breathing heavily as she looked down at her handiwork. A part of her wanted to walk out of this torture chamber and do the same to the rest of the Zenshou. They were all guilty... all deserving of punishment.

But she knew she wouldn't walk away from that sort of confrontation, and while her desire for vengeance was strong, she wasn't yet so far gone that she was willing to sacrifice herself to deliver it to them. Slowly, Kai lowered the knife, wiping it clean on Meifen's stained shirt and tucking it back into its sheath on her wrist. She staggered upright, glaring at what remained of the woman.

"So tell me... how do _you_ like it?" she spat, mimicking the woman's cruel gloating towards Remy just a few short minutes ago. She smirked coldly when she received no answer.

~end chapter 70~


	71. A Unexpected Acquisition

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 71: A Unexpected Acquisition**

 **by Desha**

Liam soundlessly made his way closer to where he'd seen the man by the rocket. It was probably just one of Palmer's engineers... but it wouldn't hurt to check things out, just in case. Besides... he'd been standing watch for over two hours before Petra had come to relieve him. It felt good to be able to move around again.

It was a nice night... Chilly, but the skies were clear, and the rain that had threatened briefly during the late afternoon had never materialized. He remembered nights like this during the brief period of time he'd live in Rocket Town. There had been any number of times that he'd crept outside after the rest of his family had gone to bed just to look up at the stars and enjoy the peace and quiet. Rocket Town wasn't a military installation. There were no night shifts or security patrols to disturb him, like there were in some of the other places he'd been over the years. It was... relaxing. Things hadn't changed much.

As he neared the rocket, he could hear voices from above him on the walkway, and he paused, straining to make out what they were saying. To his surprise – and no small amount of concern – what he heard was plainly Wutaiian.

" _Akai waiyaa o hazushimasu_ ," said one voice, followed by something he didn't quite catch. There was a loud clank, that reverberated in the night, and the same voice hissed, " _Sore ni chuui shite!_ "

'Remove the red wire,' Liam mentally translated, 'And be careful with it!'

" _Shigoto sa sete, bakayarou..._ " a second voice replied. 'Let me work, asshole.'

The rookie's eyes widened slightly, and he hurriedly ducked into the shadows, ensuring that he was out of sight. He supposed they _could_ have been part of Palmer's team – it wasn't impossible that the man had recruited specialists from Wutai, after all – but if so, why were they working so late? And in the dark? And keeping their voices down like they _definitely_ didn't want to be overheard?

The more he considered it, the less likely it seemed like those two were supposed to be up there. Were they Zenshou, then? After some bit of tech Shinra had built for the rocket?

He certainly couldn't just let them do whatever it was they were doing without finding out one way or the other. But if they _were_ Zenshou... he was going to need some help.

* * *

Reno's head broke the surface of the water, and the young Turk desperately pulled in deep lungfuls of fresh air. Coming out had seemed like it had taken _much_ longer then going in... but then, that might have had something to do with the fact that he'd been holding his breath the entire time. In reality, it couldn't have been more than thirty or forty seconds... Now that he knew the route, he'd had no trouble navigating the dark little tunnel.

Though that had been _plenty_ long, from his point of view. He'd just learned the hard way that, likely owing to his injury and not being _entirely_ back in shape yet, he couldn't hold his breath _nearly_ as long as he'd been able to the last time he'd done this. He hadn't been willing to take the air supply from Remy, however. Because, even though by the time they'd made it out of the cave his vision was starting to gray around the edges and his lungs were burning like the Nine Hells, she needed it more.

Remy's head popped up half a second after Reno's did, and he slipped his arm around her, supporting her as the waves rocked them gently back and forth. Remy leaned her head against him, fighting to stay conscious, and the redhead began the swim back to shore. The whole time he was _also_ watching for Kai, and as the minutes passed with no sign of her, his concern began to grow. What in Ifrit's name was taking her so long?

The thought of saving Remy only to lose Kai in the process terrified him slightly. What if the Zenshou had caught her before she'd made her own exit? Would they take her prisoner? He doubted it... just as he doubted that Kai was planing on leaving that Zenshou woman alive. And if she didn't turn up soon, he'd be faced with the decision of whether or not he should go back for her.

If he _had_ to choose between retrieving Kai and getting Remy to a doctor... what would even _be_ the right choice? Sure, he could leave Remy with Rude... but he couldn't expect them to wait while he went back in search of Kai. And if Kai was already dead... _then_ what? Logically, it made sense to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

But this wasn't just about what was logical. If there was even a chance that Kai was alive, he couldn't just leave. He'd never be able to live with it if he did.

Just as he'd half convinced himself that he was going to be handing Remy over to Rude and then swimming right back into that Shiva-be-damned Zenshou den, a slight movement near where the entrance of the cave would be caught his eye in the moonlight that had finally decided to peak out from behind the clouds. For a very brief moment, he was worried that maybe a their secret passage had been discovered, and one of the Zenshou had gone in after them... but three faint flashes of light in quick succession quickly calmed those fears.

At that point, he was almost to the shore, and he slowed his progress slightly to allow Kai to catch up to them.

"How is she?" the more senior Turk asked when she finally reached them.

"Been better," Reno replied, shifting Remy to his other side as his feet finally reached the bottom. He glanced at the Wutaiian Turk's face and frowned. " _Shit_.. Think she passed out."

He awkwardly stripped off his fins so that he could gain better purchase on the sandy ocean bottom, and pulled Remy's arm around his shoulders. Kai did the same and slipped under the other arm, hoisting her between the two of them as they dragged her from the water and hurried up onto the beach. It was going to be a long walk back to where Rude was waiting for them.

* * *

Rude sat quietly in the open sliding door of the helicopter's cargo section, gaze fixed on the dark water. They'd had to land almost a mile up the beach to avoid the possibility of being spotted from the ground. The area was remote, and a helicopter flying at night was bound to raise suspicions. He was close enough that he could reach his fellow Turks in a timely manner if they signaled that they needed him, but far enough away that it was unlikely he'd run into any trouble while he was on his own.

The bald Turk stole a quick glance back at the jump seat into which his prisoner was secured. The kid had largely seemed to accept his fate after awhile. Either that, or he'd worn himself out, trying to get loose earlier. Rude wasn't quite sure which. At the moment, he was dozing in his rather uncomfortable upright position, arms fastened to the armrests of his seat, legs bound together with duct tape, and mouth still firmly gagged.

He _almost_ felt bad for the kid. During their earlier... _conversations_... Rude had gotten the impression that he didn't really have much loyalty to the Zenshou. He was just in way over his head, scared, and had no _idea_ how to get himself out of the trouble he'd managed to get himself into. His name was Eiji and he lived in the little village up north where the Zenshou had their safehouse. From what Rude had gotten out of him, he only seemed to be working for the thieves in order to take care of his ailing grandfather and younger sister.

That was the main reason that Rude hadn't used any _physical_ interrogation techniques on the kid, despite his current affiliation. He'd scared the ever-living crap out of him more than a few times, yes... but hadn't gone so far as to actually hurt him. He wasn't _quite_ sure what to do with him at this point. Reno had said they were taking him back to Midgar with them as a prisoner, but... it felt wrong.

The kid was just their errand boy. He passed messages and delivered packages. Sure, they'd dragged him along on the Junon theft, but that was really only because he was small and could fit into the air vent they'd used to get him onto the base so he could let the rest of them in – a detail the Turk would be mentioning to base security at the first available opportunity when they got back.

Once this was done and Remy was safe, he'd talk things over with Reno... see what _he_ thought. Rude was beginning to think that Eiji _might_ be more useful to the Shinra here in Wutai. He didn't have any further information of substance. There was no point in taking him back to Midgar just to interrogate him... and he _very_ seriously doubted the Zenshou cared enough about him for him to be useful as a hostage. But if they put him back where they found him and gave him a little... monetary incentive... to turn informant... who knew what they might learn?

His silent planning, however, was cut short as he spotted movement in the darkness. His hand immediately went to his weapon... and remained there until he saw the three flashes of Reno's signal light. They were just down the beach, but moving slowly. Rude hopped down to the ground and made his way out to meet them.

"Take her, will ya, partner? I'm not built for this..." Reno said, panting softly, as he turned slightly to offer up the injured woman who, though unconscious, was instinctively clinging to his back as he carried her piggyback style. Rude frowned at the state of his fellow Turk.

"... Was she out the whole way back?" he asked, carefully taking Remy from him, though he didn't get an answer from the redhead. Reno immediately ran ahead to the copter as soon as his burden was lifted.

"Yeah. We pulled her out mid-torture session," Kai replied, more than a slight hint of anger in her voice. Reno returned to the group before they'd even covered half the remaining distance, a blanket in his hands. Rude paused long enough to let him wrap it around the injured Turk's nude body.

"Less talkin', more escapin'. We're still in Zeshou territory, and they're bound to have noticed they've had visitors by now. We can debrief later... right now, let's get the _fuck_ outta here before someone figures out which direction we went."

Rude nodded and quickened his pace towards the helicopter. Within minutes, they were airborne.

* * *

Remy woke with a start, finding herself in near-pitch darkness, surrounded by a flood of sound that threatened to deafen her, utterly uncertain of where she was. All she knew for _sure_ was that everything hurt, and something was holding her in place. She struggled weakly against whomever or whatever was restraining her.

"Easy, Remy..." a voice said, near her left ear. Not a shout, but loud enough to be heard over the din. "You're okay. We're takin' you someplace safe."

"... Reno?" she managed, though she couldn't even hear her own words. It took her several more moments to recognize the sound that was nearly drowning out everything else as the familiar roar of the team's helicopter... and then she remembered.

She relaxed as much as her abused flesh would allow her to, sagging back against the redhead's warm body. He was holding her protectively, his back pressed up against the rear panel of the cargo space and seated on the floor. Remy turned her head just enough to nuzzle her cheek into the side of his neck, and let out a sob of relief in spite of the pain she was in.

They'd come for her. She _known_ they would come for her, but there had certainly been plenty of doubt as to whether or not they would find her before it was too late. Some of the things that woman had done to her... well... the _physical_ scars wouldn't be the _only_ scars she carried after this. There had been times when she _wished_ that she'd just get it over with. It had been more than apparent right from the beginning that the Zenshou'd had no intention of allowing her to leave that place alive... and was planning on taking her time dispatching her.

Remy shuddered and felt Reno's arms tighten ever so slightly around her in response, as if he desperately wanted to comfort her but was afraid of hurting her further. She loved that about him. Her little redhead had such a unique gentleness to him... and not even the nature of their job had been able to stamp it out.

She held onto both that thought _and_ the younger Turk as exhaustion eventually claimed her once again.

* * *

"You should get some rest."

Reno snorted softly and took a long drag off his cigarette as he gazed out at the rising sun.

"Tch... yeah, right. Rude, I've been up all night, and I just finished off my second pot of coffee. I'm so fuckin' wired right now, I couldn't sleep if I tried."

"... You drank all the coffee?" the bald Turk queried, a faint note of teasing in his voice. Reno sniggered and knocked the cigarette's ash off against the step he was sitting on.

"I mention yet just how much I've been missin' havin' you around to make fun of me?" he chuckled, "How's Remy?"

"Still asleep," Rude replied, joining his friend on the stairs in front of the small clinic, and frowned, "... You want a rundown?"

Reno grimaced. The doctor hadn't said much to them when they'd arrived last night. He'd taken one look at his patient and kicked them the hell out while he got to work. The redhead had spent the time since then making sure they hadn't been followed and calling headquarters with an update.

"Do I _want_ one?" he replied with a somewhat mirthless laugh. "Not really. But you probably oughta give me one anyway..."

"There's the obvious... she was whipped and beaten, probably for hours. They pulled out three of her toenails. Punched her hard enough to chip two teeth and split her lip open. Beyond that, she's got four broken ribs, a shattered eye socket, and a lot of internal bruising. And that's just what the doctor could _see_. Plenty more they could've done to her that wouldn't necessarily leave a mark..."

The redhead's fist clenched, and she suddenly found himself hoping that Kai had made that bitch suffer before she took off to catch up to them.

"Do me a favor," he said, glancing over at Rude.

"... What?"

"Talk me outta goin' back there 'n takin' out every last one of 'em with extreme prejudice."

Rude snorted faintly in laughter. "Alone? When did you develop a death wish?"

"Don't have one. That's why I asked ya to talk me outta it."

The bald Turk shook his head. "We need you here. With us... because I've been awake even longer than _you_ have, _and_ you drank all the damn coffee," he said with a smirk, before turning serious, "Besides... I'm no leader, and Kai's... Kai. She's pissed and she doesn't always make the best decisions when she's pissed. We need someone who can still think clearly telling us what to do."

Reno sighed and stubbed out what remained of his cigarette before flicking the butt into the bushes.

"Tch... Fine. Guess no one else is dyin' today," he muttered. He'd only been half serious with his request to begin with, but he must have been pretty convincing because Rude looked notably relieved when he said that. Reno paused a moment. "Hey... What'd you do with the Zenshou kid?"

"Thought you said no one else is dying today."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Not why I asked, asshole. He's secure, right? Not gonna go runnin' back to 'em before we get outta here?"

"He's not going anywhere for the moment. I _did_ want to talk to you about him, though. You still planning on taking him back to Midgar?"

"Heh... a question _that_ loaded, I'm guessin' you'd rather I did somethin' else with the kid... What'd you have in mind?"

"Cut him loose," Rude replied. Reno blinked in surprise, a deep frown etching its way across his lips.

"Why the _fuck_ would we wanna do that?" he asked, slightly taken aback.

"Because he's not a Zenshou," said Rude. "He's not a thief. He's not a killer. Hell, he doesn't even know how to _act_ tough. He's a scared kid who bit off more than he could chew and who'd rather be just about _anywhere_ else right now." The older Turk smiled slightly. "And besides which, the Zenshou don't know we grabbed him. He doesn't know anything _we_ don't know right now. But he _might_ learn something useful later. And he _might_ be willing to share... for the right price."

"You just gonna trust him not to double cross us? Feed us false info?"

"Kid knows he fucked up, and he's got family he wants to protect. So we make sure they're protected... pay to send 'em somewhere safer, maybe. I don't think we'll have to worry."

Reno glanced upwards at the sky, considering the suggestion. _He_ wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to kill the kid, _or_ to interrogate him... and Rude _did_ know how to work an informant, as well as the risks of tainted intelligence. If he thought he was of more use here in Wutai than back in Midgar, the redhead was inclined to follow his advice.

He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. " _Fuck_ , this leadership thing sucks," he muttered, chuckling softly, "Tch... This better not come back to bite me in the ass. Okay. You wanna cut him loose, cut him loose. But don't do it 'til we're ready to leave. No sense in takin' unnecessary chances..."

Rude nodded and got to his feet, patting the redhead on the shoulder as he stood.

"Kai's got things under control here. If you're not going to sleep, at least come and get some breakfast with me. You can't live on coffee and nicotine indefinitely."

"Ya think so?" the redhead retorted, "I dunno... I lived on less sometimes back when I was a kid."

The bald Turk smirked slightly. "You're not a kid anymore, Reno. Can't keep using that as an excuse not to take care of yourself. Now come eat."

Reno snorted softly and held a hand out to his friend... who promptly rolled his eyes and pulled him to his feet.

"The doc happen to say when we can get Remy loaded up and get our asses home? I'd rather not be here if the Zenshou come lookin' for us..." he asked as the older Turk led him through the morning streets towards a little cafe a short distance from the clinic. Rude shrugged.

"She's good to go whenever. Pretty sure he'd _like_ her to stay a few days, but she's stable and resting comfortably. It's the _rest_ of usI'm worried about. We're all kind of running on fumes right now. At least _one_ of us needs some downtime before we're in any condition to even try for Rocket Town... much less Midgar. Hmph... even _you_ look like you're maybe an hour away from crashing, and that's _with_ six and a half gallons of coffee in your system."

"Tch... please. I couldn't possibly have had more than four or five," Reno snickered, teasingly. Rude shook his head.

"I'm serious, Reno. It's a long flight. None of us can do it half asleep. It's not safe."

Reno sighed and shook his head. "Yeah. I know. I don't particularly _like_ it, but I know. Look... we'll eat, check in on Remy, 'n then I'll take over guard duty while you 'n Kai get some rest. By then, I'll be so wiped, I'll probably be able to sleep even with all the noise on the copter. You two get us to Rocket Town 'n I'll jump on the controls from there to Midgar."

Before Rude could answer, their conversation was broken in upon by the sharp sound of the redhead's PHS, its tone announcing the identity of the caller without him even having to look at the screen.

"Yeah, Boss?" he answered, pausing in his bid for the cafe. Rude came to a halt a few steps later, turning to look back at him, curious as to what the Turk lieutenant needed so soon after they'd already reported in. Reno only shrugged in response to his inquiring gaze.

"How soon will you be leaving Wutai?" Tseng asked, his voice somewhat staticy over the connection. Reception, for whatever reason, wasn't great in the Wutaiian capital.

"Uhh..." He glanced over at Rude and then down at his watch. "Well, we were plannin' on a few hours from now now, so... ten... maybe eleven? Why? What happened?"

"It seems you weren't the only ones busy last night," the Turk lieutenant responded, "Liam and Petra ran into a pair of our thieves attempting to remove engine parts from the Shinra No. 26."

Reno felt himself go slightly pale at the news. "They okay?" he asked, urgently.

"They're fine. They have things under control, but... they quite understandably would welcome some more experienced assistance, particularly given that I don't think it wise to bring both an executive _and_ two Zenshou prisoners back on the same transport... which means they'll have to split up, as Palmer is planning to leave shortly after lunch. If you can move your _own_ departure time up a bit, I think they would appreciate it. As would I."

"Honestly, Boss... I'm not sure we can push it much more than we already are. We're all anxious to get outta here, but none of us are really fit to fly right now," he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Me 'n Kai are both gettin' dangerously close to forty-eight hours without sleep, 'n Rude's been up even longer than _us_. I'd _kinda_ like to make to there in one piece."

By then, Rude's expression was turning to one of concern. The redhead put his hand over the phone for a moment.

"Rookies caught themselves a couple of Zenshou in Rocket Town," he quickly explained, and watched as his friend's eyebrows shot upwards.

"Then rest. It's not so desperately urgent I would risk endangering any of you further," Tseng said.

"You sure, Boss?" he asked, hesitantly, "I mean... I'm not exactly _great_ right now, but enough coffee 'n I could –"

"No," the senior Turk said, firmly, "If you're not comfortable flying right now, then you _shouldn't_ be. Veld and I will find an alternative. Worst case, the commander will go himself... and _I_ will sit here uselessly and continue to curse the fact that Justinia has not yet seen fit to release my Leviathan-forsaken leg from this _cast_."

Reno snorted a faint laugh in response to the proclamation. "Boss, don't even _talk_ to me 'bout bein' useless," he teased, "I spent four fuckin' _weeks_ not even allowed outta bed, and another three sittin' around on my ass, remember?"

"Duly noted," Tseng chuckled, "How is Remy? Has she regained consciousness yet?"

"Eh... In 'n out," Reno replied, "Doc's got her pretty doped up, apparently, so..."

"I see. Get the rest you need and get home."

"Yes, sir," the redhead answered, and ended the call, only to find Rude looking at him expectantly. "Plan on about _three_ hours of sleep, partner. Boss says to rest up and get our butts in the air. Liam 'n Petra are holdin' two Zenshou prisoners in Rocket Town, and one of 'em's gotta escort Palmer back to Midgar after lunch, so they're gonna need backup, ASAP. Veld's gonna try 'n get someone else there ahead of us, but..."

"But it's just him and Sykes handling all new field assignments right now," Rude finished for him with a nod, " _and_ they have no transport."

"Right," said Reno, "Tseng'll probably call in a favor from Viridia for _that_ , but better we get movin' just in case, than dick around here longer than we gotta."

* * *

A short while later, Reno found himself sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Remy's bed, watching her sleep, as the familiar sensation of exhaustion staved off only by caffeine and sheer will began to seep into his bones. Tseng had been right. He never would have made it to Rocket Town in his current state... and the redhead had been stupid to even suggest it. He'd just been worried about his rookies.

Eight hours to Rocket Town – _maybe_ seven if the wind cooperated and they didn't run into any inclement weather – and they couldn't even _leave_ for about another three, minimum. It was beyond frustrating, and the redhead was quickly nearing the end of his patience. He _hated_ sitting around, doing nothing, especially when there were things that he knew needed doing. And _especially_ ,especially when his fellow Turks needed him.

A soft noise from the direction of the bed drew him from his irritated musings, and he turned to find Remy starring at him, groggily. She blinked and raised a hand to rub her eyes.

"Reno?" she queried, and the younger Turk grinned.

"Hey," he said, moving from the chair to settle on the edge of her bed. "'Bout damn time... I was startin' to think you were just gonna sleep all day."

The senior Turk looked around the room in vague confusion for a moment.

"Where am I?"

"Clinic in the capital city. We're just here long enough to get you patched up 'n let our first pilot get some sleep 'cause fuckin' Rude won't lemme fly the damn helicopter on nothin' but hope and a massive caffeine overdose. There we're all headin' home."

Remy smiled faintly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"And _I'm_ sticking around to keep you company 'til we leave," he added, reaching for her hand, and taking it gently into his own. "So... ya know... don't go runnin' off on me. I haven't slept in days."

"I'm glad you're here..." Remy said, softly. She pulled his hand closer until she could grasp it with both of hers, and closed her eyes for a moment, slowly exhaling. "Don't go anywhere... alright?"

"Tch... I'd like to see someone try 'n _make_ me," the redhead responded. He brushed a few stray hairs away from her cheek as Remy drifted off again.

* * *

Normally, Rude didn't mind a lack of conversation. Before he'd become a Turk, there were times when he would go for _days_ without saying a word to anyone, and without anyone saying a word to him. He was no longer so dedicated an introvert, but generally he remained perfectly happy to sit in silence if no one was in the mood to talk.

Kai wasn't _usually_ the type to keep to herself, though, and the fact that she'd hardly said more than a sentence or two since they'd boarded the helicopter was... disquieting. It was plain that there was something on her mind. And while he had a pretty good idea of exactly what it was, he wasn't entirely certain as to whether or not he ought to broach the subject with her. Thus, once Reno had gone quiet, having fallen asleep in the back with Remy, he'd opted for his old fallback of companionable silence.

Reno had, of course, filled him in on what had gone down inside of the Zenshou's stronghold last night, but part of the story was still unaccounted for. Reno hadn't been around to see what Kai had done to her one-time lover... and Kai didn't seem to be in the mood to regale them with tales of revenge. He suspected that _that_ was what was occupying her thoughts.

It couldn't have been an easy thing to do, taking out someone you knew so intimately... Or, he considered, maybe it _had_ been, and that unexpected ease was what was bothering her. Besides that, Kai had blamed herself so _much_ for what had happened to Reno. Seeing the woman responsible for all of that again _had_ to have stirred some of the guilt up, and it wasn't surprising she didn't want to discuss it.

There were plenty of things _he_ didn't like to talk about, either. Come to think of it, the item right at the top of that list happened to reside in their present destination. He wondered, vaguely, if they might run into his father while they were there. The last time he'd had an assignment in Rocket Town, neither of them had acknowledged one another. He'd briefly caught sight of him, heading into the local tavern, but if his father had noticed _him_ , he'd just kept walking.

It was something that Rude was _still_ coming to terms with. His father didn't _hate_ him. He knew that much. But he didn't seem to love him, either. After his mother had died, they two had simply grown farther and farther apart. Once Rude had left home for good, it was like he'd simply been erased from his father's life.

And by the time he'd figured out _why_ , it had been too late to do anything about it.

"Hmph... I thought he _couldn't_ sleep with so much noise..." Kai's voice prodded over the headset, and Rude glanced over at her questioningly, only to find his copilot suddenly turned awkwardly in her seat, staring into the back of the aircraft. Rude spared a quick glance over his shoulder, and quickly confirmed the subject of her comment.

Remy was still fastened in securely on top of a makeshift stretcher for the flight, though at the moment, she seemed to be sleeping soundly. _She_ ,however, was not the Turk Kai had been referring to. That honor went to the redhead, who at the moment, was thoroughly passed out in one of the jump seats, half falling out of it, as he apparently either hadn't bothered to strap himself in, or had released the his restraints at some point in order to get more comfortable.

Rude snorted softly. "Do something about him before he ends up on the floor..." he said, shaking his head in vague amusement.

It was now three in the afternoon, and, after leaving a bit earlier than their initial planned departure, they were only about three more hours from Rocket Town. He hadn't heard a peep from the younger Turk since the last time they'd checked in with headquarters with an update, and that had been just as they'd hit the halfway mark around two thirty. Not that he was surprised. He'd noticed over the years, that if his friend truly was tired enough, his usual inability to sleep through even the smallest disturbance quickly evaporated, and he slept like a Hades-be-damned log in whatever contorted position he happened to pass out in.

He heard Kai snort softly over the headset as she released herself from her own harness and disappeared into the back section of the helicopter.

"Poor Baby Turkling wore himself out," she sighed, and Rude couldn't help but roll his eyes... though at least now she was _talking_ instead of sitting in silence.

"When are you going to stop that?" he asked, mildly annoyed at the persistent nickname. "You _know_ what Tseng's planning for him."

"So? He's not second in command yet. And he won't be for a good, long time."

"And?" Rude queried, looking back at her and watching briefly as she fastened Reno into the seat properly. The redhead didn't so much as stir. "How are the rookies he's eventually going to be in charge of supposed to be expected to take him seriously if a senior Turk is constantly calling him that?"

It had been something that had been getting on his nerves more and more of late. Reno tolerated it, because, really, it was all in good fun... but Rude was starting to think he'd let it go on too long. Particularly given the issues he'd been having with one of the new rookies – a subject that his friend had only too enthusiastically updated him on over breakfast.

Kai huffed loudly into the microphone as she made her way back up front.

"He told you about Ryu, didn't he?" she replied.

"Among other things," the bald Turk confirmed.

"That was all Rufus and his _slum rat_ bullshit, you know," Kai said, somewhat defensively, retaking her seat and strapping in. "You want my opinion, that little shit needs a good smack upside the head once in awhile."

Rude snorted a faint laugh. He didn't _entirely_ disagree with the sentiment... though he wasn't about to admit it.

"Maybe," he replied, "But if _we_ don't start treating Reno like Tseng's successor, why should _they_?"

"Hmph... ever the big brother, eh, Rude?" Kai replied, rolling her eyes. Rude smirked.

"He needs one. Just think of all the trouble he'd have gotten himself into as a rookie if I didn't talk some sense into him once in awhile."

"Didn't you two get arrested together at least _once_?" Kai pointedly shot back. "I seem to recall something about harassing the chocobos at the zoo..."

Rude chuckled. "Exactly. He still managed to get into trouble even _with_ me around. Now imagine if I _hadn't_ been keeping an eye on him..."

Kai sighed and glanced back over her shoulder again.

"I suppose you have a point. I _doesn't_ set a very good example for the Turklings, does it?" She leaned back in the copilot's seat and frowned. "I don't seem to be getting much of anything right lately."

"..."

Rude didn't know what to say to that... and eventually the pair lapsed back into silence again.

* * *

At the faint sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air, Petra turned her gaze upwards, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Veld had arrived on an early afternoon supply transport from Junon, but there had been nothing _leaving_ Rocket Town until the day after tomorrow... which meant that she and the Turk commander were stuck babysitting their newly acquired interrogation suspects until the team from Wutai got there. Liam had left with Director Palmer shortly after lunch, as planned, and she had been on her own for quite some time before her backup had arrived. It had been... nerve-wracking... to say the least.

Though to be fair, she was _lucky_ to be alive.

When Liam had sent her the message last night, at first, she'd thought he was just being overly cautious. Rocket Town _certainly_ had its fair share of Shinra tech, but weapons? Those were in pretty short supply around here. The little village wasn't part of the weapons program. It's inhabitants didn't develop them. They didn't stockpile them. They didn't ever _carry_ anything much more advanced than an old fashioned hunting rifle. What were they going to do? Steal the rocket itself?

As it turned out, that wasn't as far-fetched as she'd initially thought. She'd caught up with Liam at the bottom of the gantry, where he'd retreated to wait for her. They'd crept silently up the winding staircases, and with each step, Petra had been slightly terrified that the Zenshou would hear their boots on the metal or feel the vibrations of their footfalls in the scaffolding... but _somehow_ they'd taken them unaware.

The two men hadn't gone down without a fight, however, and Petra had come dangerously close to being sent flying off of the platform by a well-timed kick she hadn't been able to dodge. It was Liam's quick thinking that had saved her. The younger rookie has swung one of the cables used to lift supplies to the top of the gantry over to her and she'd been able to catch herself before she'd fallen.

It wasn't _nearly_ as close a brush with death as some Turks could boast... but it had still scared her.

And now, here she was, waiting for a ride home, like it happened everyday. The helicopter was approaching quickly, now, and she saw that it was headed for the a small landing strip on the edge of town... the same place the executive helicopter had set down when she and Liam had arrived. She hurried over to meet them, passing Veld as he emerged from the little cottage they had temporarily taken over for use as a prisoner holding cell.

"Petra!" he called after her, and she came to a sudden halt, turning to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell Reno I need to speak with him privately."

"Yes, sir..." she replied, with a nod, and hurried off to meet the others.

The downdraft of the rotors, sent dust flying all around her, and the rookie had to shield her face from the onslaught, even from several dozen yards off. At last, the aircraft came to a rest, and the engine slowed and stopped. The door along the side slid open, and a familiar redheaded figure disembarked. He grinned when he spotted the younger Turk and made his way over to her.

"Sir? Is –" she began, only to be quickly cut off by the senior Turk.

"Remy's okay," Reno said, "Kinda beat up, but we got her back in one piece."

"Oh... Thank Odin..." Petra breathed, relaxing. Veld had said that they'd managed to get her out, but details had been in rather short supply. It was good to hear.

"So I hear you 'n Liam decided to show us up and capture a couple of Zenshou yourselves, huh rookie?"

"I guess you could say that..." she said, giggling slightly. It was almost as big a relief to finally have more backup as it was knowing that Remy would be alright. "Veld wants to see you."

"Heh... lead the way," he replied, and gestured for Rude and Kai to wait where they were.

~end chapter 71~


	72. A Change in Plans

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 72: A Change in Plans**

 **by Desha**

Reno stepped into one of several small houses that lined the periphery of the east side of the little village, and was greeted by the sight of two men, probably not much older than he was, seated in chairs, back to back, and tied securely in place. The one whose face he could see had a split lip that was bleeding freely – very obviously a fresh wound. Both appeared to be slumped over as much as their bonds would allow, out cold.

Veld was standing nearby, rubbing his knuckles. He turned his attention on the door as soon as the redhead entered.

"You made good time," he commented.

"Yes, sir..." he replied, eyeing the pair. "Havin' a little conversation with our guests?"

"Hmph... yes. And a rather interesting one, at that. It's highly likely that our mysterious middle-man is operating out of Costa del Sol... though they haven't been very forthcoming with identifying information. _Yet._ "

He handed the redhead a sheet of paper, upon which was written a fairly hefty list of equipment.

"The most recent wishlist?" he guessed, and Veld nodded.

"Turn it over."

Reno obligingly flipped the page over. In the bottom corner was something scrawled in Wutaiian script. The younger Turk glanced up, questioningly.

"Uh... translation?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Veld smirked slightly.

"Bar del Sol, Midnight, Saturday. And remind me to have Tseng give you some lessons in his mother tongue one of these days."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied with a faintly amused snort, "What makes ya think they're workin' outta Costa del Sol 'n not just settin' up a meeting?"

"Our _guests'_ responses during our recent conversation," said Veld, "But regardless... I intend to take full advantage of this opportunity. We know where he'll be, and when... and we're going to be waiting for him."

Reno grinned slightly. "Man, is _Rude_ ever gonna be pissed," he chuckled, and the Turk leader cocked an eyebrow at him.

"And just what's that's supposed to mean?"

The younger Turk's grin widened.

"He's been workin' his ass off trying to catch up with this fucker 'n the first real break we get happens 'cause a couple of unsuspecting rookies stumbled onto a theft in progress. I'm _definitely_ never lettin' him live this one down..."

Veld snorted in laughter, shaking his head. "We're leaving the prisoners in the care of the Junon Security team I brought with me for the time being. Decide who we're taking with us. Send the rest on to Midgar with Remy. We have less than two days to plan this out and get into position in Costa del Sol. Do it now."

"M-me?" the redhead stammered, blinking in surprise. Veld was the ranking Turk, after all. That decision really ought to have been up to _him_.

"Did I or did I _not_ assign you as the active field captain for your current mission?"

"Yes, sir..."

"Your mission has just been expanded. Pick someone to take Remy home. Assemble the others for briefing."

"On it, sir..." Reno replied, with a nod, and scurried for the exit. As reached the door, he turned back and smirked slightly, having realized something. "Uh... Sir? Is this another way of sayin' a future second in command oughta just shut up 'n do his job?"

"I assumed that went _without_ saying," Veld pointedly responded.

* * *

"What in the _Nine Hells_ is taking so long?" Kai groused, arms folded over her chest as she impatiently tapped her foot on the ground outside of the helicopter. "I thought we were just here for fuel and a pickup..."

Rude could only shrug in response, though he doubted Kai saw it. Her attention was focused on the road leading into town while they waited anxiously for Reno, Veld, and Petra to join them with their freshly acquired prisoners. They'd already finished refueling... and all of them were anxious to get back in the air. Remy, by then, was awake, and Rude had clambered back into the aircraft to check on her.

"You never _did_ have any patience, Kai..." she said, as Rude was offering her a bottle of water... which the injured Turk was only too happy to accept.

The diminutive Turk glanced back into the helicopter, and shook her head.

"I would have thought _you'd_ be as eager as anyone to get home..."

"I am," Remy replied, taking a sip, "But I'm also well aware that instant gratification isn't always possible."

Rude snickered quietly when Kai rolled her eyes at the comment. Further conversation, however, was put on hold as a familiar figure was sighted on the road.

" _Finally_..." Kai breathed, as Reno hurried back to them. When the younger Turk reached the landing site, she was already on her way out to meet him. "Where's Veld and Petra?"

"Slight change of plans," Reno replied, "Rude... You 'n me are stickin' around. Kai, get Remy back to Midgar."

Kai blinked. "What?"

"Heh... Veld beat a lead on our middle-man outta our prisoners while we were takin' our sweet time gettin' here. We're gonna see if we can't meet the asshole face to face when he shows up Costa del Sol on Saturday."

"Then I want to go with you. Send Rude back to Midgar," Kai replied, as the aforementioned Turk was climbing down from the helicopter's cargo bay.

"Rude knows these assholes better than anyone," Reno replied, shaking his head in the negative.

"Then send Petra back!" she demanded, her temper flaring.

"Petra's only been certified on the copter for like two months 'n she's never made a solo flight that long. I'm not sure _this_ oughta be her first."

Kai growled in annoyance. "I'm going to go talk to Veld and change his mind."

She got about four steps before Reno called out, "Wasn't Veld's decision. It was mine."

The senior Turk froze, mid-step, and for a brief moment remained motionless. Then, without warning, she spun on her heel and stormed back over to the redhead in challenge. " _Yeah_? And since when does your authority outweigh Veld's?!"

"Veld ordered me to pick a team. I picked a team. Ya don't like it, too bad. Orders are orders," Reno replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared her down. For several seconds, neither of them said anything. At last, Kai's eyes narrowed.

"Orders are orders," she ground out, before angrily stomping past him and climbing into the copter. Rude quickly joined his friend in backing away to a safe distance before Kai started up the engines, setting the rotors churning.

Once the helicopter was clear, Reno let out a long breath and shook his head.

"Fuck, man... I _knew_ she wasn't gonna like that, but I didn't think she'd be _that_ pissed."

"Why didn't you take her instead of me, then?" Rude asked, genuinely curious, "Could've just as easily made the argument that I need a break more than she does. I've been on assignment for weeks."

Reno shook his head and awkwardly looked down at the dusty road as he started back towards the village. Rude hurried to fall into step beside him.

"... I wasn't _completely_ out of it on the ride here, ya know. I woke up long enough to overhear you guys talkin' a few times. Like... 'bout her not gettin' anything right lately. Plus, I'm pretty sure she did more than _just_ kill that Zenshou in the cave. She's too close to this shit, man. She's out for blood, and I don't want her gettin' hurt... or pullin' somethin' that might get someone _else_ hurt," he replied, and then glanced up with a decidedly uncertain expression. "You think I was outta line, sendin' her home like that?"

Rude smiled faintly... and then swatted the younger Turk hard on the back of the head.

"Ow! The fuck was _that_ for?!" Reno demanded.

"For second-guessing yourself," he replied, with a smirk, "Don't do that."

* * *

"I can't _believe_ he sent me back to headquarters!" Kai's voice ranted over the headset, and if Remy hadn't already been several feet away from her in the back of the aircraft, she likely would have put some distance between the two of them just as a precaution. Kai was angry.

No... she was _furious_.

That her friend had a temper was no great secret – hell, that was true of _most_ Turks, to some extent, and Remy herself was no exception – but in general, Kai wasn't the type to let her anger build and build until it blew like a volcano. When she was mad at you, you immediately knew it. But Remy had a feeling that this was more than just being annoyed at Reno's choice in a field team. This _had_ been building.

She'd watched for weeks as Kai had berated herself... blamed herself... for being taken for a fool by one of the Zenshou. And for the consequences that had resulted from her misplaced trust. She'd watched her friend and teammate slipping dangerously close to a depression not dissimilar to the one she'd fallen into when Alyssa had died. And when Reno had come back to them, sound and whole again, Remy had, admittedly somewhat naively, thought that she'd pulled herself back from the edge.

Now she wasn't so sure. Remy had been in immense pain, and not even remotely the best frame of mind, when Kai and Reno had freed her... but she hadn't missed the look in the woman's eyes when she'd told the redhead to take her and go, nor the fact that she was quite some time in joining them after they'd escaped. She didn't know what Kai had ultimately done to the Zenshou woman... but there was no doubt in her mind that she was dead, and that it likely hadn't been a pleasant end.

Reno had seen it, too. He _must_ have. That was why he'd opted not to take her on the mission, even though she had far more field experience than Petra. And Remy couldn't say that she disapproved... She would have done the same thing, had it been her decision. Kai was allowing herself to be blinded by the desire for revenge. That kind of single-minded focus was dangerous, and it was a liability they couldn't afford on an operation like this.

Kai was still muttering invectives towards the redhead when Remy finally interjected.

"He did what was best for the _team_ ," she said, interrupting the tirade.

"Bullshit. That's total _bullshit_ ," Kai responded from the pilot's seat. "This is _not_ an assignment for a rookie! It should be _me_ going. I have the _right_ to be involved in this!"

"Kai... will you just listen to yourself? This is _not just_ about your personal vendetta. The Zenshou are a threat to the company as a whole. They're dangerous and they need to be dealt with carefully. You can't just go charging in, blades out and screaming."

"We'll see about that..."

At least... that's what it sounded like she'd said. Kai had muttered the words under her breath, and Remy doubted that they were really meant for her... but the mics on their headsets were sensitive and had picked up the ghost of a comment. Still... it hadn't _really_ been clear over the staticy electronics. Even so, Remy decided to pay a little more attention to her friend until they were safely back in Midgar.

* * *

"There's a freight truck leaving first thing in the morning, bound for Corel. It will take a bit longer than flying, but there's a rather large storm moving in from offshore. Large enough that if we wait for the scheduled supply run to Costa del Sol, our flight may end up delayed."

"We're... _driving_ across the mountains, sir?" Petra asked, a somewhat uncertain note in her voice.

"Yes. We are."

Petra seemed to forcibly bite back a groan. "Yes, sir..."

"You okay, rookie?" Reno asked, glancing over at her.

"O-oh... Yes, sir... I've just never been much for mountain roads..." the rookie replied, shaking her head, "I... get a little motion sick with all the up and down and back and forth."

"I thought you _grew up_ in the mountains..." the redhead replied, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, I grew up in the _canyons_. There's a difference." She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

"The trip to Corel should take approximately nine hours. From there, we'll be borrowing chocobos for the remainder of the journey," Veld continued.

Reno visibly cringed, but said nothing. Rude, however, couldn't quite cover up a faint snicker.

"Barring any unforeseen delays, we should arrive in Costa del Sol late tomorrow afternoon. We've been given permission to use President Shinra's vacation home as a base of operations... it's not far from the our target's meeting place. We'll use the following day to rest and prepare," the Turk leader said, "Petra, I want you inside the bar during the meeting."

"Me, sir?" the rookie asked, somewhat wide-eyed, and Reno grinned.

"Well... they _definitely_ know what Rude looks like by now... Probably Veld, too, since he was the president's personal escort the whole time we were in Wutai. Same goes for me, since I was with Rufus... and even if they somehow _didn't_ recognize me on sight, I don't exactly blend in with my surroundings real well. Bright red hair's never been the most subtle look. Last thing we wanna do is draw attention."

Veld nodded and unfolded a map of the resort town. "Your job will simply be to alert us when the Zenshou arrive and determine who they're there to meet. We will _not_ be confronting the Zenshou. Our objective is to identify their contact, and capture _him_. Rude, you'll cover the bar's back entrance. Reno and I will be watching either end of the main road out front, here and here," he said, tapping the corresponding locations on the map, "Once identified, we'll tail him to a secluded location and take him silently. We'll hold him at the President's villa until we can arrange transport back to Midgar."

"What about Petra's new friends?" Reno asked, nodding in the direction of the room the two men were currently locked inside.

"The security team from Junon can handle them," Veld answered, "They'll transport them at the earliest opportunity and hold them on the base for us. In the mean time... Rude, Petra, you're dismissed. Go and get something to eat. Reno... Tseng would like a word with you at your earliest convenience, and then you can join them."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied, reaching into his jacket for his PHS.

* * *

Tseng sat in quiet tranquility of his apartment, staring into the depths of his tea and doing his best to relax after the _very_ long day he'd had. So much of the team was committed at the moment, that virtually _all_ of the office minutia was now his responsibility... in addition to looking after his rookies. When one was only partially mobile, it was no easy set of tasks.

He'd dropped in on Medical before leaving for the night, only to be rebuked yet again by the acerbic mistress of _that_ domain, and refused an early release from captivity... which had thoroughly annoyed him, as his ankle felt _fine_. He would much rather have begun the tedious rehabilitation that was ahead of him, than spend yet more time with the joint immobilized, but Dr. Ward had been adamant that he needed another week... and had threatened to double his convalescence time if he continued to pester her about it.

She _had_ however, taken pity on him and told him that, so long as there continued to be no further pain by next Wednesday, she would remove the Leviathan-be-damned cast. He'd still be on crutches, but at least he could _finally_ start making some progress toward recovery.

Now, he was simply biding his time, waiting for Reno to call. He hadn't wanted to bother the younger Turk needlessly while they were still en route to Rocket Town... nor interfere with whatever they might need to tend to once they arrived... so he had asked Veld to simply instruct his protege to call him whenever he was free.

He was rapidly growing tired of waiting.

Which was why, when his accursed phone _did_ finally deign to ring, he all but pounced on it. Tseng quickly flipped the PHS open and answered the incoming call.

"Reno..." he said in a tone filled with far more relief than he'd intended to put into it.

"What's up, Boss? Somethin' goin' on back home? Veld said you wanted to talk to me soon as possible."

The Wutaiian Turk chuckled softly and leaned back into his armchair, relaxing.

"No. Nothing of note... aside, perhaps, from _me_ slowly losing my mind in the attempt to corral a flock of rookies with only one functioning leg while simultaneously maintaining the office. I... just wanted to check in. Have you departed Rocket Town yet?"

"Remy 'n Kai are on their way back... the rest of us kinda got sidetracked," his protege replied, and Tseng blinked in surprise. He'd expected them _all_ back sometime tomorrow.

"Doing what, precisely?" he asked.

"Those two Zenshou that Liam 'n Petra nabbed? They have a little meeting scheduled with the guy placin' the orders in a couple of days in Costa del Sol. We're gonna go see if we can... ya know... introduce ourselves."

Tseng smirked slightly. "Ah... well, that would certainly explain why Veld has yet to contact me regarding the change in plans. He's probably convinced that if I have to deal with Heidegger on my own one more time, I'll finally snap," he chuckled, before teasingly adding, "And he may not be wrong."

The executive had been a royal pain in Tseng's backside from the moment Veld had left that morning... which the Turk lieutenant _may_ have mentioned – repeatedly – when Veld had called to inform him that he'd arrived safely in Rocket Town. The harassment had driven him to leave the office the very _moment_ five o'clock had arrived... large pile of requisition forms be damned.

He heard the redhead snickering quietly on the other end of the line, and sighed.

"I suppose that means I will be holding down the fort a bit longer than expected, then," he mused, but then paused, and smiled faintly to himself, "... I wonder if Justinia would take that into account?"

"Heh... Boss, ya _know_ if ya keep buggin' her, she's just gonna make it worse for ya," Reno laughed.

"Hmph... I'm aware. I've _already_ been promised additional time on my sentence should I return to Medical without reason. I _had_ considered going behind her back to one of her subordinates... until I came to my senses and realized that I might not make it back alive if I dared."

The younger Turk snorted softly in amusement.

"Yeah... maybe don't do that," he snickered, but then turned more serious. "Uh... and... maybe have a talk with Kai when she gets home? I'm kinda worried about her."

Tseng frowned and took a sip of his tea before setting it aside.

"What happened?"

"She's just... _really_ fixated on the Zenshou. When me 'n her were pullin' Remy out, she stayed behind to tie up some loose ends. It was our former prisoner. The one that shot me. I don't know for sure what Kai did to her, but –"

"But she most certainly did _something_ , beyond simply silencing her," Tseng finished for him.

"Yeah. And she was _seriously_ ticked when I told her to head for home instead of comin' on the mission to Costa del Sol. She said some stuff before that, too, on the way here. I just kinda thinks she's... not in the best place right now. She's more interested in makin' 'em pay than stoppin' the thefts."

"I see," the Turk lieutenant replied. "Thank you for the advance warning. I'll deal with her when she arrives... after I've seen to Remy."

"Not to toss more on your plate, but Veld says you oughta teach me some Wutaiian," the redhead added, the grin plainly evident in his voice, "Ya know... in your non-existent free time."

Tseng snorted softly. "At the moment, I suspect all you would learn from me is a great deal of profanity."

"I'm good with that," the redhead laughed.

"I'm sure you are," Tseng dryly replied, "Be careful in Costa del Sol. I'll see you in a few days."

"Yeah. I will be," Reno said, "'Night, Boss."

"Good night, Reno."

Tseng ended the call and set his phone down on the coffee table. Learning of the new assignment had done little to assuage the familiar anxiety that had been swirling in the back of his mind, virtually since the moment he'd learned that his protege was being sent to Wutai... but hearing his voice had helped.

It was a difficult balancing act for him... knowingly sending the brilliant young Turk into mortal peril, while wanting nothing more than to keep the boy he'd all but adopted safe and protected. It didn't help that he'd come dangerously close to losing him to the Zenshou not once, but _twice_ in a relatively short span of time.

The reality, however... was that _this_ was precisely what he'd been training Reno to do. He'd plucked an untrained, undisciplined teenager from the Slums, and successfully turned him into a Turk, just as he'd intended to from the start. What he _hadn't_ planned on was his life becoming so intertwined with the redhead's. He was more than just another Turk... even more than just another family member. Reno was his protege. His successor. One day – perhaps sooner than even Tseng had realized – he would be his equal. But perhaps more importantly, Reno was his legacy.

Tseng never planned on having children of his own. Raising a family simply wasn't something that fit into his life, _or_ into Viridia's. Reno was, in all likelihood, as close as he would ever have to an heir of any kind, and he was a little surprised to realize that... that mattered to him.

And as far as he was concerned, he couldn't have chosen a more apt pupil if he'd tried. Reno was everything he could have hoped for in a protege... which was what made letting him spread his wings and become what he was meant to be both intensely rewarding and objectively terrifying. Turks, by the very fact that they _were_ Turks, tended to have short lifespans, on average. There were always exceptions – something he prayed would be true for Reno – but the odds were overwhelmingly against them. During Tseng's tenure as a Turk, only one of his brethren had ever survived long enough to actually retire... and so many, both young _and_ experienced Turks, had been lost.

Tseng sighed, shaking himself from his momentary reverie, and retrieved his tea from where he'd left it, taking a sip. He grimaced slightly when he found that it had gone cold in the interim.

* * *

Reno tucked his PHS back into his pocket and made his way outside.

"Everything okay?" a voice asked from the shadows to his left, and the redhead jumped, startled.

"For _fuck's_ sake, Rude..." he groaned, shaking his head before snickering, "Ya know, I'm _used_ to Tseng poppin' outta nowhere for no particular reason other than the fact that he's secretly a sadistic bastard... I'm _not_ used to _you_ doin' it to me."

Rude chuckled and stepped out onto the path that led through the cottage's front garden.

"And yeah, everything's fine," Reno added, answering the question he'd been asked, "Tseng just wanted to check in. Thought Veld told you 'n the rookie to fuck off 'n get somethin' to eat."

Rude shrugged. "Told Petra to go save us all a table at the tavern. Figured I'd keep you company on the walk over."

The redhead grinned and fell into step beside his friend. They made their way down the town's main road, towards the little tavern that served as restaurant, bar, _and_ inn to the tiny village.

"Heh... I always forget how few dining options there are around here..." Reno commented, looking around.

"Small town," his friend shrugged. He smirked slightly, "Besides... who needs restaurants when you've got a weekly town potluck?"

"A what now?" the redhead queried, one slender eyebrow rising in curiosity. Rude grinned.

"It's when everyone makes a dish and brings it out to share with everyone else. They do it every Sunday. At least they did when I lived here. I _assume_ they still do it."

Reno stopped dead in his tracks. "... Why the HELL don't _we_ have that?" he asked, eyes wide, and Rude laughed.

"Because you and Tseng _can't_ cook, Remy doesn't _like_ to cook, and Kai would probably drag us all off into the wilderness to catch our dinners before we could actually eat them."

"Yeah... fair point," the redhead sniggered, resuming course towards the tavern. "Still sounds pretty cool, though. I never knew that was a thing."

"It was always my favorite day of the week," Rude chuckled. "Dad was never much of a gourmand. Liked to eat the same six dinners every _other_ day of the week... on schedule. Monday was always fried chicken. Tuesday was always steak and potatoes. Sundays were when I got to experiment."

"Heh... so... What are you doin' _this_ Sunday?" Reno asked, "I mean... assumin' nothin' goes horribly wrong and we're not chasing these assholes across half the continent by then."

"... I take it you have a suggestion?" the bald Turk chuckled. Reno shrugged.

"Well... we could start those cooking lessons..."

Rude paused, eyeing the younger man and smirked. "Are you really _serious_ about wanting to learn?"

Reno rolled his eyes and huffed. "Why would I keep bringin' it up if I wasn't serious?" he replied, and grinned teasingly at him, "Come on, man... Weren't you the one tellin' me just this mornin' that I'm not a kid anymore? Teach me how to adult!"

His friend laughed and slung an arm around his shoulders, resuming course towards the inn.

"Okay... first lesson. 'Adult' isn't a verb."

* * *

It was dark by the time they landed in Costa del Sol. Kai glanced out at the moonlit docks near the port's helipad. The seas were calm, and the breeze blowing inland was warm. A number of parties were still in full swing down on the beach, the sand lit by torches and fire dancers. She glanced into the back of the aircraft and found Remy gazing back at her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked the injured Turk.

"Well enough. The doctor in Wutai gave me an ample supply of pain killers for the return trip... I think I'll make it."

The diminutive Turk stretched her arms over her head and bit back a yawn.

"What about _you_?" Remy asked.

"Just... tired."

Remy frowned slightly. "Perhaps we stop for the night. I'm the only one out of the entire Wutai team that's had anything even remotely resembling a proper rest... and even _I_ wouldn't mind a bed right now."

"You sure?" Kai asked, "I mean... I'm beat, yeah, but I'm good for a few more hours. Costa del Sol to Midgar's a pretty straightforward flight..."

Remy considered the offer, but ultimately shook her head. "As much as I'm looking forward to getting home... I think we could both use some peace, quiet, and sleep. As I said... I have enough painkillers to keep me comfortable for awhile."

"Well... if you're _sure_ , I honestly can't say I wouldn't mind a little shut eye," Kai replied, "You wait here. I'll run into town and see what the local inn's got available."

Kai hopped down to the ground and slid the door shut behind her, leaving the injured Turk on her own for the moment... and smirked slightly to herself. _That_ had been almost _too_ easy. She hadn't even had to suggest staying the night... Remy had broached the subject _for_ her. Part one of her plan was complete... time to move on to part two. She _was_ joining this mission, and she _was_ going to make those bastards pay.

~end chapter 72~


	73. Plans Devolve

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 73: Plans Devolve**

 **by Desha**

Tseng had barely made it off of the elevator on Friday morning when a very familiar voice greeted him in a very familiar manner.

" _Where_ have you been?" Heidegger demanded, storming up to the injured Turk. The vein on the man's forehead was already visibly throbbing, and Tseng briefly wondered how someone who bellowed as much as the executive tended to hadn't yet stroked out. He mentally sighed and forced himself _not_ to point out that he was actually walking into the office nearly an hour before the work day had even officially started. Instead, he plastered a less antagonistic expression on his face, and looked over at his superior.

"Is there something I can do for you, sir?" he asked, keeping his voice even and calm. Heidegger was clearly _already_ in a bad mood – though that seemed to be a chronic state for him, anyway – and the best way to diffuse the executive's temper was to keep _his_ in check.

"I want a full report on the mission in Costa del Sol. I'm meeting with the Board at eight o'clock sharp, and I want to assure the President that the Zenshou threat is _finally_ being dealt with, after so many months of your team's incompetent fuck ups!"

Tseng had to physically bite his tongue, to the point that he tasted blood. How in Leviathan's name did the son of a bitch already know about _that_? Veld, he supposed, had updated him at some point... probably in the hopes of _preventing_ the man from hounding his protege further by minimally keeping him in the loop.

"Sir, the team has not even _arrived_ in Costa del Sol and likely won't until closer to the end of the day... There's nothing yet to report."

Heidegger scowled at him and had already taken a step towards him, finger poised to jab him in the chest as he berated him, when the elevator chimed and the doors behind Tseng opened again. He heard a faint snort of contempt.

"Don't you have _anything_ better to do than harass your subordinates?" a snide voice inquired.

"Sir, I was requesting an update on –" Heidegger began, only to be swiftly and apologetically cut off.

"Frankly, I don't care. I have a very packed schedule today, and Tseng is _presently_ supposed to be meeting with _me_. Your update can wait." With that, Rufus strolled past both of them, impatiently snapping his fingers at the Turk in a demand that he follow. Tseng repressed the smirk that threatened to make its way across his lips and hurried to comply as quickly as his crutches would permit, following the vice president... who by then had already shown himself into the Turk lieutenant's office.

Tseng closed the door behind him, shutting the now fuming executive out and chuckled softly.

"Strange. I don't recall you requesting a meeting this morning, sir..." he said, somewhat teasingly.

"You should keep on top of your schedule better, Tseng," Rufus replied, taking a seat, and smiling smugly up at him. "We've had this meeting planned for nearly thirty seconds, now... What did that useless lump of lard want, anyway?"

"A mission update. Veld is is overseeing an operation in Costa del Sol to identify the person or persons responsible for siccing the Zenshou on our weapons stores. But there's nothing to actually report yet, as the team is still en route."

"And the operation in Wutai?" the vice president queried.

"Successful. Remy was extracted without significant incident, and is presently in transit back to Midgar with Kai. The others remained in Rocket Town with Veld to assist with the new mission."

"The Slum Rat isn't back yet, then. I suppose it's just as well..." Rufus commented, studying his nails for a moment, "I didn't _particularly_ want to go to Costa del Sol today, anyway..."

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "Sir?"

"That's why I came down. Father wishes me to meet with one of our investors. Apparently, he feels I owe him an _apology_. In _person_ , if you can believe it... You remember Silas Vasquez, don't you? That obsequious little toad who conspired with my father to marry me off to his already-engaged daughter?"

The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly.

"Yes, sir. I remember him," he confirmed, "Though that was several months ago. The President is only just now demanding you apologize?"

"Oh, not for _that_ incident," Rufus replied, waving his hand dismissively, "Silas was in town for the quarterly stakeholders meeting at the Silver Swan last week. I... _may_ have relayed the story to the other investors at the meeting, along with some rather scathing commentary regarding what I thought of being stuck with _him_ as a father-in-law. He didn't find it quite as amusing as the rest of us, and stormed out before lunch was over."

"Sir..." Tseng sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

"I dislike the man. He's not even _really_ that important an investor... but he's been friends with Father for years, and so, or course, he gets invited to all of the blasted meetings," he paused for a moment, pondering something. "Ah... speaking of the investors, that reminds me. The new CEO of Van Haus Holdings requested that I give the Turks his personal regards. Forgive the delay... I've been rather busy of late."

" _New_ CEO? Has Shay's brother finally been placed in charge of the family business?" Tseng asked, somewhat surprised by the news, and Rufus nodded in confirmation.

"Yes... his father decided to retire earlier this year, and Esteban has officially taken the reins of the company."

Tseng hadn't had any contact with the late Turk's family since the funeral... not that that was unusual. Most Turks with family outside of the Company did their best not to intermingle the two. Even Veld had a long-standing agreement with his wife not to discuss his job at home if it wasn't necessary, though Esme was perfectly warm and inviting to any Turk who happened to turn up on her doorstep. It was just... easier... that way. So many things they were forced to do as a matter of their job were difficult, if not impossible, to explain to outsiders. Thus the saying that "no one knows a Turk like another Turk".

That didn't stop him from wondering, sometimes, how the families of his lost comrades were doing after their death. He did occasionally see Cissnei's former guardian – the only other family the young woman could really claim – around the building, but she always seemed a bit intimidated by him, so Tseng had never approached her. Others, though, he had no connection to save their mutual loss. Some of Luca's family lived in Midgar, for instance... but Tseng doubted a phone call from him would have been welcome, as many had been openly hostile towards the Turks at his funeral.

But the Von Haus family was very affluent and widely known by the general public. Not to the same level as the Shinras, but news of their comings and goings certainly tended to get around. Tseng was a little surprised he hadn't heard anything about Shay's brother's new position.

"He seems quite pleased with the promotion," Rufus continued, oblivious to the senior Turk's silent musings, "Since taking over, he's already brokered a deal to purchase a rather _large_ stake in the Mythril Mines. He has a proposal to work with Shinra Company in developing sonic drilling technology to improve output. I have to admit, I'm giving the idea serious consideration. It's not really our _usual_ sort of project, but it could be quite lucrative for all involved."

"And I'm sure having the opportunity to order Scarlet to work on one of _your_ pet projects has no influence at all on the decision," Tseng chuckled softly.

"Of course not," Rufus replied with a smirk. "In any event... when the Slum Rat _does_ decide to finally come into the office for once, let him know that we'll be leaving for Costa del Sol at the earliest opportunity. Much as I dislike the thought of swallowing my pride, Father was more annoyed than usual... and I'm just not in the mood to argue about it with him right now. I get quite enough of that lately regarding our public relations issues."

"Yes, sir... I'll inform him of the request as soon as he returns."

Rufus nodded, but made no particular indication that he was ready to leave just yet.

"Was... there something else, sir?" Tseng ventured.

"I'm curious..." Rufus said, in an offhanded tone, "Just how close _is_ that obnoxious little pervert to being ready to _truly_ take on the role you're so ardently training him for?"

The Turk lieutenant cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" he responded, but Rufus merely shook his head.

"No particular reason. It just seems that he's been far more... involved... of late."

Tseng chuckled softly. "He's more involved with team leadership because that's how new leaders learn, sir," he said, "Reno still has a long way to go before he's running the team... even as only second in command. He won't be ready for the job for quite some time yet."

"Good. Because _I'm_ not quite ready to have _both_ of my primary security options constantly tied up in management on a regular basis."

"You could consider requesting one of the others from time to time," Tseng pointed out, and the vice president sneered in distaste.

"None of the others have yet demonstrated to me that they're qualified," he insisted, and got to his feet. "Should one of them ever manage such an accomplishment, _then_ I'll consider it."

"And just how would they go about demonstrating that, sir?" the Wutaiian Turk queried. Rufus just flashed him a slight smirk.

"The Slum Rat isn't afraid to tell me to go to hell when it's warranted, and neither are you," he replied, heading for the door, "I expect no less of anyone _else_ before they begin to earn my trust."

* * *

Remy winced as she tried, and failed, to sit up. The skin across her back felt tight and sticky, and as she slowly rolled herself over, the gauze bandages that were wrapped around her torso pulled loose from the now-dried blood that had oozed from the deep welts overnight. She bit back a curse, and forced herself more or less upright. The bed on the opposite side of the room was surprisingly empty.

"Kai?" she called out, frowning. Where would she have disappeared to so early in the morning? The helicopter, she supposed. Half the reason Remy had been so quick to suggest that they stay the night in the resort town was that she suspected that Kai would try to talk Tseng into sending her back to assist the field team, if they arrived home soon enough. Getting back in the air at the break of dawn would ensure that there was ample time for a return trip.

The other half of the reason had been that she had _hoped_ sleeping on the matter would allow her friend to view things with fresh eyes in the morning. Kai was not an unreasonable person... just impulsive at times. If she had some time to look at the situation logically rather than emotionally, Remy was confident that sense would prevail.

Before she could think much further on the matter, however, the door to their room at the inn swung inward, and Kai, stepped inside, carrying a brown paper bag in one hand. She paused upon seeing the other woman awake, and sighed, closing the door behind her.

"You're not going to believe it," Kai said, shaking her head as she set the bag on the little table in the corner of their room. Remy raised a somewhat suspicious eyebrow.

"Believe what?" she asked.

"I went out to prep the copter and get us some breakfast... and we're grounded. Some idiot rammed a forklift into the tail rotor last night. The dock personnel are still trying to sort out how it happened."

Remy raised a suspicious eyebrow and frowned. "Some idiot" just _happened_ to smash into a vital component of an aircraft no one should have been anywhere near last night, preventing them from leaving? She may have been on a fairly high dose of pain medication at the moment, be she had a hard time buying that the incident was as "accidental" as Kai claimed.

"How long before it can be fixed?" she asked, and Kai shrugged.

"It's going to be awhile. The mechanical team at the port doesn't have a replacement in storage, so it's being sent from Junon on the afternoon ferry, since we've already missed the morning one. Then they have to install and test. We _may_ be here another night... depending on when they can get to it. They're a little backed up right now." She opened up the bag and pulled out two wrapped items, holding one out to the injured Turk. "Breakfast burrito?"

Remy grudgingly accepted the food, and held her tongue. There was no doubt in her mind that them being stuck here, quite possibly until tomorrow, was _not_ the result of bad luck. Nor did she know how Kai planned to explain it to Veld when he and the others arrived later today, because there was no way in the Nine Hells _he_ was going to believe a story that flimsy, either.

* * *

Rude glanced back over his shoulder, and chuckled quietly. The morning had gone far more quickly than he'd expected it to. They'd made good time through the mountains, and, by lunchtime, had found themselves in the little mining village of Corel. They'd taken a break, and then, just before one in the afternoon, Rude had gotten the opportunity to see his friend's deeply ingrained dislike of chocobos firsthand.

Reno was _not_ what one might call a good rider. Or a halfway decent rider. Or even a passingly _competent_ rider. Hell, Rude was a little shocked his friend wasn't lying in a ravine with his chocobo warking at him laughingly from the top of a cliff. Reno did so _many_ things well... it was always disconcerting, watching him struggle with this. He tugged slightly on the reins of his own mount and dropped back a little, allowing the redhead to come up beside him.

"Not _one_ word," Reno said through gritted teeth as he clung to the bird's neck. Rude snorted softly, but didn't comment. The younger Turk sighed. "How much farther is it?"

"Couple hours, probably," Rude replied, and Reno didn't even attempt to suppress his groan of dismay.

"Have I ever mentioned that I _hate_ these Ifrit-forsaken things?" he muttered.

"Reno... your hatred for chocobos is known far and wide at this point," the bald Turk snickered, grinning at the thoroughly annoyed redhead.

"Shut up..."

"You know, if you weren't practically choking the poor thing to death, it might be nicer to you..." Rude pointed out, only to receive a glare from his friend.

"Yeah, well, if it hadn't tried to toss me over the side half a mile back, maybe I wouldn't be holdin' onto its neck like my fuckin' life depended on it. If I go, I'm takin' this asshole _with_ me."

Rude heard a quiet giggle from just ahead of them and turned his gaze forward again to find that Petra had stopped and was waiting for the pair to catch up.

"Um... sir...?" she began, as they drew even with her.

"I fucking _hate_ chocobos," Reno deadpanned, by way of explanation.

"He was traumatized as a child," Rude teasingly added.

"Ya know what? Fuck you, Rude... You wouldn't like 'em either if you got attacked by one as a kid!" the redhead scowled. "These fuckers have it out for me. Every last one of 'em."

Rude snorted again in amusement, and smirked at Petra. "A miniature chocobo nipped him on the arm when he was seven, and now he has this whole complex about them."

"It's not a _complex_..." the younger Turk shot back, "They legit go out of their way to torture me every time I get near one."

Rude grinned back in response. "Because you _tell_ them that you _hate_ them," he laughed, "They're not stupid, Reno. They understand what you're saying... if not the actual words then, at the very least, the tone."

" _Ugggh_... Can we _not_ get into this again?" Reno said, rolling his eyes, "Chocobos hate me, the feeling's mutual, end of story."

Rude chuckled, but obligingly spurred his mount onward in an effort to catch up to Veld, who, by then, had gained quite a bit of distance on them.

The first time he'd witnessed Reno trying to ride a chocobo had been a little like happening upon a train wreck in progress. He hadn't been able to look away, even though it had _definitely_ been painful to watch. It had been almost two year ago now, and the pair of them, along with Kai, had been dispatched to Kalm to handle a protest they'd learned was going to be happening at the Kalm reactor... and Kai being Kai, the senior Turk had suggested the chocobos.

It had started out innocently enough... with Reno complaining every chance he got about their method of transport, and Kai teasing him for it... but by the time they'd reached their destination, Rude was genuinely surprised Reno had still been in one piece.

Well... more or less one piece. About three quarters of the way there, the very large, rust-colored bird Kai had put him on had taken the opportunity to hurl him bodily from its back. The redhead had ended up with a fractured wrist, following the rough landing. It wasn't a serious injury, by any means – just a hairline fracture that had needed splinting and a dose of painkillers – but it had certainly put him in a foul mood for the remainder of their assignment. Particularly after they'd been forced to visit a local clinic as their first stop of the day to have it seen to.

The return trip hadn't really gone much better, to be honest.

The younger Turk had improved _slightly_ since then, but Rude had a feeling he was never going to be _good_ at this.

After a few minutes, Reno and Petra had largely caught up to the Turk leader as well. As the reached the trail's crest, he called for a halt. Rude gazed down from the vantage point, and could easily make out the sight of Costa del Sol in the distance.

"Oh, _thank_ Ifrit..." Reno breathed, looking downward at the lowlands at the bottom of the trail, "Flat ground..." He straightened slightly and urged his chocobo, somewhat awkwardly, over towards Veld. "So... what's the plan? I'm assumin' we're not just gonna ride into town like we own the place 'n set up shop at the villa when we know the Zenshou might be hangin' around already..."

"No. We'll head down to the foothills and spilt up. Approach from different directions, try not to draw attention, and reconvene at the villa. We'll turn the chocobos loose before we reach town."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied.

* * *

Kai had been watching for something. Oh, she'd been doing her best to be subtle about it... peeking through the window when she thought Remy had fallen asleep, or "stepping out" for a moment or two ostensibly to check on the status of their repairs... but Remy knew clandestine surveillance when she saw it. And she was pretty sure she'd figured out _exactly_ what her teammate was watching _for_.

While the diminutive Turk had been out on one of her trips to the port, Remy had painfully hauled herself from the bed and stolen a glance out the window. Their room didn't have much of a view. It faced away from the ocean, as well as the palm-strewn interior of the resort town. It didn't even have an especially pleasing view of the the main thoroughfare for people-watching. What it _did_ have good view of, however, was the Shinra family villa.

And, if past experience was anything to go by, the Shinra villa would be where Veld would opt to run tonight's operation. She was waiting for the rest of the team.

It hadn't escaped Remy's notice, either, that Kai hadn't updated Veld to let him know that they were presently stranded... at least not in the injured Turk's presence. She supposed she could have done so when she'd disappeared from their room every once in awhile... but Remy suspected that wasn't the case. Kai was hoping to catch the Turk leader by surprise, and be allowed to join the mission... since she was here anyway.

To that end, Remy herself was more than mildly upset. She was hurt and in pain, and all she really wanted right now was to go home... and Kai's zeal for selfish vengeance was preventing that. But more than that, she was worried. Kai _wasn't_ thinking clearly... and Veld was going to be even more angry with her than _Remy_ was when he found out. So much so that she was desperately wishing she had her PHS right now so that she could let him know what he was walking into.

Unfortunately, said PHS had been taken by the Zenshou who'd captured her, along with everything _else_ she'd had on her at the time. Remy was utterly useless to anyone at the moment. She couldn't even _move_ without aggravating her injuries, and Kai was her only connection to anyone outside of this room. With no small amount of trepidation, she suddenly realized that she was... once again... a prisoner.

* * *

Tseng frowned at the clock and tried calling Kai's phone again. It rang through to her voicemail, just had it had done on the previous six attempts. The helicopter was hours overdue by now, and the Turk lieutenant was becoming concerned. The last message he'd received from Kai had stated that, due the the late hour of their arrival, they'd be spending the night in Costa del Sol... with plans to continue on at daybreak. If they'd left when they'd intended to, they ought to have been in Midgar well before the lunch hour.

It was now going on two in the afternoon. There had been no updates.

And he had a pretty good idea why that might be. He knew Kai well. And he knew the single-minded drive she could have for a task. He also knew just how deeply affected she'd been by recent events. He... probably should have seen something like this coming.

With a resigned sigh, he switched contacts, and dialed Veld's phone instead. It took several rings before the call was picked up.

"Yes?" his mentor answered.

"Apologies for the interruption, sir... but I thought you should know. Kai and Remy never arrived, and Kai isn't answering her phone. The last I heard from them, they'd stopped to rest in Costa del Sol for the night."

"You've heard _nothing_?" he replied.

"No, sir. Not a word. And... Reno warned me that Kai was, shall we say, not exactly _pleased_ with being sent home when she learned of tonight's operation."

Veld was silent for a moment. "You think she's still here."

It wasn't a question... merely a statement of fact.

"I... suspect that _may_ be the case, sir."

"Goddammit!" the Turk leader swore under his breath, "Just what I need... Reno!"

Tseng heard the distinct sound of a chocobo warking angrily some distance away from his mentor's phone and a moment later, his protege's voice could be heard faintly as well, though he couldn't quite make out the words.

"Change of plans," said Veld. "Kai and Remy may still be in Costa del Sol. The rest of us will proceed as planned. _You_ find _them_. Bring them to the villa."

"Yes, sir," Tseng heard the redhead respond.

He did _not_ envy his friend when Veld got ahold of her.

* * *

Reno was... pissed. No, he was _way_ beyond pissed. He'd given Kai an order, and she'd deliberately disobeyed it. A month ago, it probably wouldn't have bothered him nearly as much... but a month ago, he'd still considered himself the low man on the totem pole. Aside from the rookies... well, and Sykes... he technically had the least amount of seniority of anyone, and at the time, he hadn't had the first clue that Tseng intended to promote him.

Now, though... things were different.

He _did_ know, now... and Kai did, too. And she'd _still_ brushed him off like he was still a Shiva-be-damned rookie. The redhead was a little surprised to find out just how much that rankled. Until his mentor had blindsided him with the whole successor thing, he'd never really considered himself to have any kind of _real_ authority unless he was leading a mission. And, he supposed, he technically still _didn't_ – beyond what Veld had granted him in telling him to pick the team – but the casual dismissal irritated him.

And, if he was being totally honest... it stung a little, too. If nothing else, it reinforced his own insecurities about being in command. If it had been Tseng giving that order, or if Veld had done so personally, Kai wouldn't have _dared_ ignore it. But, because it was _him_...

Well... he was forever stuck as her "baby Turkling".

As Reno neared the shore, he dismounted and released the chocobo's reigns.

"Great. We're here... Now fuck off," he muttered, turning the animal loose. It warked with what he could only describe as an indignant tone and pointedly snapped at him before trotting off, back toward the mountains. The redhead rolled his eyes, "Yeah, fuck you, too, ya mutant feather duster..."

He didn't care _what_ Rude thought. Those damn birds were nothing but a pain in the ass. He strolled, unhurried, along the beach. All four of them had switched to more casual attire than their uniforms before setting out from Rocket Town. At the moment, any one of them would be easily overlooked as just another tourist enjoying what the resort town had to offer... so long as they didn't draw attention to themselves.

As he neared the port, he frowned, catching sight of a familiar helicopter, with its Shinra Company logo shining in the afternoon sunlight. Even from a distance he could see that the tail rotor was thoroughly trashed.

"The fuck...?" he murmured, eyeing the aircraft. That sure as _hell_ hadn't happened while they were airborne. They'd have been lucky to land it in one piece with damage like that. No wonder Remy and Kai were still here. Maybe she hadn't ignored orders after all...

Several possibilities went through his mind. Had there been an accident during refueling? Or had the Zenshou seen the copter and attacked? Or... had it been sabotaged?

He didn't think the Zenshou would attack directly. Not unless someone had provoked them... though to be fair, he wouldn't put it past Kai to do a little provoking, given the opportunity. True, they'd taken Remy prisoner... but that was because she and Rude had gotten caught spying on them. In all of their other run-ins to date, the Zenshou had never been the first to attack. Hell, they'd given Rufus the chance to just walk away from the attempted theft he'd stumbled upon, and only gone after him when he refused. Even their daring break-in at headquarters had been conducted with stealth in mind over confrontation. They certainly weren't _looking_ for a fight... but they'd shown they wouldn't back down from one, either.

So... that left either an accident or an intentional act of sabotage. He _hoped_ it wasn't the latter... because he didn't think the Zenshou would do anything that would result in the Turks hanging around town when they had a meeting scheduled. If someone _had_ destroyed that rotor intentionally, it almost had to have been Kai. Which would also mean that she had, without a doubt, deliberately disobeyed an order.

But insubordination, if that's what this was, was for Veld to deal with. Right now, Reno's job was to find the two missing Turks.

* * *

Rude reached the villa first and calmly let himself inside. It had been awhile since he'd been there, but the tropical vacation home hadn't changed much since the last time he'd visited. Unfortunately, he wasn't here to enjoy the luxury. The first thing he did upon entering and re-securing the door was make his way up to to the roof. The building's rooftop was the epitome of high-end living, complete with a fully stocked bar under the cover of a palm frond shelter, a sitting area with a hot tub, and its own private helipad.

But what Rude was interested in at the moment was the view.

The Shinra Villa looked down over almost the entirety of the town's main thoroughfare... including providing him with a very good angle to scout out Bar del Sol near the town center, as well as keep tabs on who was coming and going near the villa itself. It didn't take him long to spot Petra making her way up the street.

The town was bustling today... no shock, really. Costa del Sol didn't seem to have an "off" season. The vacation destination was located at a virtually ideal latitude, that made it perfect to visit no matter the time of year. The only truly bad weather happened during typhoon season, and even _that_ seemed to largely spare the resort area, generally making landfall much farther south. So far as anyone below knew, today was just another beautiful day in paradise.

Which, he supposed, made it ideal for more than just vacationing. Strangers hardly drew any notice at all, when most of the population was transient to begin with. No one would bat an eye if the odd Wutaiian showed up for a day or two and then vanished without a trace... _or_ the odd Turk, for that matter. The locals were used to tourists coming and going.

Costa del Sol had been on his radar for awhile now as a possible Zenshou hotspot... but aside from a few anecdotal comments from the people he'd interviewed, he'd never found conclusive _proof_ that either the thieves or their intermediary were using it as part of their operation... and with no solid lead, he was just flailing around in the dark. He was, in fact, a bit jealous that Petra and Liam had lucked into just the lead he'd been looking for for months now.

A second familiar figure caught his eye on the road leading to the villa, and Rude stepped back from the overlook, and made his way downstairs just as Petra was stepping inside.

"Wow..." she breathed, looking around at the place, and Rude grinned.

"Real low-key, isn't it?" he chuckled, with a hint of sarcasm. The Shinra Villa wasn't ostentatious or overdone, by any means... but it was more clear that the owners had money. Before she could answer, Veld, too, arrived, shutting the door firmly behind him.

"Let's get started, shall we?" the Turk leader said, and Rude frowned in confusion.

"We're still waiting on Reno, sir," he pointed out, thinking that the senior Turk had simply assumed he was elsewhere in the villa... but Veld shook his head.

"Reno will be delayed. Tseng called with some... _unexpected_... news, and I sent him to deal with it. Hopefully he won't be _substantially_ delayed, but we shouldn't put off our reconnaissance and other preparations, in the event he _does_ get held up longer than I expect him to be."

"What's going on, sir?" Petra asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

"Possibly nothing. Possibly a very serious problem. Either way, I thought it best to check into it immediately. Apparently Kai and Remy are behind schedule arriving in Midgar and have been out of communication since landing at the Costa del Sol port last night."

Rude felt a chill run down his spine. "Could they have run into the Zenshou?"

"I don't know. There are a number of possibilities... They may have simply had difficulties and rerouted to Junon, for all I know," Veld replied, "That's what Reno has gone to determine."

Rude glanced over at Petra, sharing a look of concern with the younger rookie.

* * *

They hadn't been difficult to find. In fact, Kai hadn't gone out of her way to _hide_ their location at all. It had been as simple as asking port maintenance where he could find the helicopter pilot. He'd pointed the Turk to one of the smaller hotels near the beach, and the receptionist at the front desk had given them the exact room number he needed, along with a spare key when he'd explained just who he was.

Reno was presently standing in front of said room, debating as to whether or not he should give Kai the benefit of the doubt and knock, or just walk right in. In the end, he decided that, even if this _wasn't_ some idiotic scheme she'd concocted to conveniently put herself in position for some more payback, he was still pissed at her for not answering her goddamned PHS when he'd tried to call her ten minutes ago.

He stuck the key in the lock, and pushed the door open.

Remy looked up at him, startled from a light doze... first in concern, and then in abject relief.

"Reno..." she breathed, pushing herself upright on the bed. The redhead hurried over to her.

"Hey," he said, grinning, and noting that her hand had slid beneath the pillow the moment she'd realized she had unexpected company, "That a gun, or you just happy to see me?"

"Both," the injured Turk answered, drawing the weapon from its hiding place, and setting it on the bedside table. "A girl just can't be too careful these days."

Reno snorted a quiet laugh.

"What the hell happened to the copter?" he asked, settling on the edge of the bed. "Backend looks like a behemoth chewed it. And where the fuck's Kai?"

Remy scowled. "Kai _claimed_ that one of the dock workers hit it with a forklift last night. I'm... not entirely convinced."

"Tch... if a forklift did that kinda damage, the asshole must've rammed it about twenty times at full speed. I mean... I'm no expert, but I have a hard time buyin' that a minor collision did _that_. Rotor's straight up _mangled_."

"I... was _afraid_ that might be the case," the senior Turk sighed, shaking her head. "I never should have suggested stopping for the night. But I thought if we flew straight through she'd talk Tseng into letting her turn right around and go back. She's here for the Zenshou. I'm sure of it."

"Where is she now?" Reno asked, sharing her concern.

"I don't know. She brought breakfast... and then left again. Then she brought back lunch an hour ago... perhaps two hours ago? I've been dozing off quite a bit... the Leviathan-be-damned painkillers. I haven't seen her since."

Reno groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He'd hoped Kai would be here so he could chew her out and kick her ass over to the villa... but now it sounded like he was going to be paying hide and seek with the senior Turk. Finally, he stood up.

"You okay to move? Veld told me to bring you two back to the Shinra Villa..."

"It's not far. I think I can manage with help," Remy replied, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Reno smirked and dropped down to his knees.

"Hop on," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her, "I'm givin' free rides today."

Remy snorted faintly in laughter and took him up on the offer, securing herself on his back. He lifted her, struggling slightly as he pushed himself upright again, and headed for the door. Remy pressed her cheek against the back of his neck, nuzzling him softly.

"Remind me... why did I break things off with you?" she asked, catching him be surprise.

"Because... you said you didn't want to risk fallin' in love with me?" he ventured, somewhat cautiously. The comment was a little out of nowhere... but then again, the woman _was_ on some pretty strong medication.

"Hmm..." Remy hummed softly, and said nothing further.

* * *

Kai watched from her position at a nearby the rooftop bar and grill as Reno entered the hotel room she'd rented... and then exited again a few minutes later, carrying Remy piggyback. She watched him make his way quickly down an alley and up a side-street, avoiding the more public areas of the town, before finally slipping into the back door of the Shinra Villa... where she'd seen the other arrive a short while ago as well.

Good. She'd hated the thought of leaving Remy to fend for herself. In fact, she'd been trying to think of a way to lead them to her without giving herself away for the better part of an hour now. Reno had beaten her to it and seen to their teammate's safety on his own.

Which left _her_ free to do what she'd come here to do. All she had to do now... was wait for them to show themselves.

~end Chapter 73~


	74. Midnight Fiasco

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 74: Midnight Fiasco**

 **by Desha**

Remy slid from Reno's back and down onto the plush leather sofa in the villa's main sitting room, and immediately found herself surrounded.

"Remy!" Petra cried, hurrying over to her. Rude, too, followed suit, and moments later was joined by Veld. The injured Turk blinked, disconcerted, not having expected quite that sort of reception.

"Where is Kai?" Veld demanded of the redhead, and and Remy could hear the barely repressed rage in his voice. Reno shook his head.

"Haven't found her yet."

"I don't think you will," Remy interjected before Veld could continue, and sighed, glancing up at the Turk leader, "She's in wind, sir. She made sure I would be alright until one of you came for me, and vanished. She's been watching for you, she almost certainly knows you're here by now, and she's not going to come out of hiding until she's ready to make her move on the Zenshou. I'd stake my life on it."

The Turk leader frowned and turned toward the window, gazing out into the sunny street that ran alongside the house.

"... Sir?" Reno ventured, "Should I keep lookin', or –"

"No. If Kai doesn't _want_ to be found, we're not going to find her. We'll have to wait until she shows herself. Right now, we have more urgent matters to attend to. In less than nine hours, our target will be meeting with the Zenshou at Bar del Sol. We have preparations to make." He turned back to Reno. "Update Tseng on what's going on and tell him to be ready to join me in speaking with Kai the moment we're all back in Midgar."

"Uh... yes, sir," Reno responded, and pulled his PHS out of his jacket pocket before adjourning to the next room to make the phone call.

"Rude, you have surveillance sites picked out?" the Turk leader continued, and the bald Turk nodded. "Good. Get Remy settled in and then keep an eye on things. Petra, you and I are going to go over what _you_ will be doing tonight."

* * *

Reno slowly exhaled, and flipped his phone open. A sense of dread had inexplicably filled him the moment Veld had ordered him to call Tseng, and even as he dialed, he wasn't entirely certain where it was coming from. Maybe it was just the fact that he was basically calling to inform his mentor that his best friend was due one hell of a formal reprimand when they got back. Or maybe it was just the feeling that he was ratting her out.

Somewhere around the third ring, he realized it was neither.

What was really bothering him was the fear that he'd failed. Kai was under _his_ command on the Wutai mission, and Veld had given him the authority to order her return to Midgar. That she'd ignored him... well, to be honest, he wasn't sure if that was Kai's deep-seeded need for vengeance, or his own ineffectiveness as a leader.

"Reno?" Tseng's voice answered a moment later, and the redhead very nearly choked on his words.

"H-hey, Boss..." he finally managed.

"What's wrong?" his mentor asked, and Reno cringed slightly. He'd never been very good at hiding things from the senior Turk. Not that he really made a habit of it... but Tseng could _always_ tell.

"So... Veld wanted me to let you know that him 'n you are gonna be havin' a little chat with Kai when we all get back to Midgar."

Tseng was silent for several seconds.

"... I see," he replied, "You've found them, then, I take it?"

"Sorta," the redhead answered, running a hand through his hair, "I mean... we found Remy. She's okay. But Kai... tch. She took off 'n went radio silent. We're pretty sure she's somewhere in town, but she's layin' low, waitin' on the Zenshou. Um... also the copter's trashed."

"Excuse me?"

"Tail rotor's all tore up. Remy said Kai told her a forklift hit it during refueling last night," Reno explained, and he could swear he could actually hear the deepening frown through the phone.

"And what's _your_ opinion of the damage? It is plausible that's what could have happened?"

The redhead went quiet, trying to decide how best to phrase his answer, before finally realizing that there was no point in trying to sugarcoat anything. Kai was in deep shit no matter what he told Tseng.

"If by 'hit' she meant the whole damn forklift got air-dropped on top of it, then... maybe? It's not just bent up. Half of the damn thing's almost completely sheered off, and the whole tail's dented all to hell. Just goin' by my own personal experience... it'd either take some effort to do _that_ much damage, or one _hell_ of a fuck up."

"Do you believe Kai intentionally sabotaged the helicopter?"

"I mean... I guess there's always the possibility some maintenance guy was havin' a _really_ bad day, but... Looks pretty deliberate to _me_. Not _necessarily_ sayin' it was Kai that did it..."

"But you _do_ suspect," Tseng noted.

"I... yeah. Yeah, I think she did it on purpose," the redhead finally admitted, swallowing sharply. "I'm sorry... I shoulda sent Remy back with Petra or Rude. This whole mess is all my fault."

Tseng didn't answer him right away, and for a brief moment, the younger Turk took that to mean that his mentor wholeheartedly agreed with his assessment. It just figured. His first real non-field command decision and he'd fucked it up royally.

"Reno... why did choose to send Kai back to Midgar?"

The redhead mentally groaned, and prepared himself for the forthcoming dressing down he was about to receive.

"... 'cause I thought she was losin' focus. She wants revenge on the Zenshou, and... I wasn't sure what she might do to get it."

"And do you _still_ believe that to be the case?" Tseng asked.

"Well... _yeah_. She's running around on her own, doin' fuck only knows what when she knows we got an operation tonight."

"Then your reasoning was sound," he said, and Reno's breath caught in his throat. He heard his mentor sigh quietly on the other end of the line, "You made the same decision I would have made in your place."

"Yeah, but –"

"Kai's choices are her own. She's opted not to follow the explicit orders she was given, and surely knows there will be severe consequences for her insubordination. You are not to blame for this," Tseng continued, and Reno shut his eyes, sinking down onto a nearby chair. "Reno... listen to me. There _will_ be times when those you command disobey. That's human nature... _not_ necessarily a failure on your part. And when it _does_ happen, the true test of a leader is how he handles the repercussions."

The redhead managed a faint grin.

"In other words, get the fuck outta my own head, 'n deal with this shit?"

"Precisely," Tseng said, with a quiet chuckle, "... though I think _my_ way of saying it was a bit more eloquent."

"Yeah, well... slum rat, remember?" Reno replied, smirking slightly. "Eloquent isn't really my thing."

"I'm well aware," the Turk lieutenant deadpanned, finally drawing a laugh from his protege. "Be careful tonight. It goes without saying that Kai _will_ inevitably attempt to interfere with the operation in some way. Be ready for it."

"I've been thinkin' about that," the younger Turk mused, "Veld's not planning on confronting the Zenshou at all if we can avoid it. He wants the guy who's placin' the orders, and if they don't find out we nabbed 'im, all the better. But the only way we're gonna flush him out is if the Zenshou make it to that meeting tonight. What do we do if... Kai pulls somethin' _before_ they make it?"

"Were it me... I would do whatever it takes to prevent that," Tseng replied. "Have you brought this to Veld's attention yet?"

"Nah, I just got back with Remy. Veld told me to update you almost as soon as I walked in."

"Talk to him. Make sure he understands your concerns. Veld may be in charge of field operations for this assignment, but he almost certainly will not have considered every possible angle quite yet. _You_ , meanwhile, have a gift for doing so quickly and efficiently. Use it."

"On it, Boss," Reno nodded, "... and... um... thanks. I needed to hear some of that."

"You're welcome. Be safe."

* * *

Tseng hung up the phone and set it aside on his desk before firmly massaging his temples with his fingertips.

"For Leviathan's sake, Kai..." he sighed in exasperation, "What in the _Nine Hells_ have you gotten yourself into?"

He would have given just about anything to be there right now. Two of the most important people in the world to him needed him... and he was stuck behind a desk, his leg still encased in a cast, and reliant upon crutches just to make it down the hall.

Reno would be alright, at least. The young Turk was very obviously second-guessing his choices, and suffering from quite a bit of self-doubt... but he would overcome it, just as he always did. Reno's biggest weakness, in Tseng's opinion, _was_ ,in fact, his own lack of confidence. His protege was an exemplary Turk, both in terms of physical ability and intelligence. His tactical skills bordered on genius at times. He was loyal, obedient, and dedicated. It was only his tendency to doubt his ability that was holding him back, and Tseng was working hard on mitigating that minor character flaw.

Kai, however...

He wasn't quite sure _what_ to think about her actions. Knowing the woman as well as he did, he didn't think it likely that she would simply come to her senses and cease this one-woman vendetta before it did serious damage to her standing in the Turks. And, in truth, he very much understood her motivation. It was equal parts guilt, humiliation, and anger... The Zenshou had not only made a fool of her, they'd used her to hurt her family. And Kai was not one to let go of a grudge.

At the very least, she was going to end up on suspension. This act of insubordination was too great to simply sweep under the rug and ignore. Tseng intended to insist upon a mandatory psychological evaluation, as well... and he felt inexcusably guilty that he hadn't done so sooner. Perhaps if he had, this whole situation could have been avoided.

Or perhaps not. He shook his head and chided himself for doing the very thing he'd only _just_ finished chastising his protege for doing – second-guessing himself. Even if allowing her to deal with her issues on her own _had_ been the wrong choice, the choice had already been made. He could only move forward and deal with what was happening _now_. He couldn't afford to fall into the trap of 'what if' when there was no changing the past.

He knew all too well where _that_ road led.

He was jarred from his thoughts by a sharp knock on his door. Tseng glanced at his watch and mentally groaned. He'd been hiding out in his office for far longer than he'd realized. The still-healing Turk reached for his crutches and hoisted himself upright, making his way over to the door, opening it to find one of his rookies anxiously waiting for him.

"Sir, there's –"

"Yes, Zephyr, my apologies... I know. I'm late to supervise gauntlet runs," he said, swiftly cutting the rookie off, "Are the others already downstairs?"

Liam had joined Sykes on an assignment in Kalm... so it was just the three new rookies today.

"A-actually, sir..." the younger Turk began somewhat hesitantly. She awkwardly cleared her throat. "It's just... we... we knew how... _busy_... you've been with everyone else away on assignment, so... we..."

Tseng froze in his bid for the elevator. He knew _that_ tone. And he instinctively knew what had happened, as well. They'd started the run without him.

"Who's injured?" he sighed.

"Er... Ryu, sir," Zephyr replied, "I tried your PHS, but it was busy, so Victor walked him down to Medical and sent me to get you."

Well... at least whatever had befallen the young Wutaiian wasn't so serious that he couldn't walk. Tseng gestured towards the elevator and the rookie scurried aboard. He followed as quickly as his injuries would permit and pressed the button for the ninth floor.

"What happened?" Tseng asked, as the elevator carried them downwards.

"He'd just made it to the zip line. I was pretty far ahead, so I didn't actually _see_ it happen, but Victor said Ryu didn't jump off when he should have. He... hit the end support pretty hard. It knocked him out for a couple of minutes."

The elevator pinged, and the doors opened on Nine, granting the pair access to the Medical floor. Tseng made his way down the familiar hallway, Zephyr dutifully trailing behind him, and stepped into the main medical suite, where they found Victor waiting for them.

"Well, it's about _time_..." an angry voice immediately berated him before he could address the eldest of the rookies. Tseng bit back yet another sigh of irritation. First Heidegger this morning... now Ward. At this rate, he really _was_ going to have to learn how to teleport himself to wherever he needed to be at any given moment, the way Reno insisted he must be able to do.

"I came as soon as I learned what had happened," the Turk lieutenant replied, in a somewhat snippy tone. "In case you'd somehow forgotten, I'm not exactly as mobile as I usually am."

Justinia Ward eyed him with an expression that plainly said she was not above taking his attitude down a peg. Tseng quickly cleared his throat and tried again, with a bit less obvious irritation.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He'll live," Dr. Ward replied, "But he's barred from training for the remainder of the day due to a mild concussion. Yeh can take him now."

The aging physician gestured to a small partition and a moment later, Ryuunosuke emerged from behind it, looking slightly battered and _very_ embarrassed.

"Hmph... I _told_ yeh it was the over-confident ones that end up in my exam room first..." she said to the rookie as he made his way over to the group.

"... Yes, ma'am..." Ryu mumbled, flushing noticeably.

* * *

"See anything yet, partner?" Reno asked, wedging his phone against one shoulder as he leaned back against the adobe wall that ran between two buildings. He peered out at the darkened street. It was nearing midnight, but you certainly wouldn't know it. Costa del Sol's nightlife was almost as active as its daylife... just... considerably drunker.

"Seen plenty... Just not what we're looking for," Rude's voice replied over the PHS. The redhead snorted softly.

"Ya know, if Kai's little parking job tipped 'em off that we're here, I'm gonna kick her ass," he muttered. There hadn't been much of anything they could do to hide the helicopter sitting at the port. It was currently inoperable, and while the machinery to move it was available... there really wasn't anywhere else to put it. Plus the parts had arrived from Junon, and they were in the process of repairing it. It was still sitting there, out in the open, a blatant advertisement of Shinra's presence in the resort town. The best Veld had been able to do was toss a tarp over it so the massive Shinra Company logo was obscured... but it had been there for the better part of twenty-four hours by that point. Reno wasn't sure how much good _that_ was going to do, if it'd already been spotted.

"Get in line. _I_ get first dibs," Rude grumbled, drawing a soft snicker from the redhead.

"Heh... Pretty sure _Veld_ gets first dibs, pal. And Tseng's gonna want second," he chuckled. He ended the call without waiting for a response, and then dialed the Turk commander's number.

"Report," Veld answered, without preamble.

"Gonna be a short one," Reno said, "Rude's got nothin' 'n Petra hasn't signaled that she's seen anything either. All clear on my end, too. If the Zenshou are still comin' to meet this guy, they're takin' their sweet time about it. No sign of Kai yet, either."

The redhead's gaze swept the street one more time, and he suddenly blinked as two figures strolled unassumingly down the main street.

"Hang on... I take that back. Think I mighta just spotted our Zenshou delegation."

Two Wutaiian men... _definitely_ not drunk and enjoying the festivities of the evening... were now making their way towards Bar del Sol. They paused at the door, peering in for a moment. Finally, one nodded to the other and they entered.

"Just walked in the front door," Reno added.

"Move in and observe," Veld ordered and the call ended. The redhead quickly tapped a text message into his PHS alerting Rude and Petra to the new arrivals, and left his hiding place, moving stealthily towards a better vantage point. He couldn't see much _inside_ the bar... but that's what they had Petra for. His job was to keep an eye on anyone exiting said bar from the front, and, if it was their target, to tail them. Rude would be doing the same behind the place.

It was several minutes before his PHS buzzed faintly with an incoming text alert from the rookie.

 _'Male. 5'6". 55-60. Balding. Red shirt, white hat.'_

She'd identified their target. Now all that was left for the Turks to do was to wait for him to conclude his business with the Zenshou, and... _introduce_ themselves. Reno grinned slightly in the darkness. This was almost too easy.

And as soon as he thought it, he cringed, mentally kicking himself. He knew better than to jinx shit like that. At least he hadn't said it out loud...

A few seconds later, he spotted movement in the shadows a short distance down the street. Reno froze and then slowly backed himself deeper into the cover provided by a nearby building's awning, and locked his gaze on the spot. For a moment, he thought he'd imagined it... but then, a faint flicker of motion drew his attention a second time.

His phone buzzed again, and he took his eyes off of the newcomer just long enough to glance down at the message. This one was from Rude.

 _'Target leaving through back door.'_

Just as he was looking up again, a figure darted out of its hiding space. There was a bright metallic glint in the moonlight as something sailed from its hand and embedded itself in the chest of a man who had just emerged from the front door of the bar.

" _Fuck!_ " Reno swore under his breath, as he easily recognized the assailant. It was Kai. The wounded man made no sound, but in a split second he and his partner were returning fire with handguns. Reno shot out of his _own_ cover and tackled Kai to the ground, sending them both rolling into the alley on the opposite side of the street. "Are you outta your fuckin' _mind_?" he growled at her.

Kai glared at him angrily, and shoved him bodily off of her, getting to her feet.

"Stay out of my way, Reno..." she replied, a dangerous note in her voice. He didn't have time to answer, as a hail of gunfire sent them both scrambling for cover as the two Zenshou continued their retaliation. The redhead dove behind a collection of garbage cans, swearing loudly as he pulled his gun from the holster beneath his jacket. Veld was _not_ going to be happy about this. The Turk leader had been _very_ clear that he wanted to _avoid_ a confrontation with the Zenshou.

So much for _that_.

Reno haphazardly shoved his phone into his shirt's breast pocket and rolled to his knees. He raised himself up just high enough to take aim at one of the Zenshou, and fired off a handful of shots before quickly ducking back down.

One of them shouted in pain, and Reno risked breaking cover a second time to see what had happened. Kai, however took the opportunity to move into position, and flung three more knives in quick succession at the men. As her attack hit home, taking one of the Zenshou down, however, Reno heard the sound of footsteps coming up fast behind him. At first, he thought it was one of his own team, coming to back them up... but as the new arrival rounded the corner at the end of the alley, his eyes went wide.

 _They_ had backup, too.

"Kai! Look out!" he cried, but the other Turk was too focused on the first two Zenshou to notice the third.

He didn't think... he only moved. Kai was too far from him to tackle her a second time, so he did the only thing he _could_ do. He stepped out in front of the third Zenshou just as she fired a bolt from a crossbow. The impact alone was enough to send him to the ground. The redhead wasn't sure if the subsequent forcible expulsion of air from his body was from slamming into the cobblestones flat on his back or due to having just been shot in the chest. He didn't even feel the pain right away. For several long moments, all he was aware of was a terrifying inability to expand his lungs.

"Reno!" he heard Kai call out, followed by more gunshots, and angrily issued orders in Wutaiian. He found that he couldn't answer immediately, instead simply laying there, the winded knocked out of him, as he forced himself to suck in a breath. As the panic at not being able to inhale began to fade, the pain finally hit.

"Oh, dear Shiva... No. Baby Turkling?!" Kai was crouching beside him now, and Reno lifted his head off of the ground just enough to get a halfway decent look at the crossbow bolt that was sticking out of his chest. He blinked, a little surprised that there wasn't more blood.

"Reno!"

This time it was Veld's voice, and he turned to see both the Turk commander _and_ Petra rushing towards them. The Zenshou were gone. He looked back down at the bolt.

"Not _again_..." he groaned. Petra knelt down beside him.

"I-I don't think it's as bad as it looks," the rookie said, in a cautiously relieved tone. "It didn't penetrate. Well... it _did_ ,but..."

She moved his jacket aside slightly and exhaled in relief, smiling faintly. "You got really, _really_ lucky, sir..."

The senior Turk blinked in disbelief as he took in the sight. The crossbow bolt had hit home alright... Clean through the PHS in his breast pocket. It was still quite firmly embedded in his chest, but now that he looked at it, he realized that it hadn't gone nearly deep enough to be lethal.

"Heh... Phone didn't fare so well, though," he managed, through gritted teeth. It may not have been a fatal shot, but it still hurt like a bitch. "What happened to the Zenshou?"

"They took off when they realized the numbers had evened up," Veld replied, "Can you walk?"

"Yeah," Reno replied, with a grimace, "Just... get me back on me feet."

Veld and Kai hurried to help the redhead up, and the group made their way back down the street to the Shinra Villa. Reno dropped onto the couch in the sitting room with a pained moan and glanced down at the crossbow bolt.

"Um... so... do I just yank this thing out or what?" he asked, looking up at their resident crossbow wielder. Petra shook her head.

"I wouldn't, sir..." she replied, frowning as she prodded the injury site, "I can't get a good look at the head, and if it's barbed, it might end up doing more damage coming out than it did going in..."

"The two of you stay with him," said Veld, and he pointedly stared Kai down, "And I do mean _stay_. I'll go to the local clinic and bring back someone with a bit more expertise in this area... One of you, let Rude know what's going on and to hold on taking the target. Tell him to observe only until further notice."

"On, it..." Reno said as he instinctively reached for the pocket he _normally_ kept his phone in, only to stop mid-movement, and look down at his chest, "Oh... right."

Petra giggled softly. "I'll do it, sir," she offered, producing her own PHS. Reno nodded and settled back against the couch cushions as Veld turned and left the villa in search of a doctor. Before Petra could finish dialing Rude, though, Reno looked up at her, a grin suddenly crossing his face.

"Hey, rookie... your phone got a camera on it like mine does? Uh... _did_?"

"Er... yes?" Petra responded, slightly perplexed.

"Awesome..." he said, grin widening. He gestured to the bolt that still partially impaled him. "Once you got Rude caught up, I need pics of this..."

" _Why_?" she asked, looking slightly disgusted.

"Petra... I got a fuckin' arrow pinning my phone to my chest 'n I'm not dead. _No one_ is gonna believe this if I don't have proof," he snickered.

* * *

It could have been fireworks. He'd seen more than a few guests lighting them off on the beach and in the town center when he'd started tailing his mark. It definitely _could_ have been fireworks.

But he knew it wasn't. Rude had been in the business long enough to know the difference between a bottle rocket and a gunshot. Those had been gunshots.

He had very nearly stopped his pursuit and doubled back. The most likely people to be shooting at one another were his fellow Turks and the Zenshou, after all... but they _needed_ to know who this man was, and if Rude lost sight of him now, he might never get another chance. So he'd followed, leaving the disturbing sounds of the firefight behind him and hoping that his teammates could handle things without him for now.

The man who'd met with the Zenshou, for his part, didn't even seem to notice anything was amiss. He hadn't noticed the gunshots, and he didn't seem to suspect that someone was watching him from the shadows as he made his way down the boardwalk. It wasn't long before Rude found himself on a very affluent part of the beach. He could just make out, set back among the palm trees, a few of the large beach houses belonging to the wealthier residents of Costa del Sol.

The man was taking his time, strolling along like he hadn't a care in the world, and Rude quickly realized that this was no servant or courier or other intermediary. This man _belonged_ here. One of those homes was very likely his. Rude frowned thoughtfully. That certainly gave his theory that the man was reselling what he ordered from the Zenshou credence. Living full time in Costa del Sol wasn't cheap. Living on beachfront property that included a sizable portion of said beach even less so.

Rude followed him until the man made his way up one of the cobblestone-paved pathways that led from the beach back into the trees where, as he'd expected, a large bungalow was nestled. He made his way inside, and the Turk started forward in an effort to get a look inside. He stopped short when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

The bald Turk reached for the PHS, and answered the incoming call.

"Yes?"

* * *

Tseng was roused from a sound sleep just before his alarm was set to go off the following morning. He groggily rolled over and groped for his phone, noting the caller ID and striving to wake himself up a bit.

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't panic. He's fine. I'm only calling to give you a head's up, since I opted to alert Dr. Ward that she will have more than one patient upon our return and you'll inevitably run into her before we arrive," Veld's voice intoned, and Tseng was suddenly _very_ awake.

"What exactly am not panicking _about_ , sir?" he asked, scrambling from his bed, and reflexively moving to get dressed.

"Reno was injured last night," his mentor replied, and Tseng froze in his bid to collect a fresh uniform from his closet. "Not _seriously_ , but... he _was_ shot while saving Kai from a sneak attack."

Tseng's eyes narrowed angrily. _Kai_. If her willful disobedience had ended up putting Reno out of commission, he was going to –

"But that's only _half_ the reason I'm calling this early," Veld continued, "Difficulties aside, Rude managed to identify our target. I need you to speak with Rufus immediately regarding a man named Silas Vasquez."

"Vasquez?" the Wutaiian Turk repeated, a puzzled expression replacing the anger on his face. "Interesting you should mention _that_ name. Rufus was just complaining yesterday that the President has demanded he apologize to him for some incident at an investor's meeting. He's planning on going to Costa del Sol to speak with him as soon as security is available."

"Save him the trip," Veld said firmly. "Vasquez is the Zenshou's client."

"... Well... _that's_ certainly an interesting turn of events," Tseng mused.

"What can you tell me about him?"

"Not much, really. I believe he's an old friend of the President's... as well as a member of the board of investors... though Rufus _did_ mention that he's not one of the larger stakeholders," Tseng began, searching his memory for anything the younger Shinra may have told him about the man. "Rufus has a general attitude of disdain towards him."

Veld snorted softly. "Rufus has a general attitude of disdain towards ninety-nine percent of the planet's population."

"Yes, sir," Tseng acknowledged, cracking a faint smile, "But... this goes a bit beyond his usual. Vasquez has a daughter. The President tried to arrange a match between the pair some months back, and _both_ rather resented the idea... _and_ acted to willfully sabotage the effort." He frowned slightly, thinking back. "Come to think of it... I believe that was right around the time the thefts began. It was shortly after the SOLDIER was murdered, if I recall correctly."

"Hmm..." Veld a silent for a moment in thought. "Not the trigger for the thefts, then... but I find it hard to believe it's not related in some way."

"I'll see what else Rufus can tell me," Tseng replied, glancing over at the clock by his bed. It was still rather early, even by _his_ standards. The younger Shinra likely wouldn't arrive at the office for quite some time yet.

"Keep me informed. After the fiasco last night, I don't want to move on him until I have at least some idea what we're dealing with," his mentor ordered, "And while you're at it, your protege will be needing a new PHS. You may want to requisition one for him."

"Yes, sir," said Tseng, "... You're _certain_ he's alright?"

"He's still in some minor pain... owing largely to the fact that the clinic was lacking in painkillers he can safely take, and aspirin can only do so much. We should be able to get that sorted once the local pharmacy opens. Fortunately for him, the IT department seems to have upgraded us to phones that can stop a crossbow bolt at two hundred yards." The Turk leader then chuckled. "I have _never_ met anyone with the sort of luck Reno seems to be surrounded by... I'm sending him home with Remy and Kai as soon as repairs to the helicopter are complete. Rude, Petra and I will remain here to deal with Vasquez. I have officially suspended Kai, pending a full investigation."

"Understood, sir."

"And Tseng?" Veld prodded, just as the younger Turk was preparing to end the call.

"Sir?"

"I promise you... my job isn't _always_ as horrible as these past couple of weeks have been," his mentor stated.

"I sincerely hope not, sir... because at this point I'm seriously reconsidering accepting promotion when you retire," Tseng teasingly replied.

~end chapter 74~


	75. Completing the Mission

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 75: Consequences**

 **by Desha**

"... But I don't _need_ to go back. I'm _fine_!"

"You're as bad as your Shiva-be-damned mentor..." Veld sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. He shook his head, and placed a hand on the redhead's shoulder, escorting him out onto the villa's lanai before their conversation woke the others. The morning was only just getting started, and the breeze rolling in from the shore was still cool and refreshing.

"Sir... I can _help_!" the younger Turk continued to insist.

"Reno, you were shot in the chest," Veld deadpanned.

"... Just a little."

Veld rolled his eyes in response to the protest, and Reno quickly doubled down.

"It's not like it hit anything important. And it doesn't hurt _that_ bad. Come on, sir... lemme stay."

"No," he replied, and before his protege's protege could renew his protests, he added, "That's _final_."

Reno opened his mouth to respond, but almost as quickly snapped it shut again before falling into a disappointed looking sulk.

"Yes, sir..."

Veld shook his head and chuckled. "Stop that. You're not going to _guilt_ me into letting you stay, either. Besides... your attempts can't even begin to hold a candle to Felicia's puppy dog eyes when she wants something." He quickly sobered and looked the younger man in the eye. "I know you want to make yourself useful. But the best way for you to do that is to take the helicopter and go back to Midgar. Remy has no business being anywhere but Midgar General, and I _damn well_ don't want Kai here in her current state of mind. It makes no sense to send an able-bodied Turk to escort them when _you're_ injured but still fully capable of doing so. You know that. Take them home."

Reno sighed, and the Turk leader saw a look of acceptance creep across his face.

"And if that's not _enough_ reason for you, don't forget that Tseng likely needs your help far more than _I_ do right now..."

"Okay, okay..." the redhead groaned, "You've made your point, sir..."

"Good. I want you three in the air within the hour. Go and prep the copter."

"Yes, sir," Reno replied. The redhead turned and slipped back inside the villa, and Veld couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself. On the surface at least, the young Turk seemed utterly diametrically opposed to his mentor... but the pair were far more alike than they were different. Tseng's little one-time slum rat had _definitely_ begun to inherit some of his mentor's more... endearingly irritating... traits. He wasn't _quite_ the workaholic Tseng was... but he was making a valiant effort at becoming so.

And Veld found himself thoroughly pleased by that fact. Tseng had chosen well. He couldn't have denied that even if he'd wanted to. Reno still needed work before he would be ready for the position he was being groomed for... but he was certainly enthusiastic about learning what he needed to know.

It was hard to believe that, just a few years ago, he'd been rather insistently arguing _against_ recruiting the boy at all. He was far too young and far too much of a loner to fit in with the team. He'd had _zero_ training of any kind – unless one counted bar-tending – and frankly, given that he was coming directly out of Sector Two, Veld hadn't been _entirely_ convinced that he wasn't a closet junkie when Tseng had first brought up the idea of recruitment. Now he was watching as the redhead drew closer and closer to being worthy of succeeding Veld's _own_ protege.

That one-time slum rat was just full of surprises.

* * *

Rufus blinked in confusion as he walked into his office... and found it already occupied.

Well... _that_ was a bit unexpected. The building was largely empty. It was the weekend, after all. He wouldn't even be here himself, were it not for the fact that it seemed to be the only peace and quiet he _got_ lately. He'd been in the habit, for several weeks now, of coming in on Saturday mornings, just for a few hours, to address the ongoing issues in Gongaga without having to worry about fielding phone calls from reporters and environmental groups, or being dragged into an impromptu board meeting on the subject.

Almost no one even _knew_ he would be here today. The man who had taken up residence in one of his chairs, and was diligently scribbling something down in a notebook, was one of those few. For a moment, he could only stare questioningly at him.

"What are you doing here?" he finally asked, when Tseng looked up at him.

"Waiting for _you_ , sir," the Turk calmly replied, closing the notebook and setting it aside, "I require your assistance, and it's rather urgent."

Rufus tossed his jacket onto the sidetable near the door and obligingly took a seat at his desk, wondering just what had brought the Turk lieutenant into work first thing in the morning on a Saturday. Even Tseng, with his penchant for overwork, valued his weekends.

"What's this about?" he asked, folding his hands in front of him.

"Silas Vasquez," Tseng stated, and Rufus rolled his eyes. _Him_ again.

"Ugh... Did Father contact you regarding that idiotic apology he wishes me to make? I've already _told_ him that I will comply... if only to save my own sanity from his constant pestering. For Ramuh's sake, doesn't he realize that the Turks are otherwise engaged at the moment? I'm _hardly_ making such a trip without –"

"Sir, forgive me, but that's not why I'm here," the Wutaiian Turk interjected, cutting him off. Rufus was so shocked at being interrupted that his mouth snapped shut and he could only stare at his friend curiously. It wasn't like Tseng to be so impatient. He gestured for him to continue. "Our investigation in Costa del Sol didn't go _quite_ as planned... but we _did_ identify the man paying the Zenshou to steal Shinra technology. It's Vasquez. I need to know everything _you_ know about him. Veld is holding off on moving in on him until we have a better understanding as to why a long-time investor would be actively sabotaging the Company, but we don't want to wait too long and risk him getting suspicious and bolting."

" _Silas_ is behind this? That smarmy, self-important lapdog?" the vice president echoed, in shock. His expression suddenly twisted into one of anger. "... That vindictive, money-grubbing, worthless piece of behemoth dung..."

"... Sir?" Tseng queried. Rufus stood up and started to pace the room.

"I believe I mentioned to you that Silas is a very old friend of my father's..." he began, pausing briefly to peer out at the city through one of the large windows that lined the far wall, before resuming his transit across the floor.

"Yes, sir," the Turk lieutenant acknowledged.

"Hmph... Father _wished_ to go into business with that idiot. _Long_ before Shinra Company was what it is now, naturally," he said, and snorted in contempt, "Silas turned him down. Said there was simply no money to be made in mako energy. That we would never refine the process enough to make it profitable. _He_ felt that coal was the future and invested heavily in several mines."

"And when mako power began to gain a foothold, he found his own investments not paying off as he'd hoped..." Tseng surmised. Rufus smirked widely.

"A number of his ventures eventually utterly collapsed, or so I'm told," he replied, somewhat smugly. "Father was... charitable. Because he was an old friend, he allowed Silas to invest in a... _limited_... stake in the Company at a very generous price. But he barred him from purchasing further shares either personally or through intermediaries... because at heart, Father is a cold and calculating businessman, and he knew that if given half the chance his 'old friend' would attempt to buy his company right out from under him." He snickered quietly, "All of this happened before _I_ was ever born, of course – before most of Midgar even existed, in fact – but it's always been one of Father's favorite stories. Silas was... _considerably_... wealthier than our family at the time. He's quite proud of the fact that he so thoroughly outdid him."

Tseng frowned and leaned back in his chair. "That would certainly be reason to hold a grudge..."

"Silas has always been little more than an annoyance," Rufus scoffed, rolling his eyes. "His stake accounts for less than one percent of the total public shares. A pittance, really, but even that pittance has lined his pockets quite nicely over the years. What would be the point in throwing that away for the sake of petty revenge? Revenge, I might add, for a situation entirely of his own making. Had he not been so short-sighted, he'd likely be sitting on the Board of Directors today, rather than taking up space in a pity-position on the investor's board."

"Anger and resentment _do_ make people act irrationally," Tseng sighed. And not _just_ wealthy businessmen with overly-inflated egos. Turks, as recent events had demonstrated, were far from immune, "In any case, your Father should brought up to date before any action is taken against Vasquez. I would have discussed this with him directly, but..."

Rufus snickered quietly.

"But you knew I would be _here_ this morning, and had no particular desire to interrupt my father's weekend without someone there to prevent him from summarily firing you for doing so?" Rufus asked, suddenly looking quite enthusiastic.

"Much as I hate to admit it... the thought _had_ crossed my mind, sir. If it's not too much of an inconvenience to you."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it," replied in a blatantly smug tone, "I'm very much looking forward to seeing the look on Father's face when you inform him that the idiot he demanded I beg forgiveness from is behind some of the worse corporate espionage Shinra Company has ever seen..."

* * *

The helicopter reached Midgar, without incident, well before noon. It had been a surprisingly long flight. Not so much in terms of actual air-time, but Remy had spent most of the trip dozing after swallowing several pills, and Kai was... not very Kai-like... for the duration. In fact, the senior Turk had hardly said one word to Reno all morning.

He wasn't entirely sure if she was still ticked at him for cutting her out of the mission, or if she was ticked at herself for fucking things up so royally. Or both. Or, hell, maybe she was still recovering from Veld's reprimand last night. Either way, the entire flight had been conducted in an uncomfortable and oppressive silence that the redhead would be glad to leave behind.

Though to be fair, _he_ was still pretty mad at Kai, as well, so he hadn't exactly made much of an effort at conversation either. That little stunt she'd pulled last night could have completely ruined any shot they might have had at finding the Zenshou's client. Worse than that, though, she very easily could have gotten someone killed. Well... someone other than _him_. It had been his _choice_ to jump in front of that shot, and he didn't regret it for an instant... but it could have just as easily been aimed at Rude or Petra or Veld or some random bystander, rather than at her. Could have easily taken out someone he _wasn't_ close enough to shield. Not to mention the fact that she'd just abandoned poor Remy in a hotel room...

Veld had lit into Kai pretty hard once he'd secured the services of a doctor last night. They'd taken it down to the basement, but Reno and Petra had heard the furious shouting from the upper floor. Not the specifics of the 'conversation', but... certainly the tone had carried pretty clearly. Reno, himself, had been on the receiving end of a seriously pissed off Turk commander on more than one occasion... but something told him that nothing _he'd_ ever done had triggered anything that would compare with the absolute fury with which the man had addressed Kai's insubordination.

He certainly didn't envy the diminutive Turk when Tseng got ahold of her, either... which, given that they were over the city _now_ , wouldn't be much longer.

In fact, as the copter was on its approach to the helipad atop Shinra Headquarters, he saw that she wasn't going to have any delay at all. Tseng was already standing there, waiting. Reno cringed slightly. So were Dr. Ward and what looked to be a pair of orderlies from Midgar General holding a stretcher.

 _Hopefully_ , she was just there for Remy, and not for him. Veld hadn't specifically _said_ anything about notifying the Doc about his little run-in with a crossbow wielding maniac... but that didn't mean he hadn't ratted him out. And even if Veld hadn't, Tseng probably had. Unless, by some miracle, his superior hadn't mentioned his injury to Tseng, either...

The redhead sighed softly, and resigned himself to the inevitable trip down to Medical. Ward knew. She _always_ knew. He was kidding himself hoping otherwise. Even if she somehow _didn't_ know, which wasn't very likely, she was gonna take one look at him, notice that something was off, and demand to know what he'd done to himself this time.

He spared a subtle glance over at Kai, who seemed to have noticed their welcoming party, as well, and had gone slightly pale on account.

'Serves her right', he thought to himself.

The skids had barely even hit solid ground again, and the sliding door was being hauled open. Reno was still in the process of getting everything shut down, but even so, he could hear Tseng over the whine of the engines.

"Downstairs! _Now_!" he demanded of Kai, before turning towards Remy to check on the injured Turk. By the time Reno had finished the power-down and slipped free of his safety restraints, she was already being transferred to the stretcher and carted off towards the elevators.

"As for _you_ ," Tseng continued, in a far less antagonistic – though far from calm – tone than he'd just addressed Kai, turning his attention on his protege, "Justinia would like a few minutes of your time. I... will likely still be _occupied_ when she's done. Get something to eat, and then take a moment to relax. I'll take you home once I've dealt with Kai."

"... 'kay," Reno replied, notably glad that he wasn't the one who was about to incur his mentor's wrath, and, for once, not willing to argue about a mandated medical exam, "I'm fine, though..."

"And that is why Kai has, _thus far_ , managed to survive her arrival back at headquarters..." the senior Turk ground out angrily.

Oh, yeah... Kai was in some _seriously_ deep shit. Reno simply nodded, and hurried over to where Ward was waiting for him, arms crossed over her chest, a frown firmly in place on her lips. He rolled his eyes...

"Yeah, yeah... I know," he muttered, "You were hopin' to go at _least_ another week without seein' me... S'pose I'm _also_ gonna get it for draggin' ya into work on a Saturday, huh?"

"Hmph," Dr. Ward replied, a smile flickering over her features before she began marching him towards the elevator, "Well, my little headache, at least with _yeh_ around, I suppose I'll always have job security..."

* * *

Tseng found Kai waiting for him in his office, and it was all he could do to not immediately unload a tirade of fury upon her the moment he locked eyes with her. Instead, he clenched his fists and strode over to his desk, taking a seat and steepling his fingers before him.

"Would you mind explaining to me what in the _NINE HELLS_ you thought you were doing?!" he growled, not the least bit successful in hiding his anger. Kai flinched and dropped her gaze, but didn't answer. Tseng's eyes narrowed and he forced himself to be calm. "You've taken your share of questionable actions over the years, Kai. We _all_ have at some point. But _this_? This is inexcusable. You disobeyed a direct order. You damaged company property so that you had an _excuse_ to continue disobeying said order. You abandoned an injured teammate left in your care. You very nearly derailed an important operation and put an entire _field team_ in danger... and had Reno not acted as quickly as he did last night, you very well might have been killed in the process. _He_ was exceedingly fortunate _not_ to have been. I _want_ an explanation."

Kai didn't make any effort to look at him, or to respond... and it infuriated the senior Turk.

"Answer me, goddammit!" he shouted, striking his palm on the top of his desk, and causing the younger woman to jump.

"I don't _have_ an answer for you," she said, still staring down at her hands in her lap.

"Not good enough," Tseng stated, flatly, and Kai looked up at him angrily.

"What the _hell_ do you want me to say?!" she screamed, "That I fucked up? I _know_ I fucked up! That I could have gotten someone killed? I _know_ that!" An errant tear escaped the corner of her eye. "I didn't mean for Reno to get hurt... I just... I wanted them to pay. They _need_ to pay. Not just for what they did to me, but what they did to Reno... to Remy... to _you_... I... I can't _stand_ the thought of them just getting away with all of that! And they're going to. Once we put an end to their client's orders, they're not going to be an issue for Shinra anymore. Veld's not going to waste resources going after them if he doesn't have a reason to. This was... my last chance."

The Wutaiian Turk sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kai... You can't just go starting a one-woman war against an organization as dangerous as the Zenshou!"

"... I know," she whispered, "I never meant for it to get so out of hand. It won't happen again."

Tseng pressed his hands against his face, trying to ease the building tension behind his eyes and groaned.

"Tseng... I know I screwed up," Kai continued, "I _do_. Please... _please_ talk to Veld for me. I can't be suspended. I _need_ to be here, with the team."

"No."

"W-what?" she stammered.

"I said... no," the Turk lieutenant replied, lowering his hands and looking up at her, "Even if I thought you were fit for duty – which, frankly, I _don't_ – nothing I say is going to change the commander's mind right now. You made this bed, Kai. You're going to have to lie in it. Report to Medical first thing on Monday for a complete psychological evaluation. We'll discuss your status further after Veld has seen the results."

"Tseng..." she said, a shocked and hurt tone in her voice.

"I'm sorry. You took this too far, Kai. You are _completely_ out of control, and there are _going_ to be consequences."

Her eyes narrowed. "Will that be all, _sir_?" she asked, coldly.

"Kai..."

"I thought we were friends, Tseng," she spat, before getting to her feet and storming out of his office before he could respond. The senior Turk sighed heavily.

"We are. Even if you can't see that right now."

* * *

"Ow! Watch it, will ya? There's a hole under those stitches, ya know..."

Dr. Ward snorted softly in amused laughter, but obligingly ceased her prodding of the injury site. She shook her head slightly.

"How in the wide world did yeh manage ta get yerself shot in the chest 'n not do a lick 'o damage besides a wee superficial puncture wound?" she asked in vague disbelief.

"PHS took the worst of it," the redhead replied, with a shrug. "Damn bolt knocked me flat on my ass, but that's about it. Ya know... other than it fuckin' getting stuck there."

"Language," the doctor chided, and Reno rolled his eyes. "Well... I have ta admit, yer mostly fine. Yeh've no _business_ being mostly fine considering where yeh were hit, but yeh are."

"So... no medical restrictions?" he ventured, hopefully.

"Not taday, my little headache. Just try not ta pull those stitches out." She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and withdrew a purple sucker. Reno grinned and eagerly snatched it, tearing off the wrapper and shoving it into his mouth. Ward sighed and shooed him off of her exam table.

"You gonna go check in on Remy now?" he asked, as he pulled his shirt back on. He hadn't been surprised that the injured Turk had been shipped straight off to Midgar General... but he was mildly annoyed that the Doc was wasting her time with _him_ rather than going with her. To his surprise, Ward shook her head.

"Remy isn't one of my usual patients. She prefers Dr. Alsano... whom I've already dispatched ta meet her at the hospital, so there's no need ta worry."

Reno blinked in surprise. "Huh... ya know, for some reason, I always kind just thought you took care of _all_ of us."

"Do yeh think I keep a staff on hand just ta have them stand around all day, then?" Ward chuckled softly, "There aren't enough hours in the day fer me ta see everyone who walks in here personally. Most Shinra personnel aren't quite as picky as _yeh_ are, yeh little troublemaker. Now... off with yeh. It's the weekend. Yer supposed ta be home, relaxing."

"Yeah, yeah..." Reno snorted, "Thanks, Doc."

He made his way out of Medical and hurried to the elevator, pressing the button for the fifty-eighth floor and riding it back up the the Turks' offices. Assuming that Tseng was likely still chewing out Kai for the crap she'd pulled, he wandered into the lounge and flopped down on the couch by the windows trying to decide what to do while he waited. He supposed he could head downstairs and see what the cafeteria had on offer. It _was_ lunchtime, after all... and he was hungry. Shinra Company never _really_ shut down... not even on the weekends. There was always _someone_ in the building doing _something_... which meant that even on a Saturday afternoon, the planet's shittiest cafeteria would be open for business.

The idea wasn't particularly appealing, though. He really wasn't in the mood to choke down the slop they called food down there. Delivery, then?

Of course... that required a phone, and his had just been brutally murdered. Again. He vaguely wondered how many he'd been through since becoming a Turk. He'd kind of stopped counting at this point, though he was pretty sure he was on at least his _third_ just this year. Well... fourth, once he got his new replacement. He snickered softly to himself. The Requisitions Office had to hate him by now.

But... his temporary lack of a phone meant that he'd have to haul his ass off the couch and find a landline if he wanted food delivered. Not an especially difficult task... but most of the Turks didn't bother with them these days – a PHS was far more convenient – which inevitably meant a trip to another floor. Veld had one in _his_ office, but no way in hell was he going in there without permission just so he could eat.

He yawned widely and rolled his neck to one side, listening to the satisfying crack it made as he did so, and realizing just how tired he was. He'd gone to bed so late last night it was technically today... and he'd been woken up not _real_ long after he'd gone to bed. Add to that four hours in the air, not to mention having gone from one assignment straight into another, and he'd about had it for one day. Screw it. He'd just ask Tseng to stop somewhere with a drive-thru on the way home. He was too comfortable on the couch to want to move if he didn't have to.

A moment later, hawever, he heard a door slam somewhere in the office, and sat up, suddenly much more alert. Angry footsteps stormed past the lounge and continued on down the hallway. By the time Reno had gotten to his feet and crossed the room to peer out of the door, the sound had already faded, and shortly after that, he heard the elevator around the corner chime.

"She was less than happy with what I had to say to her," Tseng's voice commented, and the redhead jerked his gaze in the direction of the sound, startled. He huffed softly.

"Boss, _seriously_... do ya really _gotta_ do that?"

Tseng gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry. I truly _didn't_ mean to sneak up on you this time. What did Justinia say regarding your injury?"

"Heh... Like I told ya when I got here, I'm fine. Just gotta watch the stitches. I'm cleared for full duty," he replied, grinning. He quickly turned serious, "Um... Shouldn't we go after her?"

Tseng gave him a resigned look and shook his head. "I think that may do more harm than good at the moment. She's very angry right now. With me. With the Zenshou... and with herself. She needs time alone to think. It's best we let her. Come on... I'll take you home. You look exhausted."

Reno cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "When'd ya figure out how to drive stick with a cast on one leg?" he asked. Tseng snorted softly.

"I haven't. Rufus has seen fit to lend me _his_ car and driver for the day, as he suspected I might have a bit more need of them than he does."

"Heh... free limo ride home, huh? Count me in," the redhead snickered. "... Ya think that thing'd fit through the Happy Moogle drive-thru? I'm starved..."

* * *

Rude peered though a pair of binoculars, directly into one of the upstairs windows of the large beach house. His target was still inside. He'd left, briefly, a couple of hours earlier for a swim in the large pool behind the house, but beyond that, he seemed quite engrossed in his correspondence. A number of packages had been wrapped, addressed and sent out. Rude had quickly intercepted them all. Most of them were bits and pieces of Shinra weapons technology or other items stolen from their facilities. He'd made careful note of whom they were being sent _to_ , as well. It was entirely possible that they were repeat customers, and more stolen goods could be recovered later.

His phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Rude here," he said, answering it without ever taking his gaze off of his target.

"We're a go. Breach the front entrance. Petra and I will enter from the back," Veld's voice replied, "I want him alive."

"Yes, sir." Rude ended the call and tucked the phone back into his pocket. It was about time. Since learning the man's identity – and his connection to the Company – they'd been waiting most of the morning for permission from the President to take Vasquez. Rude had been growing very _tired_ of waiting.

He left the safety of the shady copse of trees he'd been sequestered in and crept silently onto the property. Vasquez didn't seem to employ many house servants... but there _was_ cook and a maid they would have to either avoid or subdue before they alerted their employer that he had uninvited guests.

And then there was the girl.

Vasquez's daughter was sunning herself poolside. They weren't, strictly speaking, interested in _her_ – they had no evidence she was involved in whatever foolishness her father had entered into – but they didn't know for certain that she _wasn't_ involved, either. Besides which, if they left her to her own devices, there would be uncomfortable questions. Thus, the Turk leader had decided that she would be joining her father when he appeared before President Shinra to explain himself. The girl was Petra's responsibility, though. Rude's target was _inside_ the house.

It was unusual to attempt this sort of operation in broad daylight... but the house was secluded enough that, unless things went very, _very_ wrong, the odds of anyone outside of the household noticing that anything was off were slim. Still, the Turk felt decidedly exposed as he dashed across the open space in front of the beach house. He made it to the door and stood with his back pressed against the outer wall. One hand reached for the handle and silently swung the door inward.

* * *

"So what are _you_ doin' the rest of the day?" Reno asked, around a mouthful of cheeseburger. The Happy Moogle was your standard cheap as shit burger chain... there was practically one on every other corner of the city... but damned if it didn't taste amazing on an empty stomach. Tseng snorted softly.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," he chided, somewhat teasingly as though, by now, he knew the effort was futile, and then leaned back in the plush seat of the presidential limousine. "And... after a short break for a lunch that _doesn't_ come microwaved and wrapped in paper, I will be working. By now, Veld and the others will have moved in on our target. Once Vasquez is in hand, they have instructions to bring him immediately to Midgar to answer for his crimes."

The redhead blinked and forced down the mouthful of food. "Wait... what? They're bringin' 'im in _now_?"

"Well... approximately four hours from now, yes. Once I have you safely settled at home, I'm heading back to the office to kill some time until they arrive."

"Screw that... if you're workin', I'm workin'," Reno replied, before stuffing the remainder of the burger into his mouth and chasing it with a swig of soda. Tseng shook his head.

"No... _you_ are going home to rest and enjoy what's left of your weekend. You've earned it."

"But..."

"No buts," Tseng insistently cut him off, "You've been on assignment for a week now, and while you may have _clearance_ to return to work, that doesn't mean doing so immediately is in your best interest. I want you rested and ready to go on Monday. Don't forget... we _still_ have five rookies in need of supervision and instruction, as well as the fact that we're going to be two Turks down for the time being. And as I will be getting this Leviathan forsaken cast off on _Monday_ even if I have to cut it off myself... Justinia's opinion be damned... I'm going to need your help getting back on my feet. I've had _enough_ of these crutches."

Reno sighed and flashed his mentor an annoyed look.

"Ya know... half the reason Veld sent me back early was so I could help you. If you don't even _need_ me 'til Monday, what the hell was the point?"

Tseng smiled, and broke into a quiet laugh... which only served to annoy the redhead further.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm," his mentor chuckled, "And while I'm sure you're fully capable of continuing on without a break, I'd prefer you didn't utterly burn yourself out... because I _do_ need you. Very much."

Reno rolled his eyes. "You _do_ remember that you officially stopped bein' my guardian like... almost three years ago... right?"

"Officially, perhaps..." the Turk lieutenant returned, "Unofficially is another matter altogether. You are my protege, my eventual successor... and my family. I will be looking out for you for quite some time yet." He smirked, and added, "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

~end chapter 75~


	76. Resolutions?

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 76: Resolutions?**

 **by Desha**

Reno glared at the TV, irritated. There was nothing worth watching on Saturday afternoons to begin with... and this _particular_ Saturday afternoon, the last thing he wanted to be doing was sitting around his apartment, "relaxing". Not when just about everyone else was finally putting an end to the Zenshou situation.

He felt slightly cheated. He'd been working this investigation as long as anyone – well, except Rude... the number of hours _he'd_ put in on it put the redhead, and pretty much everyone else, to shame – and now he was basically being told to sit this one out. But... orders were orders, and he'd seen firsthand just where refusing to follow orders got you.

Besides... Tseng really wasn't _wrong_. Despite his protests to the contrary, he _was_ pretty beat. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to matter to his Ifrit-forsaken brain, which utterly refused to allow him to relax as ordered. _It_ was still going a mile a minute, trying to piece together what the deal was with Vasquez. Tseng had filled him in on some of the details during the trip back to his apartment. So the guy was an old friend of the the president... who had apparently been fucked over a long time ago. He could certainly see how that might cause one hell of a grudge, but in Reno's mind, that just... didn't explain it.

Sure, the guy got shafted... but the way Tseng told it, it was kind of his own fault, plus he was _still_ making bank off the shares he now owned in Shinra Company. Why compromise that? Not to mention put your life at risk to do it? Everyone knew that Shinra Company didn't fuck around with people who tried to fuck with them. That alone was half the reason for the Turks' existence, and it was no secret why people were afraid of the Turks.

The guy had a kid, a decently successful business of his own, and a bank account that made Reno's look like pocket change, even on a Turk's salary. He just couldn't get his head around throwing that all away for petty revenge. Especially when the payoff didn't really match up with the risk. Every instinct he had was telling him that they were missing something... but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what.

The redhead sighed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, groaning softly as as the TV announced that coming up next on the Midgar Broadcasting Network was the Chocobo World Cup Semi-Finals. He rolled his eyes and pointedly shut the TV off. He'd managed to suffer through the last hour of some shitty made-for-TV rom-com... but he drew the line at chocobo racing.

"That's it... I gotta get out for awhile..." he breathed, hauling himself upright. He couldn't stop thinking, so he couldn't settle down... and if he couldn't settle down, he couldn't really relax. He needed to burn off some energy, and as much as he usually hated wasting his weekend exercising, he was pretty sure a nice long run would do the trick. Plus... no Shiva-be-damned chocobos. He'd hit up the park a few blocks down from his apartment complex. It had a nice, paved pathway that circled the whole space, and was perfect for running or walking or biking or whatever.

That thought in mind, he changed into something a little more comfortable for such activities, shoved his keys and a few gil – there was usually an ice cream vendor that made the rounds in the park on the weekends, too – into his pocket and walked out the door.

* * *

Tseng answered his PHS on the first ring. He hadn't even needed to check the caller ID... he'd been waiting for this call for hours now.

"We're twenty minutes out. I trust everything is ready?" Veld's voice queried over the background noise of the helicopter's engines.

"Yes, sir. Holding cells have been prepared and both the President and Vice President are on standby to greet our... guests. Shall I update them on your expected arrival?"

"Do that," the Turk leader replied. "Also notify Medical to expect a minor injury. Miss Vasquez was not overly enthusiastic about accompanying her father, and Petra had to... convince her. I doubt it's anything more serious than a sprain, but the woman insists her wrist is broken."

"Yes, sir. I'll have medical staff meet you on the roof," said Tseng.

"How are our own casualties doing?"

"Remy is resting comfortably at Midgar General. They will be discharging her tomorrow, most likely, to recuperate at home. I sent Reno home, as well. He's more than earned a break."

"And Kai?"

"I informed her that she was to report to Medical on Monday for evaluation. She was... not happy."

Veld snorted loudly over the phone. "Did you expect her to be?"

"No, sir. Not in the least."

"Alright... We'll see you shortly," Veld replied.

"Yes, sir," the Wutaiian Turk responded, before ending the call. He tucked the phone back into his pocket and stood up from his desk, making his way out into the hallway, crutches clicking softly against the tile.

Turk headquarters was silent and still. He rather liked the solitude of an empty office at times... but today was not one of those days. Tseng had been strongly tempted to give in to Reno's demand to return to work with him earlier, but the younger Turk had looked _so_ tired by the time he'd finished with Kai. He just didn't have the heart to drag him along for what was likely going to be a presidential audience, followed by an interrogation, and, quite likely, an execution and body disposal.

He'd briefly considered sending Rude home the moment he arrived as well... after all, he and Remy had been on assignment for weeks without respite. But he had a feeling he'd be in for a fight if he so much as suggested it. Rude wasn't generally the most confrontational member of the team... but he had dedicated months of his life to this investigation, and Tseng doubted he'd appreciate being pulled at the last moment. It was only right that he be able to see it through to the bitter end.

Tseng pressed the button, calling the elevator to the floor, and when it arrived, he stepped inside. He pulled out his PHS once again, and pressed the contact for the President's direct line. It rang four times before he answered... as expected. The President never answered any call on the first ring. It was strictly a power play. A way to inform whoever was demanding his attention that "I'm far more important than you... You can wait until _I_ am ready to speak to you."

"Yes?" came the clipped reply.

"Mr. Vasquez will be arriving within the next twenty minutes, sir," Tseng informed the senior executive.

"Bring him _directly_ to me," President Shinra replied.

"Yes, sir." The call abruptly ended, and Tseng had just enough time to summon the promised medical staff to the roof before he the elevator arrived on the sixty-sixth floor. He put his phone away, stepped out, and headed down the plushly carpeted hallway that led to the executive offices, showing himself into the little reception area of the office of the Vice President. As there was no one at the desk, he bypassed it and went directly to Rufus' office door, knocking sharply.

"Come in!" came the slightly muffled reply. Tseng let himself in, and found Rufus flipping through a newspaper.

"Sir?" he prodded. Rufus snorted softly.

"This morning's paper from the western continent..." he said, closing and folding the periodical before tossing it onto his desk with a sigh. "Gongaga is _still_ reporting new cases of mako poisoning from the reactor explosion. Monday is going to be... very trying."

"Mr. Vasquez will be arriving shortly," the Turk informed him.

"Ah... finally some _good_ new," Rufus said, brightening. "I assume Father has instructed you to bring him straight to his office?"

"Yes," Tseng replied, "Will you be joining us?"

"Oh, I have _no_ plans to miss _this_ ," he chuckled.

" _Miss_ Vasquez will also be in attendance."

Rufus paused in his bid to join Tseng at the door, and gave him a slightly puzzled look.

"Serena?" he clarified, and the senior Turk nodded, "Why in Ramuh's name did you detain her as well?"

"We're not entirely certain of her role in all of this... if any," Tseng explained, "And Veld felt that leaving her behind would invite unwanted scrutiny of father's sudden absence, as she would almost certainly go to the authorities immediately if she's _not_ involved."

Rufus shook his head, but said nothing further. He merely gestured to the door, allowing Tseng to escort him to the elevator.

* * *

Reno slowed to a walk and took a moment to catch his breath. He'd done almost four laps at this point, and he couldn't help but grin slightly at what awaited him about another fifty yards down the path. The familiar sound of that repetitive jingle in the distance was more than inviting. He didn't know why, but ice cream from those cheap little carts always tasted _way_ better than what the grocery store carried.

Chocolate. He was _definitely_ getting chocolate.

 _Although_... the more he thought about it, cherry vanilla sounded awfully good, too, right now. Those little chunks of half-frozen cherries were the best! Why couldn't they just put them in chocolate ice cream instead? Fuck it. He was just going to get a scoop of each. Best of both worlds.

He didn't get far, however, before a quiet, and somewhat hesitant, voice called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

"... Reno?"

He paused and turned, eyes seeking out the source of the summons, and blinked in surprise when he spotted the owner of the voice sitting on the grass beneath a large tree a short distance from the path. He abandoned his quest for frozen dairy goodness for the moment and changed course.

"Hey," he said, perhaps a little more coolly than he really intended to. Kai ducked her head, flinching in response.

"You're mad at me, too, huh?" she said quietly. "I guess I can't really blame you."

Reno huffed, slightly annoyed, and joined her on the grass. The spot was shady, almost to the point of being chilly in the relatively warm fall afternoon. It wouldn't be long, he silently mused, before the ice cream vendors packed it in for the season. Not many people interested in frozen desserts once the weather turned as icy as what they were selling.

"I'm not mad," he replied, and then paused a moment in thought, "Well... okay, I _am_ kindamad. I _did_ end up gettin' shot 'cause of your bullshit, ya know..."

"I'm _so_ sorry, Reno..." Kai said, swallowing sharply, and it suddenly clicked that the senior Turk was very much on the verge of tears.

Crap.

"Look, Kai, I get that you're pissed at the Zenshou... I'm not exactly real fond of 'em either at this point. I mean... they shot me _twice_ now. And also knocked me out 'n threw me a goddamn drainage ditch, but that's beside the point. What you did coulda _royally_ fucked us over. And just leavin' Remy on her own for us to find? Not cool."

"I know," she whispered, her voice thick with unshed tears.

"... And... ya know... not to be a dick about it, but... it kinda sucks that ya just straight up ignored the very first order I ever had the authority to give ya..." He glanced over at her. "I'm scared _enough_ about this whole second in command thing, wonderin' if anyone's ever actually gonna take me seriously... and I'm not exactly off to a great start."

Kai wrapped her arms around her knees and let her head drop into them. Reno cringed slightly. He _definitely_ wasn't making her feel better. But then... he hadn't really been trying to. There were some things he'd just... _needed_ to say to the senior Turk. Whether she wanted to hear them or not.

"Look... you screwed up," he continued. "Been there... done that. It's not the end of the world. Like I said, I'm kinda mad at ya. So's Tseng. Heh... and I think Veld's more than _kinda_ mad right now. Just... we're not gonna be pissed forever, 'kay?"

Kai sniffed softly and raised her head up, quickly wiping her eyes.

"That's... sweet of you to say." She glanced over at him with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. "For the record, you're going to do just fine at the whole second in command thing."

Reno snorted in quiet laughter. "Yeah... well... I think I'm gonna need a couple more years on that one before I'm as sure as you are..." he said, before getting to his feet and grinning, "Come on. Ice cream guy's gonna be leavin' soon. You wanna get back on my good side? Buy me some."

Kai glanced over at him. "Hmph... I'm pretty sure that would be considered bribery, Baby Turkling..."

"Oh, it's _totally_ bribery," the redhead agreed, "Get your ass up. Sugar makes everything better."

The senior Turk shook her head, but obligingly got up and joined him as he made his way over to the little cart parked farther down the path.

* * *

The downdraft of the rotors made an already somewhat gusty fall afternoon even moreso, but Tseng ignored the gale and watched as the military helicopter touched down a short distance from the Turks' own helicopter. He could see a Junon airman in the pilot's seat, Veld sitting beside him as copilot. A moment later, the cargo door slid open, and Rude and Petra emerged, escorting their prisoners.

Tseng nodded to the young man who'd been on duty in the Medical suite – apparently Ward had left for home for the day after seeing to Reno and Remy – and he obligingly stepped forward to check over his patient's wrist under Petra's watchful eye. Veld, too, disembarked the aircraft, and as soon as all were clear, the helicopter lifted off again, leaving them behind as it headed for home.

"The President is expecting you," Tseng said to his mentor, making sure that Vasquez heard him clearly. The man was decidedly pale, to the point of looking ill, and he swallowed sharply at the Turk's words. Tseng escorted the group to the elevator, and pressed the button for Sixty-nine, delivering them to the presidential reception floor. The space was abandoned, but, in Tseng's opinion, that fact only served to make the overall effect even more intimidating.

By then, the medical staff had finished tending to the younger Vasquez's wrist and left, leaving only the Turks and their captives to make the long walk up the winding staircase to the President's office. Vasquez stumbled slightly near the top, and looked as though he might actually pass out before they even got inside... but Rude _helpfully_ dragged him upright and marched him through the doors.

"Ah... _Silas_..." President Shinra greeted his old friend, and icy tone to his voice. He was seated behind his mammoth desk, hands folded pensively in front of him. Rufus stood to his right, the somewhat smug look on his face quite clear.

"Bertrand..." Vasquez replied, shakily clearing his throat.

"You disappoint me, Silas," the President continued, "And you _know_ how much I _hate_ to be disappointed."

"Please... Bertrand... We-we've been friends for years..."

"We have indeed," he agreed, smiling coldly, "And that's why I'm going to order my Turks to make it quick and painless. You never should have crossed me, Silas. I _saved_ you from financial ruin. Gave you a very _generous_ stake in my company you never even had to work for. And you repay me by stealing from me?"

" _Saved_ me from financial ruin?" Vasquez choked, suddenly slightly more enraged than frightened, " _You_ were the one who _drove me out of business_ in the first place! I had to rebuild from _nothing_!"

"Which, I must say, you did quite expertly. A pity you couldn't be happy with that accomplishment," President Shinra replied with a dismissive wave, before turning to Veld, "Take them away. Dispose of them."

Serena gasped loudly, her eyes going wide.

"W-wait!" Vasquez cried, fighting against Rude's restraint. "Please... _please_ Bertrand, spare my daughter. She had nothing to do with any of this, I swear! She didn't even know about the thefts until your Turks showed up!"

President Shinra was silent for a moment, eyeing the younger Vasquez.

"Well... I suppose it _would_ be a shame to remove such a lovely young woman from the world. And perhaps I might still convince my _son_ that she's a suitable match for him," he mused, and sighed as if put upon, "Very well. Never let it be said that I'm _incapable_ of mercy." He looked over at Veld again. "The girl is free to go. See her back to Costa del Sol. _Execute_ her father."

"Father!" Serena cried, as Rude began to drag him away. Now free of Petra's grip, she rushed to him, throwing her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry, my darling... I love you," Vasquez whispered, before Rude finally pulled him away, and walked him out the door. Petra moved to take charge of the now sobbing girl, but Rufus waved her off.

"I'll see to Miss Vasquez's accommodation personally until transport home can be arraigned," the vice president said, with a casual glance back at his own father... who now wore a very approving expression. Tseng resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The man was _probably_ already planning the wedding. The President nodded in dismissal, and the remaining Turks took their leave, Rufus and the man's daughter trailing them out of the office.

* * *

Rufus guided Serena to the privacy of his office, leaving Tseng and the other Turks to their gruesome task. Almost as soon as he shut the door behind them, the quiet sobbing inexplicably ceased. Serena pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed away the tears before turning to him with a thin smile.

"I'm afraid I _still_ won't be marrying you, Rufus," she said, conversationally, "I've just suffered a _terrible_ loss, and I simply can't see myself with you after this."

The younger Shinra snorted softly.

"So you _did_ know, then..." he commented.

"Of _course_ I knew. Father has never been very good at keeping secrets. I also knew this idiotic scheme of his would get him killed eventually. That's why I encouraged it, and made absolutely certain he didn't back out when he began to worry you were getting too close. Subtly, of course. I'm sure he truly _believes_ I was completely in the dark about it all until the moment your Turks stormed our estate."

"How very cold and calculating," he commented, though truthfully, he was vaguely impressed by her resolve.

"Well... Father shouldn't have tried to interfere in my engagement," she said, simply. Cold as ice, this one, Rufus mused.

"Why reveal yourself to me like this? Aren't you concerned I'll let slip your little plot? You did, after all, use _my_ father to murder _yours_."

Serena smiled and sauntered up to him, gently griping his hand in her own.

"Not concerned in the least," she replied. "We're very much alike, you and I..."

"Hmph..." Rufus snorted, but didn't deny the accusation. There had certainly been times when he'd, at least, fantasized about what it would be like to finally be out from under the yoke of his father's control. To have that freedom. The only real difference between himself and Serena was that _he_ had never been pushed far enough to consider _acting_ on those dark fantasies.

"In any case... I suppose your father will want me to sign over Father's shares in Shinra Company before he lets me leave. Loose ends, and all that," she said with a tone of disinterest.

Rufus chuckled. "Oh, I'm _sure_ it's crossed his mind by now. I... believe I'll talk him out of it."

"Oh?" Serena queried, sounding surprised.

"I never much cared for your father's presence at our quarterly shareholder meetings. I think I would find _yours_ far more agreeable," he replied, with a knowing smirk, "Consider it a wedding gift."

Besides... Rufus was quite proud to say that he was no fool. That old adage about keeping one's friends close and one's enemies closer was an old adage for a very good reason. He wasn't _quite_ sure just which side Serena fell on just yet... but he intended to keep her close, either way.

* * *

The gunshot had been surprisingly muted from out in the hallway. Rude had always suspected that the rooms in the basement had significantly more soundproofing than they appeared, but this confirmed it. He leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. It was over. _Finally_.

No more break-ins. No more thefts. No more risking their lives to prevent the Zenshou from robbing the Company blind. He would have liked to have done it himself, truth be told... but that honor had gone to Veld. Rude wasn't about to complain, though. His hard work had paid off... even if, in the end, it hadn't been one of his leads that had brought an end to it.

As ordered, it had been quick and clean. Vasquez was dead, and with him died the Zenshou's only real motive for harassing Shinra Company. There was still some clean-up work to be done – disposing of the body... tracking down the people Vasquez had sold their stolen property to and retrieving it... and of course, ensuring that no one else got any similar ideas in the future. But that was the easy part. He was glad to finally be able to wash his hands of the situation. He'd been getting just a little _too_ obsessed with the assignment lately, and was looking forward to his life returning to normal.

Well... as "normal" as a Turk's life ever got, anyway. Tseng joined him in the hallway a moment later.

"Go home," the Turk lieutenant said, "Veld and I can handle things from here."

"..."

"I've already had this argument once today with Reno. Don't make me have it a second time," Tseng, somewhat teasingly, warned. Rude chuckled softly.

"Wanted to stick around and help, huh?" he asked.

"In spite of being hungry, sleep deprived, and recently shot... yes," the Turk lieutenant confirmed. "Go home, Rude."

"Hmph." The bald Turk gave a snort of laughter, but pushed himself upright. "See you Monday," he replied with a wave as he turned to head for the elevator that would take him from the sub-basement up to the parking deck.

His truck had been there since he and Remy had left for Wutai, and he found it waiting for him, undisturbed, right where he'd left it. He quickly climbed behind the wheel and let his head drop back against the driver's seat headrest with a groan of relief. A few seconds later, he was reaching for his phone. He had his finger poised over Reno's contact and was just about to dial when he remembered that his friend's phone had met with yet another unfortunate accident... and he _probably_ hadn't gotten a new one yet. The requisitions office tended not to work on the weekends. The redhead was going to be phoneless until Monday at the earliest.

He debated just showing up. Though... more often than not, when he did _that_ , Reno already had... company. But, then again, it _was_ still fairly early... It was only just approaching five in the evening. There was a pretty decent chance that, if he left now, he'd catch up to his friend before he made plans with someone of the fairer sex. That thought in mind, he started the engine and backed out of the space before circling around to the parking deck's exit. Minutes later, he was on the freeway headed for the Sector 3 exit.

* * *

Reno jerked awake, startled from the light doze he'd fallen into almost immediately upon arriving home from the park and looked around the room in confusion as he tried to figure out what had woken him up. He stretched slightly as he sat up on the couch. The TV was on, showing the evening news... but the volume was turned down low, so he doubted _that_ was it.

After a few seconds, a knock sounded at his apartment's door, and he snorted softly. That explained it. Must've been the _first_ knock that woke him. He stood up with a yawn and made his way over, opening the door to his visitor, and grinned at the sight that greeted him.

"Hey... Finally made it back, huh?" he said.

" _Finally_ ," Rude agreed, returning the grin and offering up a six pack of beer. "Got plans for tonight?"

"Yeah. I plan on gettin' to know at least half that six pack _real_ well," Reno snickered, ushering Rude inside, "Come on in."

Rude laughed quietly and followed his friend into the living room, setting the drinks on the coffee table, and making himself at home on the couch. Reno pulled one can from its plastic ring and tossed it to his fellow Turk before taking one for himself.

"So how'd shit go in Costa del Sol after I left? Any more problems?" he asked, and Rude shook his head.

"Couldn't've gone smoother, actually," he replied, "It was kind of a nice change of pace, after what we've been through lately."

"Heh... Always nice when nothin' goes horribly wrong..." the redhead chuckled, before taking a swig of beer and flopping down in one of the arm chairs.

"How'd things go _here_?" Rude asked, pointedly glancing he his friend's chest.

"Subtle," the redhead snickered, "I'm _fine_. Doc just told me to go easy on the stitches. No other restrictions."

Rude looked visibly relieved and cracked open his own beer. It occurred to the redhead that his friend had largely heard about the injury second-hand, seeing as he'd been staking out Vasquez's place most of the night.

"Petra showed me the pictures after you left this morning," he commented with a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. "How in the _Nine Hells_ does that happen?"

Reno choked slightly on the sip he'd just taken, laughing.

"No idea, man," he replied, grinning widely, "But it just fuckin' figures it'd happen to _me_... Plus now I gotta request _another_ damn phone."

"What's it look like now?" the older Turk asked, a hint of morbid curiosity in his voice. Reno pulled the collar of his t-shirt down enough to reveal the now badly bruised skin that surrounded a rather ugly bunch of stitches.

"Real nice, huh?" he snickered. "I hope the scar at least ends up lookin' cool."

Rude snorted and drained the rest of his beer from the can.

"Hmph... So you want to get something to eat before we're too drunk to stumble out of your apartment?"

"When's the last time you heard me turn down food? I'll drive," the redhead laughed, finishing off his own drink. "Go shove the rest of those in the fridge while I find my keys."

"Forget the keys. There's a new food truck I've been wanting to check out. It's supposed to be parked three blocks from here in fifteen minutes."

Reno cocked his head to one side. " _You_ – our resident food snob – wanna eat stuff some random guy's serving outta the back of a truck?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.

"No... I want to sample a new culinary trend that's on the rise and gaining popularity all over the city."

"Tch... Whatever. Long as I can eat it," the younger Turk shrugged, still snickering. He grabbed his shoes and a light jacket and hurried to follow Rude out of the apartment. An elevator ride later found them walking down the street, just as the mako-powered streetlights were coming on. The wind, that had picked up a bit earlier in the afternoon had calmed by then, giving way to a pleasant, if still slightly cool, evening.

"Man," Reno breathed, "Can't believe it's already time to start thinkin' about Halloween again."

"You know it's still over a month away, right?" Rude replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah? And?"

Rude chuckled and shook his head. "I take it that means we're pranking the rookies again this year?"

"Of fucking _course_ we're prankin' the rookies! It's practically tradition. We got it back when _we_ were rookies. Sykes 'n Petra got it last year. Only fair we keep it goin' with Liam 'n the newbies," Reno declared. He sighed contentedly as Rude put his arm over the smaller Turk's shoulder. "... I really missed havin' you around, Partner. You 'n Remy were gone _way_ too long."

"Hmph... missed you, too," the bald Turk grinned, "By the way... I paid a little visit to our _office_ while I was at headquarters."

The redhead cringed, suddenly remembering that he had promised to have their shared workspace cleaned up and back to normal by the time his officemate returned... and though he'd briefly made an attempt at _starting_ to clean... it hadn't happened yet.

"Uh... heh... ya did?" he asked, hesitantly, and Rude nodded as their destination came into view a short distance away. "... This isn't like a last meal kinda situation... is it?"

"Haven't decided yet..." Rude teased.

* * *

It was dark by the time Kai realized that she'd been staring out at nothing for hours. The sun has long since set, and it wasn't until the chill of the evening made her physically shudder that she finally managed to drag herself back to reality.

Suspension. Evaluation. Shiva only knew what else. And the worst part was, she had no one to blame but herself.

She glanced down at the photo album in her lap and sighed. She'd put it away years ago. They were photos of a happier time. A time when she still felt whole. Alyssa smiled up at her from the pages, and she turned away, blinking back tears. Aly never would have approved of what she'd done, either. In fact, she'd have _probably_ let her have even worse than Tseng had.

And then there was Reno, who had more reason than anyone to be absolutely _furious_ with her... and her little Baby Turkling was just his typical sweet self about the entire mess – which, in a way, made her feel even worse for betraying him the way she had. He'd been right to send her back. She could see that now. Her being there had been a liability. That they'd managed to complete their mission was not _thanks_ to her, but, rather, in spite of her.

And she hadn't even accomplished what she'd set out to do. The Shiva-be-damned Zenshou had walked away unscathed and unpunished. Hell, she was fairly sure the only _injury_ incurred during the entire ridiculous debacle had been Reno's... for _saving_ her sorry ass.

He'd let her off the hook for Wutai – didn't fault her for letting herself be seduced by the enemy and compromising security for the whole trip – and she'd let him convince her that it wasn't her fault. She had no easy way out of _this_ one, though. This was _all_ on her.

It was going to be a long time before she could show her face in Turk Headquarters again. Not that that was an issue. Suspension meant a temporary revocation of her security clearances. She wasn't even _allowed_ in the office for the time being. In fact, she wasn't permitted above the floors open to the general public until Veld said otherwise. Assuming he _decided_ to say otherwise. It was entirely possible she'd finally gone too far and managed to fuck up her entire career.

A stray tear made its way down her cheek and landed on one of the pages of the album. Kai gently brushed it away and sighed.

"I don't know what to do, Aly..." she whispered, "I really don't."

~end chapter 76~


	77. A Return to Routine

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 77: A Return to Routine**

 **by Desha**

Early Monday morning found Reno stretching his arms over his head and yawing widely as the elevator carried him upwards. It wasn't that he'd ignored his mentor's orders to rest and recover over the weekend – hell, he'd completely crashed and just slept half of Sunday – it was more the fact that he was at work at a ridiculously early hour. Like... _Tseng_ early.

Tseng was, in fact, the reason for his unusually prompt arrival, actually. The senior Turk had specifically said he was getting his cast off today, even if he had to do it himself... and he was fed up enough with the thing that Reno didn't for a second believe he was exaggerating. If the Doc turned him down, he wouldn't put it past Tseng to take a hacksaw to it, and the redhead wanted to be there... both to witness the rare willful disobedience, and... _just in case_ he got a little too enthusiastic. Reno'd sawed a cast off once. The endeavor had ultimately resulted in nine stitches in his arm, a very peeved Dr. Ward, and the the loss of his treat for his next three visits.

He snickered quietly to himself picturing the look on the doctor's face if _he_ was the one dragging the Turk lieutenant in for once... rather than the other way around. The elevator pinged and opened its doors on the fifty-eighth floor, and Reno very nearly walked directly into Ryu as soon as he set foot in the hallway.

"Sir!" the rookie yelped, caught by surprise and the redhead couldn't help notice the somewhat guilty expression on his face.

"Hey," he replied, "Here a little early, aren'tcha, rookie?"

Ryu awkwardly cleared his throat, and the next thing Reno knew, the young Wutiian was bowing deeply in front of him.

"Sir, I wanted to apologize for my abysmal behavior before you left on assignment and formally request your forgiveness," he hurriedly said, maintaining the somewhat awkward-looking position even after he'd finished speaking.

"Uh..." the redhead began, unsure of how to respond to that. _He'd_ thought they'd cleared that one up over a week ago. Before he could formulate an answer, however, a menacing shadow appeared behind the young rookie, and Ryu stiffened noticeably.

"... This the newbie who called you a slum rat?" Rude intoned in a low and dangerous growl. Reno snorted softly.

"Yeah, this is Ryu," he said, grinning. The Wutaiian Turk hesitantly looked up, and his eyes went wide when he realized that a _much_ larger Turk was suddenly looming over him. Rude cracked his knuckles. The rookie opened his mouth, lips forming words that his voice couldn't quite produce, and Reno laughed. "Knock it off, partner. Rufus already took care of scarin' the kid straight."

Rude backed down, chuckling softly as Reno rolled his eyes.

"Relax. Rude's a big softy at heart," he snickered, turning his attention back on Ryu – who hadn't, as yet, even dared to move. Rude snorted contemptuously and pushed his ever-present sunglasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

"Am not," he shot back.

"Yeah? What'd you do yesterday?" the redhead demanded, still grinning.

"... Baked cookies," his fellow Turk admitted.

"Uh huh... Yeah. Not soft at all," Reno teased, and then refocused his gaze on the rookie again. "I already told ya... we're good. You don't gotta keep apologizin'. What are you doin' here _this_ time of the mornin' anyway?"

"Er... I've... been practicing on the firing range in the mornings, sir... I just stopped at the office to get some tea first."

"Raidin' Tseng's not-so-secret breakroom tea stash? Man, _talk_ about a glutton for punishment..." the redhead snickered, and Ryu's face went white. "I'm _kidding_ ," Reno couldn't help but laugh, "Anything in the lounge is fair game. Learn to relax a little, Ryu..."

The rookie breathed a sigh of relief and Reno shook his head.

"Go on 'n practice already. We'll see ya at the mornin' briefing."

"Yes, sir..." Ryu quickly replied, and hurried over the the elevator. The redhead turned back to Rude and shot him a slightly disapproving look.

"And _you_..." he began, only to almost immediately drop the ruse as the elevator doors shut behind him and return to his old grinning self, "That was fuckin' hilarious, man. I think the poor kid seriously thought you were gonna snap him in half for a second there..."

"Hmph... Big softy at heart, my ass..." he snorted.

"Speakin' of... you brought those cookies in to _share_... right?"

Rude smirked. "They're in the lounge."

* * *

Tseng looked up from his computer monitor at the sound of knocking on his office door, and briefly glanced at his watch. It was a bit early for anyone _else_ to be here, yet... save Ryu, who, for the last week had made a habit of coming in to practice on the firing range before the day got started.

"Yes? Come in," he called out, expecting the rookies, and was more than a little surprised when his protege stuck his head into the office instead.

"Mornin', Boss!" Reno crowed before stepping fully through the door and plopping himself into one of the chairs in front of the Tseng's desk.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the senior Turk queried, making no attempt to mask his confusion.

"I... work here?" the redhead replied, with a teasing grin. Tseng sighed and shook his head.

"I _meant_ what are you doing here so _early_? You're normally still half asleep right now."

Reno laughed. "Yeah, well... you said that cast was comin' off today one way or another... I figured _someone_ oughta be here just in case it ends up bein' 'another'. Ya know... considerin' how badly I mangled my arm when _I_ did it."

"Well... I hate to disappoint, but I'm afraid you're already too late. It was successfully removed without further injury nearly twenty minutes ago," the Turk lieutenant replied, with a somewhat mischievous look. Reno raised an eyebrow.

"With or _without_ the Doc's blessing?" he asked.

"Without," Tseng stated.

"Heh... then ya _might_ be jumpin' the gun a little with that whole 'without further injury' part... 'cause she's gonna fuckin' _kill_ you."

"That would be a violation of her her Hippocratic oath," his mentor stated, "... And besides which... this is one instance when I think it will ultimately be preferable to ask forgiveness rather than permission. She can't be angry with me for going against medical orders if she hasn't yet _given_ those orders."

"I take it back. She's _not_ gonna kill you. She's gonna brutally _murder_ you," Reno laughed.

"I _think_ I can hold my own, should it come down to a battle to the death," Tseng deadpanned, "But as it happens, your early arrival is actually very convenient. There'sa small matter I wanted to discuss with you before we find ourselves so busy with the rookies we have no time to talk about anything else..."

Reno cocked his head to one side and leaned forward, curious.

"What's up?"

Tseng chuckled softly and turned slightly in his chair so that he was facing the younger Turk directly.

"Bear in mind... I'm merely making a suggestion. I'm by no means _ordering_ you to comply. I'm well aware of your general aversion to changes in your routine," he began, and the redhead frowned slightly.

"Tch... I don't have an _aversion to changes in my routine_ ," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. Tseng suddenly laughed... and continued laughing for several seconds while his protege openly glowered at his response.

"Reno... when you first learned you were moving into your own apartment, you ran off in a huff and got lost in the woods," he pointed out, "You very _much_ dislike change once you've grown comfortable with something."

Reno folded his arms stubbornly over his chest, his cheeks visibly turning slightly pink. "That was three fuckin' years ago... _Almost_ four. I was a _kid_."

Tseng cast him a knowing smile. "Just... don't immediately dismiss the idea out of hand. Take the time to think about it. I don't need an answer right away so there's no rush."

"You haven't even _told_ me what this great idea of your _is_ yet..." he grumbled.

"I'd like you to consider new office accommodations," Tseng said, finally getting to the point. "Tres' old workspace would be far better suited to Rude's duties, and it really should be his as a matter of succession anyway... and you could use a bit more space yourself. We've not yet repurposed Shay's former office. It's nearly twice the size of yours... _and_ has the added benefit of being closer to mine."

Reno blinked in surprise... and, somewhat unexpectedly, dread.

"You... wanna separate me 'n Rude?" he asked. He'd been Rude's officemate since... well pretty much since the beginning. Tseng had assigned him to that office the same week he'd been recruited. He _liked_ sharing an office with his best friend. Tseng sighed and chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

"No. Nevermind that I doubt I could _actually_ do so even if I tried," he said, smiling slightly, "But you're _both_ outgrowing that space. You're not rookies anymore. You're not even green Turks anymore. You _both_ have new and growing responsibilities. That closet of an office is not going to be suitable forever."

"Yeah..." he admitted, hesitantly. Tseng _did_ have a point. Rude's filing system was starting to rival the Turks' archive room... and there had been more than a couple of instances when one of the rookies had wanted to talk to the redhead privately... which had resulted in either the two of them adjourning to the lounge or Reno kicking Rude out for a little while. That sort of thing was only going to become more frequent. But for some reason, when he thought about abandoning that dinky little office, his stomach twisted uncomfortably.

Maybe Tseng was right. Maybe he really _did_ kinda have an "aversion to change".

"As I said... it's only a suggestion. For the moment, anyway," Tseng added, "Give it some consideration."

"... Yeah, okay," Reno finally relented, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," Tseng said with a nod, "Now... if you'll excuse me, I think I had better get my inevitable audience with the good doctor over with – before she hears about it secondhand and comes for me."

Reno suddenly smirked. "I'll come with ya," he said, eagerly climbing to his feet, and Tseng raised an eyebrow.

"You're... _willingly_... coming down to Medical?" he asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Heh... Doc's gonna tear you a new one, Boss. No way am I missin' out on seein' _that_ in person."

* * *

"Hey... Boss?" Reno queried as they were on their way down to the Ninth floor. "What's gonna happen with Kai?"

"She is currently suspended. For how long... well... Veld will be addressing that in the morning briefing. Which, I suspect will be a bit late today," his mentor replied, somewhat guardedly.

"Why?"

Tseng sighed and shook his head. "Because, when you returned on Saturday, I ordered her to report for a mandatory psych eval this morning. Veld will likely want time to review it, and to speak with _her_ as well, before making any official commentary on the subject."

"... Oh," the redhead said, sullenly.

"You disagree with that action?" Tseng asked, and judging by his tone, Reno got the impression that he he really _did_ want to know what his protege thought.

"No... not _exactly_ , I mean..." He took a brief moment to compose his thoughts, and then continued, "I'd be the _first_ one to tell ya that her mind's not a hundred percent on the job right now 'n that she coulda done a _lot_ more damage than she did with that shit she pulled."

"But?" the older Turk prodded. Reno shrugged.

"But... I get where she's comin' from. And it feels really shitty punishin' her for it. 'Specially by slappin' her with a full-on suspension..."

"I know," Tseng said, simply, and Reno glanced up at him, a little surprised by the admission. The senior Turk smiled slightly. "She _is_ my best friend, after all. I don't relish having to do any of this, and neither does Veld... but it's not something we can allow to continue unchecked, no matter what our _personal_ feelings may be."

Reno snorted in faint laughter.

"This is another one of those responsibilities I'm gonna be growin' into, huh?"

"No reliable person will ever tell you that leadership is easy... and anyone who _does_ is either utterly mad or lying through their teeth," Tseng replied, sagely.

"Gee, Boss... ya make it sound so appealing..." he snickered as the elevator chimed and the doors opened at their destination.

"Best that you learn it sooner rather than later," Tseng said, stepping off of the elevator, and making his way towards the medical suite on his crutches. He paused for a moment and turned back to look at the redhead, smirking, "Particularly if your prediction turns out to be correct and I'm on my way to meet my untimely end. You may well be taking over for me far sooner than either of us planned..."

The comment drew a quiet snicker from the redhead, who quickly fell into step beside his mentor. The pair stepped into the medical suite, and found it quiet and largely empty... save for a young nurse refilling supply carts.

"Looks like ya lucked out, Boss," Reno said, "Doc's not in yet."

" _Tseng Itsudake_!" an irate-sounding voice unexpectedly demanded from directly behind the two men, and both Turks jumped in sudden fright. Reno spun on his heel, eyes wide as he came face to face with the aforementioned physician, while Tseng turned a bit less gracefully on his crutches. Justinia Ward was scowling angrily at the senior Turk, her gaze lingering on his very obviously cast-less leg. "Just what in Titan's name have yeh done!?"

She was still wearing her outdoor coat, and had a large bag slung over one shoulder, apparently having only just arrived.

"He cut off the cast," Reno helpfully explained, trying to suppress both laughter _and_ mild terror.

"I can see _that_ ," Dr. Ward snapped, clearly not amused, as she folded her arms over her chest. "I told yeh I'd reevalute yeh on _Wednesday_. Unless I'm very much mistaken, it is _not_ Wednesday."

Before either of the Turks knew what was happening, Ward's hand shot out and seized hold of Tseng's left ear, and Reno saw a surprisingly fearful expression cross his mentor's face as he realized what she intended, before it was replaced by a look of supreme discomfort.

"Right then... Hobble yer sorry backside inta the exam room and we'll see just how much _trouble_ yer in fer yer blatant foolishness," she said, all but dragging the Wutaiian Turk with her behind one of the curtains.

The redhead couldn't help but snicker quietly to himself. Seeing Tseng literally dragged off by the ear was a little surreal... Definitely worth the trip down to Nine.

* * *

"Hey, Zephyr! Victor! Hold up!" Liam called out as he ran for the elevator. His fellow rookies paused at the sound of their names and turned to look back. Zephyr broke into a wide smile as she recognized him.

"Morning, Liam," she replied, holding the elevator door so he could scramble aboard.

"So I heard from Petra that everyone's back from Wutai," the more senior rookie noted, slightly breathless, as the car started upwards toward their offices, "And that there's some pretty big news..."

"What kind of news?" Victor queried, curious.

"Not sure. She said she couldn't discuss it yet. So I'm guessing it's something mission related."

"Oooh... _exciting_!" Zephyr said with a grin. The elevator stopped again on the ninth floor, long before their selected destination, to let someone else on. As the doors opened, the three rookies were greeted by the sight of a very familiar redhead and his mentor. Reno was snickering quietly, and only did so harder when Tseng momentarily stopped short upon seeing who was in the elevator.

"Oh! Sir... You've had the cast removed!" Zephyr remarked, which – for some reason – caused the redhead to go from quiet snickering to outright laughter.

Tseng rolled his eyes and joined them in the car.

"Will you _stop_ laughing, please?" he addressed the younger man in a somewhat exasperated tone. Liam cocked his head at the pair, confused.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Reno opened his mouth to reply, but Tseng quickly cut him off.

"Not. A. Word."

"Ah, come on, Boss... It's good news!" Reno responded, grinning widely, and turning to the rookies, "Tseng's off full restriction. The Doc's lettin' him start physical therapy for his ankle a little early." He paused and grinned even wider, "Well... that's what she decided _after_ she finished chewin' him out for takin' a hacksaw to his cast without permission..."

" _Reno_!" Tseng snapped.

"Really laid into him, too..." he continued, ignoring his superior, "I don't think even _I've_ managed to piss her off _that_ much... That woman's got some _real_ creative replacements for swearin' at ya..."

"Continue, and you will be filling out the month's requisition forms for the rest of the day," the Turk lieutenant said, in a warning tone.

The younger Turk obligingly held up his hands in surrender. "Alright... alright... Geez."

By then, all three of the rookies had begun to join in on his amusement, but quickly stifled their laughter. Liam was the first to venture to change the subject as the elevator carried them upwards to Turk headquarters.

"So... Petra said everyone's back..." he offered and Tseng, somewhat gratefully, nodded.

"Remy will be out of the office a bit longer, recovering from injuries sustained before her rescue... but yes. Everyone has returned in more or less one piece. Veld will be going into detail during the morning briefing."

The three rookies shared a look between them, eager to know what exactly "going into detail" would involve.

"And the Zenshou?" Victor asked. To Liam's surprise, Tseng smiled slightly. Not the _typical_ reaction when the blackmarket gang came up in conversation.

"As I said... Veld will be going into detail on the events of the past few days at the morning briefing. Suffice it to say that there will be good news, and... _less_ good news, in that regard."

Before any of them could inquire further, the elevator chimed, opening on the fifty-eighth floor, and the five of them exited into the hallway. Tseng nodded a dismissal and started towards his own office... but didn't get far.

" _Tseng_..." a stern voice, that didn't sound particularly happy at just that moment, called out from the far end of the hallway. The Wutaiian Turk froze for a moment and then sighed, turning to face his mentor as he strode down the hallway. "Would you care to explain the phone call I just received from Dr. Ward down in Medical?"

Reno smirked slightly and quickly herded the three rookies in the opposite direction, prodding them towards the lounge.

"Good luck, Boss," he called over his shoulder.

* * *

"... Oh my _god_... _so_ good..." Zephyr said in something dangerously close to a moan as she bit into her third cookie.

"Hey... save some for the rest of us, Rookie," Reno teased, grabbing two for himself and retreating to the couch. He flopped down beside Victor, who was also enjoying one of the treats with his cup of coffee. The redhead inhaled the sweet aroma of the dessert before stuffing half of it into his mouth. " _Man_ ,I missed havin' Rude around..."

"Me, _too_ ," Liam agreed, helping himself to one as well, "Where is he, anyway?"

"Tch... Knowin' him? Probably catchin' up on all the intelligence reports he couldn't access while he was in Wutai," the redhead chuckled, "Guy's an addict."

"Hmph... Says the guy double-fisting baked goods at eight oh five in the morning..." a voice from the doorway accused, and a tall, muscular Turk Zephyr had never seen before walked into the lounge, a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes from view. Reno merely grinned and raised a hand, gesturing to the new arrival.

"Guys, this is Rude. Rude... the other two newbies," he said, sweeping his arm towards two recently promoted rookies, "That's Zephyr, and this is Victor."

Victor set his coffee aside and stood up, walking over to the senior Turk and holding out a hand.

"Nice to finally meet you, sir," he greeted him.

"Hello," Zephyr added, with a wave, "So... _you_ made these? They're _amazing_!"

She wasn't certain, but she thought the bald Turk blushed faintly at the compliment.

"So in addition to bein' our part-time personal chef, Rude's also our resident intelligence specialist," Reno added, with a teasing grin, "If ya got any secrets... they're not gonna _stay_ secret for long. He's got all the dirt on everyone around here. He's a real asshole 'bout sharin' it, though. Practically gotta torture it outta him."

"Unless you want dirt on Reno," Rude deadpanned, lowering his sunglasses and looking directly at the redhead, "I'd be happy to tell you a few things about _him_."

"Like I said... he's a real asshole," Reno snickered, "Ya finally manage to find your desk underneath all that crap in our office, Partner?"

"Hmph... We're going to be having a little _talk_ about _that_ later," Rude replied.

"Heh... Yeah, I know..." the smaller Turk said, having the decency to look slightly ashamed. Zephyr couldn't help but giggle softly. She'd _seen_ the inside of Reno's office. It... kind of looked like an explosion had gone off at some point and no one had ever bothered to clean it up. She hadn't, however, realized until now that it wasn't just _his_ office, and she vaguely wondered how on earth the two of them managed without tripping over one another.

By then Victor had cocked his head to one side, a question obviously on his mind.

"Sir?" he said, addressing Reno, "Did you say... partner? I didn't know Turks worked in assigned pairs."

The redhead laughed, and so did Rude.

"He meant that more in the partner in _crime_ sense. He does his best to get us into trouble. I do my best to keep us out of it," Rude chuckled, shaking his head. "But we do tend to pair up in the field a lot, too, because we work so well together."

"It's the perfect partnership," Reno added, a teasing note to his voice, "Rude keeps me sane 'n I drive him nuts."

Rude snorted softly, but didn't disagree, and Zephyr couldn't help but grin in response. The two of them reminded her of a couple of neighbors back home. Two brothers. _Completely_ inseparable... and _always_ up to something.

"In any case... those cookies are for _everyone_. At least give the others a fighting chance."

"Hey, I've only had two..." Reno protested, and then nodded at Zephyr. "Newbie over there's the one practically swallowin' 'em whole... She's reaching for at _least_ number five by my count."

Zephyr paused in her effort to select yet another cookie from the plate, and spun back to face the group, her face going bright red.

"S-sorry... They're just _so_ good..." she stammered, embarrassed. Liam grinned at her.

"Trust me, you're not the only one. I think I gained almost ten pounds my first few weeks on the job..." he snickered. The door to the lounge opened again, and the small group was joined by Ryu and Sykes... and Zephyr couldn't help but notice that Ryu somewhat hesitantly edged his way around the newly-returned senior Turk as he made his way over to one of the chairs near the table.

"Hey, Ryu... You met Rude yet?" Victor asked.

"... Er... yes. We... met earlier..." Ryu replied, and Zephyr detected a very obvious nervousness in his voice. Reno sniggered and popped the remaining chunk of his second cookie into his mouth.

"Fuck, Rude... I think ya mighta traumatized him a little."

Zephyr glanced over at Ryu and giggled. He _did_ look a little pale. She offered him a cookie from the plate, which he quietly accepted.

The conversation continued in much the same vein for quite some time. Eventually, Petra joined them as well... though Zephyr was a little surprised to note that there was no sign of Kai. If anyone else had noticed, however, no one said anything. After awhile Zephyr glanced up at the clock on the wall, and gasped softly. It was _well_ past time for the morning briefing to start, and they were all still hanging around the lounge eating cookies.

"Sir..." she said, pointing at the time, "We're late for the briefing!"

"Crap, I knew there was somethin' I was forgetting. Don't worry 'bout it... briefing's gonna be a little late this mornin'," Reno said, frowning slightly.

"What's going on?" Sykes asked. Reno glanced over at Rude, who merely shrugged.

"Uh..." the redhead began, somewhat uncertainly, "That's kinda for Veld to explain, not me. Whole lotta shit went down over the weekend..."

"Is this about the 'less good' news Tseng mentioned in the elevator, sir?" Victor asked.

"It's about a lot of shit... but yeah, that's part of it," Reno confirmed, "And I don't have all the details myself yet, so... I don't wanna go spreadin' shit that might not be totally accurate anymore."

"A wise decision," a new voice interjected from the doorway, and Zephyr turned to see that at some point during the conversation, Tseng has noiselessly entered the room. "But wholly moot at this point. Veld is ready to start the briefing. If you'll all be good enough to join us..."

~end chapter 77~


	78. Looking Towards the Future

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 78: Looking Towards the Future**

 **by Desha**

 _ **Author's note:**_ _So sorry for the delay on this chapter! I've been dealing with a neck strain for the last week that has made it sheer torture to sit at the computer and type for any significant length of time (which is not a lot of fun when that's basically what you do for a living). Hopefully, now that it's getting better, I can get back on schedule. :)_

* * *

Reno took a seat in the briefing room, settling himself into a chair between Rude and Liam. He noted, with no small amount of amusement, that Ryu seemed to be making a point to situate himself as far from the bald Turk as physically possible... and then mentally sighed as he realized that, as entertaining as it had been, _he_ was going to have to do something about that. Couldn't have the rookie panicking every time Rude walked into a room, after all.

Veld waited patiently at the head of the table for everyone to get comfortable and quiet down... which, as every last one of them who hadn't been present for what had gone down in Costa del Sol was anxious to hear about the results of the mission, didn't take long.

"I expect, by now, the majority of you have heard that we had a very eventful, and ultimately fruitful, weekend," the Turk leader began. "First and foremost... Remy was successfully retrieved from her captors, and is recovering at home. As usual, she's quite eager to be back at work as soon as possible."

"Heh... why does _that_ not surprise me?" the redhead snickered. Remy was almost as bad as Tseng at times when it came to work. She'd come back – on restricted duty, of course – not even two weeks after having her hand mangled by falling debris and almost bleeding to death the day the Sector 6 reactor had blown. Though, truth be told... he'd be glad to see her back on her feet again sooner rather than later, after the way she'd looked when he and Kai had pulled her out of that Zeshou hideout.

He heard a faint snort of laughter from Rude's direction in response.

"The second announcement," Veld continued, pointedly ignoring the interruption, "is that, thanks to the tireless efforts of Rude and a fortuitous discovery made by Liam and Petra... we have finally identified and eliminated the Zenshou's buyer. With no further... _orders_... being placed for our technology, we expect that they'll decide Shinra is a bit too difficult a target to spend any more effort on. There's little to no profit in it for them without a buyer on stand-by. Rude will be keeping an eye on the situation for awhile yet, but unless we find cause to reopen the investigation, our Zenshou problem is officially dealt with."

"We're not going after them, sir?" Liam asked, curious, and Veld shook his head.

"No. We've expended far too many resources on this matter as it is, and come dangerously close to needlessly losing personnel. We're not the planet's police force. If they're not interfering with Shinra interests, they're not Shinra's – or the Turks' – problem." He paused, for a moment and sighed. "Which... brings me to my next announcement."

Reno sat up slightly in his seat, eager to hear what was to become of Kai... though judging by Veld's tone, it wasn't going to be good news.

"You've all likely noticed that Kai hasn't joined us for the morning briefing today," the Turk commander began on a somewhat solemn note. "Kai has been suspended for gross insubordination and interfering with an active field operation."

The murmurs began immediately, with most of the rookies at the table voicing their shock and confusion. Reno, however, stayed silent, waiting for Veld to continue. The senior Turk gave his subordinates a few more seconds of conversation, before calling for order.

"Quiet down," he commanded, and the discussion abruptly ceased, "Kai has been... having a difficult time dealing with the fallout of the Wutai mission this past summer and, in her quest for revenge against the Zenshou, made some very poor choices that put others in danger. As such, during her suspension, she will be taking a sabbatical away from the city to get her head on straight and sort through some personal issues."

"Hang on... she's just up 'n leavin' Midgar?" Reno asked, blinking in surprise, "Where's she goin'?"

"She didn't say... though, knowing Kai, the trip will likely involve a tent and a fishing pole," Tseng interjected before Veld could answer.

Reno frowned slightly, but sank back in his seat in silence to allow the commander to continue. He supposed he shouldn't have been so shocked by the thought of Kai taking off into the woods. It was... kind of what she did. Still... a part of him worried that this was less a camping trip to figure things out, and more an opportunity to go after the Zenshou on her own without Turk regulations tying her down. He glanced over at Tseng, but his mentor's expression remained unreadable. If he, too, suspected an ulterior motive, nothing in his demeanor gave it away.

"I realize this probably comes as something of a shock... particularly to those of you who were not directly involved in the last minute operation in Costa del Sol over the weekend. Kai _will_ be back. She's an exceptional Turk, and I'm not about to fire her over this matter. But she's needs some time to herself right now."

"Unfortunately, that means that we're down a regular trainer," Tseng added, "I myself intend to be back up to that task by next week... though if I'm to realistically have any hope of that, I'm going to need to dedicate a significant portion of my day to rehabilitating my ankle. Rude... Reno and I are going to need some of your time to fill in the gaps on the training schedule."

Rude gave a grunt of acknowledgment and nodded.

"That mean I get to run gauntlet day?" he asked, side-eyeing the rookies.

"I'll let you and Reno sort that out between yourselves," Tseng replied, and several of the rookies collectively groaned. Reno snickered quietly, suspecting that they had been hoping that "gauntlet day" might get put on hold with Kai being absent. No such luck for them, unfortunately. The gauntlet, though almost universally despised by those who hadn't yet mastered it – and a few who had – was a pretty useful method of gauging a rookie's progress.

"Now that that's out of the way..." Veld said, "Sykes, building security has requested some extra help with a materials transfer this morning. See to it."

"Yes, sir," the younger Turk replied.

"The rest of you... get to training. Dismissed."

The assembled Turks gradually got to their feet and trickled out of the conference room... though both Reno _and_ Rude hung back, cornering Tseng before he could disappear to whatever physical therapy he had scheduled for himself.

"Boss..." the redhead began, "You _sure_ Kai's just goin' for a long walk in the woods?"

Tseng sighed softly and shook his head.

"I... honestly don't know. In fact, I'm not _entirely_ sure _she's_ decided exactly what she intends to do. When Veld and I spoke to her after her evaluation earlier, she seemed very conflicted."

"So you're just gonna _let_ her run off?" Reno replied.

"What other choice do I have? I can't very well follow her around indefinitely, making sure she isn't doing something that might get her killed. She promised me that she wouldn't do anything foolish while she was on leave. I can only trust that she will keep that promise." He frowned thoughtfully before continuing, "To be be fair... I think deep down she understands that she needs to just let this go or it will consume her, but it may take her some time before she's actually capable of doing so."

"Tch... _'course_ she couldn't just hang around Midgar 'til she comes to her senses. Ya know... where it's safe."

Tseng smiled somewhat sadly. "You can't constantly protect everyone under your command, I'm afraid. Now... you and Rude have rookies waiting for you." He shook his head and sighed heavily, "And _I_ , unfortunately, have an appointment with my physical therapist... which if past visits are any indication, I'm sure will be the epitome of unenjoyable. Get to work."

With that, he took his leave from the conference room, leaving the two younger Turks to their own devices. Reno sighed and turned to his friend.

"Well, great. One more thing for me to obsessively worry about," he muttered, "Anyway... guess we better decide who gets gauntlet day so I can plan the schedule for the rest of the week. Wanna flip me for it?"

Rude cocked his head to one side, considering the proposition...

"Heads or tails?" he asked.

"Tails," Reno replied, and the next thing he knew, he was being hoisted bodily off the ground.

"H-hey! What the fuck, man?!" he shouted, as he was summarily tossed over the larger Turk's shoulder, head over heels, landing on his back in the middle of the conference table with a loud grunt. He lay there, dazed for a moment, trying to figure out what in the Nine Hells had just happened.

"Heads. I win," Rude declared, smirking.

"I meant flip a _coin_ , you dick... Not _me_ ," the redhead groaned, sitting up. His friend merely chuckled and helped him to his feet. "I liked it better when you just threw me in the pool."

* * *

By the afternoon, Tseng was rethinking his brilliant idea to speed along his recovery through any means necessary... and was very grateful that Reno and Rude were handling training without him today, as, at the moment, he no longer wanted to move. His ankle was presently elevated on top of a spare chair, ice pack draped over the joint as it throbbed in time with the seconds ticking away on the wall clock.

It... was possible he'd pushed himself a little _too_ hard.

He didn't dare call Justinia for advice, however. _One_ ear had already suffered her wrath today. He didn't really want to risk the other unless he had no other choice.

Really, he'd been doing fine up until he'd decided on a third round of strengthening exercises after his therapist had ended their session for the day. He'd even been able to put some weight on the ankle for a short while. The Turk lieutenant sighed and let his head lean against the back of his desk chair. He should have quit while he was ahead. Hopefully, this was just a minor case of overwork, rather than re-injury. Like it or not, he was going to have to take things a little slower.

Someone knocked on his office door, startling him, and the Wutaiian Turk hurriedly kicked the ice pack to the floor and out of sight, and shoved the second chair into the corner.

"Come in," he called out, and made an effort to look busy and unconcerned.

"Hey, Boss," Reno chirped, as he walked in, "How's the rehab goin'?"

"Well enough," he responded, as he turned slightly to face his protege... and then visibly flinched as the still-tender limb bumped into the leg of his desk. Reno smirked.

"Heh... well enough, huh?" he snickered. His gaze dropped to the floor, and he bent down, retrieving the ice pack that was peeking out from beneath the desk. "So... How bad didya hurt it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Tseng stated firmly... though he didn't sound especially convincing even to himself. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Come on... I'm not gonna rat ya out to the doc. Seriously... how bad is it?"

The Turk lieutenant sighed and shook his head.

"... Hopefully not so bad that I'll have to rat _myself_ out..." he grudgingly confessed, "Though it _does_ seem rather swollen at the moment."

"I mean, I know I'm not exactly one to be givin' advice here, considerin' my track record with on-the-job injuries 'n not listening to the Doc... but _maybe_ take it easy at first?" the redhead offered, grinning as he dropped into one of the chairs opposite the senior Turk and tossed the ice pack back to his mentor.

"Noted," Tseng sighed. He reached for a small box that had been sitting on his desk for the last hour and passed it over to his protege. "This arrived for you a short while ago. How was training?"

Reno grinned as he opened the box and dumped his replacement PHS into one hand. He flipped it open, inspecting the device briefly, before snapping it shut again and tucking it into his jacket.

"So... I'm pretty sure Liam's got a thing for Zephyr..." the redhead replied, snickering quietly, "But, yeah, nothin' major to report. We ran through some basic hand to hand drills, did about an hour in the pool, 'n then hit the gun range. Ryu's aim has _seriously_ improved... When'd he start practicin' in the mornings, anyway?"

"Shortly after you left for Wutai," Tseng said.

"Ya know, he apologized to me again this mornin'..."

"For the incident with Rufus?" the Turk lieutenant queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I mean, I don't see what the big deal is, though."

Tseng chuckled softly. "Would _you_ have called _me_ something so disrespectful your first week on the job?"

"Well, not to your _face_..." Reno teasingly replied, drawing a deep laugh from his mentor.

"To... for example... Veld, then?"

"Boss, I _still_ wouldn't call you an asshole where Veld could hear me. I don't particularly enjoy gettin' my ass kicked."

Tseng smirked in response.

"Okay, okay... I get the point," Reno snickered.

"You outrank Ryu. Moreover, it's no secret that your position in the Turks is more than simply as his superior, even if our newest members are likely not yet aware of your future promotion. A certain amount of fear of screwing up is inevitable in such relationships. You were certainly no fan of disappointing _me_ as a rookie..."

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right," Reno replied. He leaned back in the chair, folding his hands behind his head. "Heh... For the record, I'm _still_ not a fan of doin' that." He paused for a moment frowning slightly. "Hey, Boss? Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Always," Tseng answered.

"Do things... change? I mean, like... does everyone start treatin' you different when it's official?"

The senior smiled slightly. "I would be lying if I told you that _nothing_ will change between you and the others when you eventually become my second in command," he replied, "But... it won't be as devastating as I'm sure you're envisioning. They will remain, as always, your family."

"So... I was thinkin' about what you said this mornin'..."

It took the older Turk a moment to determine what precisely the redhead was talking about. Reno had a tendency – particularly when he was preoccupied with multiple concerns – to jump from topic to topic without much of a logical progression between them. At least no logical progression that Tseng could follow. He was fairly certain it made _perfect_ sense to the redhead. It was something he'd simply gotten used to over the years. Instead of immediately asking him to clarify, he generally just let his protege get to his point in his own time.

"I'm... gonna talk to Rude 'n see what _he_ thinks about separate offices," Reno finished somewhat hesitantly. He exhaled slowly before going on. "I think you're right. We've kinda outgrown the old one."

Tseng chuckled quietly. "I _thought_ you might come to see the value in having your own space."

"Heh... yeah, well... there's that, _and_ there's the fact that Rude's not real happy 'bout the current state of our office. I think I mighta finally become too much of slob for him to tolerate," the redhead somewhat sheepishly replied.

"You _do_ tend to procrastinate for more than you used to when it comes to tidying up..." Tseng chuckled. Reno rolled his eyes.

" _Anyway_... I'll let ya know what we decide. He's coming over for my first lesson tonight."

"Lesson?" Tseng repeated, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Yeah... Rude's gonna teach me how to cook!"

"I was under the impression that Rude felt you were much too dangerous to be allowed in a kitchen unsupervised," the senior Turk teased, smirking slightly.

"Nah... just _his_ kitchen," Reno shot back, grinning. "He thinks I just need a good teacher, since I never really _had_ one before... so we're gonna give it a shot."

"Let me just make a note to have Dr. Ward, as well as the Sector Three fire station closest to your apartment, on alert tonight," Tseng said, jokingly reaching for a pen.

"Ha. Ha," the redhead dryly replied, "You'll be singin' a different tune when I'm bringin' stuff into the office that's even better than Rude's. I mean... how hard could it be when you're learnin' from someone who actually knows what they're doin'?"

The phrase "famous last words" flashed briefly into the Wutaiian Turk's mind, and he smile slightly.

"I'll alert the city's emergency search and rescue units as well," he assured his protege.

* * *

Reno grinned widely as he cracked open a beer and leaned back against the counter. It hadn't taken long to get things cleaned up for Rude's visit. Hell, it's not like he ever really _used_ the little kitchenette, to begin with. The closest he ever got to cooking was usually just shoving something in the microwave. But he'd still made an effort. The handful of dishes that had been sitting in the sink since sometime before he'd left for Wutai had been dutifully washed and put away, and he'd tossed a few of the more questionable leftovers from the fridge, as well has having shoved the pile of dirty laundry that had accumulated outside of the bathroom door under his bed for the moment.

Before all of that, though, he'd taken a few minutes to stop by Kai's apartment on his way home after work. He'd found the place empty and dark, its sole occupant nowhere to be found. Her motorcycle, too, was missing from it's usual spot in the parking lot. Apparently, wherever she was going... she'd already left. Reno had tried calling her, but it had gone straight through to voicemail.

He wished she'd at least stuck around to say goodbye. He kind of understood why she hadn't, though. The little chat they'd had in the park had made it abundantly clear that she felt guilty about what she'd done, and the redhead wasn't nearly naive enough to think that one little pep talk and knowing that he forgave her for it was going to magically make everything better. If _he'd_ done something that stupid and had it blow up in his face like that, he'd have been kicking himself for a _very_ long time, and the redhead had no doubt that his friend and fellow Turk would be, too.

Reno wondered how long she'd be gone. Veld hadn't explicitly said just how _long_ Kai was officially suspended, after all... which meant that her little "sabbatical" could last a week or a month or even longer. It was one thing knowing that he wouldn't be seeing her around the office for awhile... but it was something else entirely knowing that he wouldn't be seeing her at _all_ for Shiva only knew how long.

His quiet reverie was interrupted by a sharp knock on his apartment's door. Reno pushed himself upright and set his half-finished beer on the counter, before hurrying over to answer the summons. Just as expected, he found Rude outside, a bag of groceries in hand, patiently waiting to be let in.

"Sweet! I'm starved... Let's get cookin'!"

Rude stepped through the door and chuckled.

"We will... but _first_ , we have to go over the basics," he replied, before producing a gift-wrapped box from behind his back. "And I got you something..."

Reno blinked in surprise, as he accepted the present. "What's this?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Just something I thought you might need if you're going to be cooking for yourself more often..." his friend replied, with a slightly mischievous smirk. Reno shrugged and tore into the wrapping paper, making quick work of it, before pulling the lid off of the box... and immediately rolled his eyes when he saw his "gift".

" _Really_?" he groaned, lifting the fire extinguisher out of its confines. Rude just snickered and made his way into the kitchen. Reno snorted quietly in laughter of his own, before setting the extinguisher on the counter and tossing the box into the trash. "Okay, so now that we've gotten the whole 'laugh at Reno's expense' thing outta the way, can we do this already? I wasn't kidding... I'm hungry!"

"I told you... Basics first," Rude replied, as he began rummaging through several of the kitchen's cabinets and drawers. In short order, there were several items laid out on the counter... a number of which Reno had long since forgotten he even owned. In fact, several of them, the redhead was pretty sure, had been gifted to him by Rude when he'd moved into his _first_ apartment, because the gourmand Turk had found his meager kitchen supplies severely lacking.

"Lesson one..." the older Turk continued, carrying a large soup pot over to the sink and turning on the tap, "How to boil water."

"... Wow... You're not gonna go easy on me, are ya, pal?" Reno deadpanned, sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and pointedly walked over to the stove, turning on one of the burners. "I _know_ how to boil water..."

"Humor me," Rude replied, handing over the now partially filled pot, "You're a beginner. I'm starting you out with something easy."

"Alright, _alright_..." the redhead sighed, taking the pot and setting it on the stove, "So what are makin', then?"

"Homemade pasta with meat sauce."

"Tch... okay, I know this is beginner level, but even _I_ know how to open a freaking box of spaghetti 'n dump it in a pot of boiling water..."

Rude snorted softly and started unloading the bag of food he'd brought in. Eggs, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ground beef, olive oil, various spices... A far cry from what Reno normally associated with making pasta. He usually just grabbed a box of spaghetti and a jar of sauce.

"No pre-made pasta allowed," he replied, as he pulled out a bag of flour. "We're making it by hand."

"... We're doin' _what_ now?" the redhead replied with a vague note of confusion.

* * *

Rude took a swig of beer and leaned back in his chair as he watched his friend polishing off his second helping of the fruits of their labor with gusto.

Really, things hadn't gone badly at all. Granted... _he'd_ handled most of the more difficult steps and relegated the redhead to mere observation... but Reno had managed pretty well with the more basic tasks he'd been given. Most importantly, nothing had been incinerated. There may actually have been hope for Reno yet, he silently mused.

Of course... hand-made pasta wasn't exactly the most difficult of things to make. It was quite literally only four ingredients... and that was if you counted water as an ingredient. Even the meat sauce recipe wasn't particularly involved. But that was the whole reason he'd decided to _start_ with the dish. For its simplicity, the results were fairly impressive. Going by past experience, Reno's biggest issue in the kitchen – aside from his tendency to take shortcuts – was that he attempted to do things that were just _way_ beyond his current skill level and then fail epically. Rude hoped that by showing him that you could end up with great food without getting too complex, he might be a little less likely to take on harder recipes before he was ready.

And thus less likely to burn something down or poison the people he was feeding.

Reno finished off the plate and set it aside, before letting himself fall into a relaxed position on the couch, one hand over his stomach in content. Rude snickered softly.

"So? How was it?" he asked. The redhead grinned and reached for his own beer.

"I still don't see why we didn't just save some time 'n make the shit in the box," he replied, somewhat teasingly, earning an annoyed glare from the bald Turk, "But... it turned out pretty good." He smirked, knowingly. " _And_ I didn't set anything on fire this time."

"Hmph..." Rude chuckled, "Let's keep it that way. Same time next week?"

"I'm game if you are," Reno replied.

Rude grinned and leaned his head back against the cushions, exhaling a long, slow breath. "Hmph... Feels good to finally be able to relax and do something I enjoy. Seems like I've been on assignment forever."

"Tell me about it. I was startin' to wonder if you guys were ever plannin' on comin' home," Reno snickered, "You been by to see Remy yet since they let her outta the hospital?"

The older Turk shook his head. "Not yet. Thought I'd give her some time to settle in first. I was planning on dropping off a little care package for her tomorrow night, though. You?"

"Nah... I figured she'd still be on some pretty hefty painkillers. Didn't wanna bug her right away. I know how much it sucks to be in pain 'n just wanna sleep through it as much as ya can." The redhead sighed and pulled his knees to his chest, curling up on the couch. "I'll be glad when _everyone's_ back where they belong... ya know?"

Rude nodded in agreement... and then chuckled.

"I'll be glad when everything in my _office_ is back where it belongs, too," he teased. Reno rolled his eyes and chucked a throw pillow in his general direction.

"Yeah, I know... I'm a fuckin' slob, okay?" he laughed... and then sobered surprisingly quickly. "Um... _actually_ , I kinda wanted to talk to you about that..."

"I'm not giving you an extension. You have until the end of the week to clean up the mess."

Reno snorted softly and sat up, downing the remains of his beer.

"Yeah... fuck you, partner," he snickered, "No, I mean... Tseng had an idea. I told him I'd run it by you 'n get back to him."

"...? What's up?" Rude asked, curious.

"So... ya know how _you're_ buildin' up your intelligence database 'n collectin' all that gear that lets ya spy on people 'n shit..." he began, and Rude detected a slight note of hesitation in his voice. "And I mean, _I'm_ gonna be meetin' with rookies one on one a whole lot more 'n just generally havin' a lot more to do than I used to..."

The older Turk smiled a little sadly, as he realized where this was going. It was something _he'd_ been thinking about lately, too, as a matter of fact.

Reno heaved a sigh and dropped his gaze. "Tseng thinks... it might be time we maybe oughta have our _own_ offices. And I kinda think he might be right." He quickly looked up at his friend again. "I mean... I'm not sayin' I don't _like_ sharin' an office... It's just..."

Rude shook his head and got out of the chair, moving over to the couch to join the redhead.

"We have different needs," he stated, simply. "I need more space and organization, and you need more privacy. Simple as that."

"... Yeah," Reno sighed. Rude gently elbowed him.

"Quit acting like I'd be moving to Wutai," he chuckled. "Separate offices isn't the end of the world."

"I know," Reno snickered, "And I know that we _need_ to do it. We've just... been _together_ since almost day one. It's gonna be weird."

Rude grinned and wrapped an arm around his friend, dragging him closer. "You can come visit whenever you want."

"Tch... get off me already," Reno laughed, playfully shoving him away. "I just said it was gonna be _weird_... I didn't say was gonna be cryin' over you movin' down the hall." He paused and looked over at him. "So... I guess we're doin' this?"

"Sounds like it," Rude nodded.

"Heh... I'll tell Tseng first thing tomorrow. He said you could have Tres' old office, by the way. I mean... if you're good with that."

Rude blinked in surprise, caught slightly off guard by the new information. He hadn't even _been_ in his late mentor's office since the day he'd helped Tseng clean it out. There really hadn't been a reason... beyond perhaps slipping inside to think about the old days, which, honestly, wasn't really something he was inclined toward to begin with. It was just an empty room.

And yet, as soon as Reno had so casually mentioned that it could be his... he suddenly knew that he wanted it too much to even consider turning it down. Rude had never been an especially sentimental person. He didn't hold onto much in the way physical objects unless he had a use for them, and had very few possessions he was emotionally attached to.

But somehow, Tres' office was different. He didn't really know how to explain it... he just knew that it was what he wanted.

"Sounds good to me," he said with a nod. The redhead smirked slightly, apparently having caught the note of excitement in his voice.

"And he's plannin' on movin' _me_ over to Shay's old office..." Reno added, and Rude couldn't help but snicker. That office was just a couple of doors down from Tseng's.

"Moving you closer so he can keep a better eye on you?" he teased. Reno jokingly flipped him off.

"Yeah... keep laughin', asshole," he grinned back in reply, "Keep in mind, I _could_ always tell the boss you wanna stay right where you are. I get a nice new office, 'n you can keep our broom closet."

Rude smirked and reached behind him, fingers clamping around the pillow that, not long ago, had been lobbed at him by the redhead. He swung it at his friend, nailing him firmly in the face.

"Oh... that's it," Reno said, swiftly ducking beneath the pillow on the subsequent backswing and diving for its twin on the other end of the couch. "You're goin' _down_..."

Rude merely grinned, and prepared for the coming onslaught.

~end chapter 78~


	79. A Second in Training

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 79: A Second in Training**

 **by Desha**

Reno huffed slightly in vague irritation as he stepped into what would be his new office the following day. Apparently most of the items that had occupied the space when it belonged to Shay had been been repurposed at some point. He was going to have to hunt down a few things.

Tres' office, meanwhile, had remained largely as it had been the last time the redhead had ventured inside – minus the late Turk's personal possessions. Rude had already been happily settling in when he'd left him to see to moving his _own_ stuff.

He set down the box of office supplies down in the corner where the desk _should_ have been and shook his head. There wasn't even a Shiva-forsaken _chair_ in here. Of course, he could always drag over the furniture form his _old_ office, but that wasn't the point. This was almost as depressing as it had been when he'd moved into his apartment... the second one, where he hadn't even had a _bed_ for the first couple of weeks thanks to an inevitable war threatening on the horizon.

"Great..." he sighed, "This is gonna take all day."

He heard a quiet laugh behind him and turned to find his mentor standing in the doorway.

"Relax. I've already requisitioned appropriate décor for you new office," Tseng said, leaning on a single crutch, "Maintenance will be delivering it later this morning."

Reno blinked in surprise.

"That was quick..." he replied, "I just told you we were doin' this half an hour ago. Since when does the requisition office get shit done same day?"

Tseng smiled and shook his head.

"Truthfully... I made the request last week before I'd even suggested it to you," he stated, "Even if you opted _not_ to take me up on the offer right away... eventually, you would have needed it. I thought I'd have it ready for you when you did."

Reno rolled his eyes and snickered. "Ya just _always_ gotta be right, don't you...?" he teased, "How's the ankle?"

"Considerably better after a night of rest. I don't think a trip downstairs will be necessary after all... which is likely very fortunate for me, as I'm fairly certain that Justinia is still a bit angry with me," the Turk lieutenant replied, "I... fear an apology and a great deal of groveling may be in order before I'm back on good terms with her."

"Heh... and that'swhy _I_ always try not to piss off the Doc," Reno said, grinning. Tseng smirked at him.

"With only slim to moderate success at times..." he teased, "You, however, have the benefit of being her favorite patient. She doesn't _stay_ angry with _you_." He sighed and shook his head. "In any case... I happened to be speaking with Viridia last night..."

The redhead's grin widened.

"Quiet," Tseng preemptively shushed him, "We were discussing the possibility of allowing Ryu, and any other rookie who may be interested, to train with the Junon Materia Corps twice a week. She's quite amenable to the idea... with the caveat that I owe _her_ a favor in return."

"Sweet!" Reno replied, "Bet Ryu's gonna be glad to hear _that_..."

"Agreed," Tseng nodded, "I'd like you to inform them at your earliest convenience, and find out if anyone else intends to join him. I took the liberty of taking a look at your schedule for this week already... I believe we can fit in the first session tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah... that should work," the younger Turk nodded. Wednesday was kind of a recovery day anyway. You just couldn't do the sort of training required of a Turk rookie without having an easy day every once in awhile.

"Which brings me to my next question," Tseng continued, "Would you like to accompany them?"

Reno blinked in surprise at the offer. He'd just assumed they'd be sending them off on their own for awhile. Or that Tseng might want to go, since it would involve paying his girlfriend a visit.

"You _did_ mention that you wanted to learn a bit more about materia training yourself, as I recall," his mentor prodded.

"Uh... yeah. Yeah, I'll go," he hurriedly confirmed. Not that he'd be able to actually _participate_... but if he could at least eventually help the current – and future – rookies with some of the questions they might have, he'd consider that a win. "Um... Ya want me to to see if Sykes can cover afternoon training here for the others? Rude's got other shit he's gotta do that day."

"No. I think I can manage a few hours of supervision between my physical therapy appointments," the senior Turk assured him, "And while you're in Junon, you and Viridia can sort out a regular schedule for the training, as well... bearing in mind that our helicopter may not _always_ be available for transport, so it would be wise to decide upon a backup method."

"Can do," said the redhead.

"Good. And since you'll be altering the training schedule anyway, I'd like you to block off a half hour or so on Monday mornings for the foreseeable future. Before or after the morning briefing is fine. I don't have any particular preference, so long as it's before training begins for the day."

Reno cocked his head to one side. "Uh... 'kay. What for?" he asked.

"I've been... a bit lax, owing to our dealings with the Zenshou, as well as my recent injury and the general turmoil we've been operating under of late. It's past time you and I had a regular meeting scheduled to discuss the rookies' progress, rather then one of us dropping in on the other at random to address issues and concerns. Particularly given that yet another of our rookies is due to undergo a certain _evaluation_ in a few more months..."

"Oh... um... o-okay, sure," he stammered in reply.

"Something wrong?" Tseng queried, but Reno shook his head and laughed softly.

"No, just... this is gettin' really... _real_... all of a sudden," he snickered, "I'm gettin' a whole new office... I'm plannin' cross-training with the Materia Corps... and now we got an official rookie meeting every week, and a Hell Week to plan?"

Tseng chuckled faintly. "I _do_ realize I'm throwing a lot at you all at once this morning... With the Zenshou dealt with, we're _all_ going to be playing catch up for a little while, I'm afraid. But I'm confident that you can handle it."

"Yeah, sure... No problem..." Reno said, though his own confidence was beginning to falter a bit. Tseng smiled.

"And, of course, should you _need_ my help, that's precisely what I'm here for. You need only ask for it."

"Heh... Right. I know," he replied, grinning slightly.

* * *

The day went by surprisingly quickly. As Reno had expected, Ryu had been more than a little excited by the prospect of training with Shinra's elite Materia Corps. What _had_ caught him a little off-guard was the fact that... so had almost everyone else. Zephyr had also signed on, at least for this initial trip, and so had Liam and Petra... though Reno rather suspected that Liam was only _really_ going because Zephyr was.

Only Victor, who had professed himself to be mostly hopeless when it came to materia, had opted to stay behind – leading Reno to quietly wonder whether Victor just didn't care for magic-based combat after his time in the military, or if perhaps the redhead suddenly wasn't the _only_ member of the Turks with an inability to use materia.

He'd also quietly snickered to himself as he realized that he wasn't going to be leaving Tseng with much of anything to do tomorrow.

In the afternoon, he'd returned to his new office to find that what had once been an empty room was now fully – and tastefully – furnished. The effect was a little off-putting. He'd felt like he was walking into an executive's office, with the large, heavy-looking modern-style desk, the leather-upholstered chairs, and the elegant yet functional floor lamps that illuminated the room in place of the usual overhead florescents. The thought that this was now _his_ space was... going to take some getting used to.

 _Rude_ , at least, had been impressed, though... and hadn't waited long to tease the redhead regarding the fact that he was somewhat dwarfed by the new desk. Reno had responded with a roll of the eyes... but couldn't help but worry that maybe the joke was a little too on the nose. He felt decidedly out of place sitting there, at the moment, and hoped that he'd grow into the new accommodations quickly.

For now, though, the day was over and he had other things to concern himself with, as he made his way over to the Sector 7 residential district after work. It wasn't long before he found himself pulling into the parking lot of a not altogether unfamiliar apartment building. He'd spent more than a few nights, after all.

Reno parked and then made his way upstairs to Remy's apartment, knocking on the door. Like he'd told Rude... he didn't want to disturb the recuperating Turk unnecessarily... but he also didn't want to simply abandon her. He knew from experience how mind-numbingly boring and lonely it could get when you were stuck on your own in bed all day.

A minute or two later, the door eased open, revealing the senior Turk... looking tired, battered, and pained, and wrapped in a loose-fitting robe. Even so, she managed a smile upon seeing him.

"Reno..." Remy said softly, stepping back slightly to let him inside.

"Hey," the redhead replied, grinning slightly. "Thought you might be ready for some company by now, so I figured I'd drop by."

"To be honest... I've haven't really had time to miss being around other people. I've been keeping myself so medicated, I'm not even entirely sure what _day_ it is, at this point," Remy said, shaking her head. "Attempting to rest when almost every position imaginable involves laying on an injury is _not_ fun."

Reno's grin faltered.

"Um... if ya'd rather I didn't stick around –" he began, suddenly feeling that should have called ahead to make sure she was _actually_ up for a visitor instead of just showing up. But Remy shook her head.

"No! Please, stay..." she replied, "Now that you're here... I'm glad to see a friendly face."

Her fingers closed around one of his hands, and she guided him over towards the living room. A moment later, he found himself settled beside her on the couch. She flinched slightly as she tried to get comfortable, and Reno was suddenly hit by a flashback of the sight of her beaten and abused body as he and Kai had cut her down from the ropes holding her suspended above the cave floor in the Zenshou hideout.

"I see what ya mean..." Reno said, frowning. "Anything I can do?"

Remy sighed and shook her head again.

"Unfortunately, it's just a matter of waiting for everything to heal," she replied, and then managed a smile, "I'll be fine. It's not the first time I've been hurt on the job, after all."

"Yeah... but still..." the redhead said, "I mean... ya hungry or anything?"

"Well... you _could_ catch me up on what's been happening at the office..." the senior Turk ventured, and Reno couldn't help but laugh.

"Fuck, Remy... take a day off once in awhile," he teased.

"I don't _like_ being out of the loop," she stated, firmly. Reno grinned.

"Okay, _okay_..." he said, leaning back against the cushions and running through the series of events since they'd returned to Midgar. "Well... first off, Veld 'n the others got our guy in Costa del Sol. So unless the Zenshou think we're still a tempting target without a ready-made buyer waitin' in the wings for some reason, mission accomplished."

"Hmph... _good_. One less threat to deal with. Have we recovered any of out stolen tech?"

"Some, from the guy's house. Rude's looking into his files... tryin' to figure out who _he_ turned around 'n resold shit to. We'll probably be able to track down a lot of it... eventually."

Remy nodded in understanding. "And... Kai?" she cautiously inquired.

"... Yeah. Kai," Reno exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "She's suspended for awhile. And... she kinda decided to use that time to figure her shit out. Left yesterday to go sleep in the woods 'n shit..."

He pointedly left out his suspicions that the somewhat unstable Turk might be venturing out for a little more than just a soul-searching camping trip.

"I... see," Remy replied, and from her tone, he got the impression that the same thought had occurred to her, anyway.

"But... on the bright side, Tseng's got his cast off," he offered.

"What cast?" Remy asked, furrowing her brow slightly. Reno cocked his head, confused for a moment, and then it clicked.

"Oooh... right. You 'n Rude left for Wutai the same day the prisoner escaped, so you probably didn't get all the details 'bout that, huh?" he replied, snickering softly, "Yeah... the Boss fucked up his ankle pretty bad while we were tryin' to chase her down. He's been on crutches ever since."

"I... knew you'd both been injured, but I didn't realize it was anything serious..." she replied, frowning. Reno grinned.

"Heh... _I_ walked away with a broken nose 'n a headache. Tseng snapped a tendon in his ankle fishin' me outta the drainage canal. He hasn't been real happy 'bout bein' laid up, either. He _technically_ wasn't s'posed to get the cast off 'til tomorrow."

"Then... how –?" Remy began, only to be cut off.

"Hacksaw," Reno replied, with a wide grin, "I think. He already had it off by the time I got to the office, so I can't say for _sure_ what he used."

"Oh, for _Leviathan's_ sake..." she groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, you don't exactly have room to talk, here. You once came back to work lookin' like death warmed over 'n missing half a finger... remember?"

"Hmph... Hardly comparable. _I_ could still walk," the senior Turk retorted... though it was with a hint of laughter. Reno laughed, too.

"I've... missed this. You make for good company," Remy suddenly confessed a moment later. She leaned closer to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Reno turned slightly to look down at her.

" _I'm_ not the one who needed some 'distance', ya know..." he replied somewhat coolly, without really thinking... and then immediately chastised himself for it. Yeah... he was _still_ a little sore about that. But now was _definitely_ not the time to hash things out with Remy regarding their relationship. Or... non-relationship. Or... whatever the hell it was they'd had between them. Not after what she'd been through.

Remy lifted her head and looked up at him, a frown on her face.

"I owe you an apology," she said, with a sigh. "A _better_ one than what I gave you at the time."

"Remy, look, you don't gotta –" he began, but the senior Turk lifted a hand and pressed a finger to his lips.

"No. What I did was unnecessarily cruel, and you did _nothing_ to deserve it," she continued, "I know how much you value the relationships you've cultivated with the people in your life, and it was selfish of me to end things the way I did when the issue was _entirely_ mine." She let her hand fall back into her lap and sighed softly. "The truth of the matter is... I was scared."

The redhead blinked somewhat owlishly, and Remy giggled quietly at his expression.

"I don't always have the _easiest_ time connecting with people on a personal level," she explained. "Even my fellow Turks, at times. When I began to realize just how close I'd let you get... my first instinct was to push you away. To protect myself. I didn't want to get hurt... and... I ended up hurting _you_ instead. I'm sorry, Reno."

"So... any chance you're reconsiderin'?" Reno asked, hopefully.

" _Not_ about sneaking around from your bed to mine," she replied with a coy smile, "Besides... you're _officially_ Tseng's named successor now. I think it could get... _awkward_... very quickly if we continued down _that_ road. Tempting as it is..." She leaned against him, letting her head lie on his shoulder again. "But... if you're alright with a more platonic sort of relationship, I really _have_ missed your company."

The redhead breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon hearing her say that. All he'd really wanted was to know that his friendship with Remy _wasn't_ forever fucked up just because he'd let himself get involved with a fellow Turk. Not that he _regretted_ it, per se. But... if he ever had a similar brilliant idea in the future, he was going to have to be a _lot_ more careful about not letting it get to be about more than just the sex... He didn't need to go through this sort of drama a second time.

Of course... there was always the possibility that he wasn't ever going to be in any such position again, anyway. After all, Tseng had told him point blank that the others _were_ going to treat him differently when he became the new Second. And if Remy was any indication, his mentor was right. He wasn't even _there_ yet, and she'd just dismissed the possibility of them continuing to hook up on the grounds that it wouldn't be appropriate anymore.

"I'd like that," he finally said, reaching over and brushing a lock of hair away from Remy's cheek. She smiled.

Things _were_ going to be different for him in the not too distant future. Hell, things already _were_ different for him in a lot of ways... and they were just going to keep changing. It... frightened him a little. Tseng, as usual, had been right when he'd said that his protege disliked change. Reno overwhelmingly preferred the comfortably familiar. But he wasn't naive enough to think that everything could stay the same forever. He was going to have to learn to better deal with those changes as they came and not freak himself out so much.

He hoped he was up to the challenge.

* * *

When Wednesday afternoon finally rolled around, the energy among the team's rookies was palpable. Ryu, in particular, was far more animated than normal... though, that wasn't really saying much. The kid had an almost unnatural calmness about him most of the time... unless he happened to be pleading for forgiveness or being scared shitless, that is. Reno was even _pretty_ sure he'd once caught him meditating on break.

"Okay, rookies! Everyone who's headin' to Junon for materia training... with me," the redhead called out as he made his way into the lounge where his charges had gathered after lunch.

Four of the five rookies dutifully got to their feet and began walking towards the door.

"You sure you don't wanna get in on this?" Reno asked, turning his gaze on Victor. The rookie shook his head.

"Guns, explosives, aircraft... I can handle any of that with my hands tied behind my back. But the _last_ time I tried using materia, I _almost_ set myself, the men's barracks, and three other people on fire," he snickered, "I'm not quite _that_ willing to tempt fate again."

Reno grinned and shook his head.

"Heh... yeah. _Maybe_ for the best," he replied, chuckling. He'd already talked it over with Tseng that morning, wondering whether or not – since all of the other rookies were going – he ought to make the training mandatory and bring Victor along as well, seeing as materia basics _were_ a requirement, even if most Turks didn't use it. But he'd been informed that such was the case for members of the Shinra military, as well. If Victor'd already had the training, and didn't want to expand upon it, Tseng had seen no reason to force it on him, and Reno had ultimately agreed. "Alright... let's move it out. Liam, you're piloting."

The rookie in question paused and blinked in surprise.

"Me? I am?" he responded.

"Yep. You need the practice," he replied, with a wink, "'Cause, I mean... now that we actually got more than two seconds to breathe around here, it's about damn time we got your certification exam taken care of... don'tchya think? You met the flight-time requirements to take it like... a month ago."

Liam shuddered slightly. "Don't remind me. I've been trying not to think about it. I _hate_ taking tests."

* * *

Reno cocked his head to one side and gazed into the depths of the lazily swirling glow of a large materia sphere. It was nearly the size of his palm and smooth as glass, with a faint greenish light emanating from within. As he held it, he could feel tiny pinpricks of electricity in his fingertips. Not strong enough to be painful... just enough to remind him of exactly what he was holding.

"We don't need to have another little _talk_ do we?" a voice to his left teasingly inquired, and the redhead snickered softly, lowering the sphere and turning to look at the approaching individual.

"Nah. Don't worry, Vir... I learned my lesson," he said, grinning at the security officer. She laughed quietly and joined him on the bench off to one side of the Materia Corps training grounds.

"Good. Because I _don't_ want to have to explain to Tseng why I'm sending you back to Midgar comatose," Viridia said. Reno snorted indignantly and rolled his eyes.

" _Tseng_?" he replied, "I pull somethin' that stupid again, the Boss is gonna be the least of _my_ worries. The Doc'll _kill_ me. I saw what she did to Tseng when he ignored her 'bout his cast..."

Viridia cocked an eyebrow. "What _about_ his cast?" she asked, suspiciously.

"What, he didn't tell ya?" Reno asked, a little surprised, and the lieutenant commander shook her head, "Heh... He got tired of it 'n took it off early. Ward wasn't real happy with him."

"Oh, _really..._?" Viridia replied, not sounding particularly amused herself, "Hmph... Sounds like _he's_ the one I need to have a talk with... not you."

"Uh... if he asks, ya didn't hear any of this from _me_..." Reno quickly backtracked, as he suddenly realized that he was essentially ratting his mentor out to someone who didn't tolerate foolishness any more than Dr. Ward did. Viridia smirked knowingly, but made no promises on the matter... instead opting to change the subject.

"That Ryu kid's got real talent. How in the Nine Hells did he slip under our radar? Normally, Materia Corps would have snapped him up the second we saw him in recruitment."

Reno turned his attention back on the group of students and instructors just in time to see Ryu send a jet of flame directly at one of Vir's fellow mages. The attack was expertly deflected, and he quickly retaliated with a spell that shook the ground and nearly sent Ryu tumbling as he tried to avoid it. The redhead had to admit... watching two people sparring with materia – when those involved actually knew what the hell they were doing – was pretty fucking awesome.

"You guys actually _did_ make him an offer, according to his file. Almost as soon as he joined the program," Reno replied, "He decided to hold out for the Turks."

"Hmph... Our loss, I guess," Viridia shrugged.

"How are the rest of 'em doin'?" Reno asked as his line of sight traveled away from Ryu's match and landed on Petra practicing with her own instructor. He... really didn't know how to judge a person's skill with materia, having never made any progress whatsoever with it himself. Ryu's ability was obvious to even the most casual observer... but the others? He had no criteria with which to gauge beginners.

"Mmm... Petra seems reasonably competent with passive materia use in her weapons, but not very well-rounded overall. I'd wager that's due more to lack of training than lack of ability, though. With a little practice, I think she could become a _very_ proficient caster, if she wanted to."

Reno shifted his gaze from the area where Petra was practicing, over to a small target range where Liam and Zephyr were stationed.

"How 'bout the other two?"

"Well... for someone with no prior experience, Liam's catching on fairly quickly. It's hard to judge a newbie's ability, especially the very first day of training, but he seems comfortable with the materia, at least. Zephyr's a bit more... hesitant. She doesn't entirely trust the materia, so it doesn't _always_ respond the way she wants it to," Viridia replied, "As a general rule, though, I don't like to grade my true novices until they've had a chance to really show me what they can do. One afternoon of training isn't enough for that." She elbowed him gently and gave him a friendly smile when he looked over at her. "I didn't even come to a conclusion about _your_ ability until we'd been practicing together for almost a week."

"Tch... my complete and total _lack_ of ability, ya mean..." the redhead sighed.

"You're not still upset about it... are you?"

Reno laughed softly. "Nah, not really. I mean... I don't really care that I can't use materia to fight 'n shit, but... it _does_ kinda suck that I'm gonna be so useless when it comes to trainin' others whenever it comes up. I don't need to be an expert... I just wish I wasn't complete _shit_ at this. Trainin' the rookies is one of the things I like _best_ 'bout the job."

"Hmph... I wish I could tell you otherwise, but you already know that you're probably never going to be able to do much more than cast the occasional low-level lighting spell no matter how much you train," Vir replied, smiling slightly as she reached over to tussle his hair. Reno rolled his eyes and attempted – futilely – to duck away.

"Yeah, yeah... I know," the redhead groaned. He really didn't need a reminder. He was _painfully_ aware of that fact at the moment.

"A _good_ leader knows his limits... and when to ask for help." Viridia continued, "Believe it or not, even your sacrosanct mentor isn't an expert in _everything_."

Reno raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" he chuckled softly, "You know somethin' 'bout Tseng I don't?"

"You _lived_ with him. Surely you must have sampled what he calls cooking..." Viridia deadpanned, drawing a laugh from the young Turk. She grinned in reply. "He's no more perfect than you are. I know that's a little hard to see from where you're sitting... but it's true. And he may be the best at a lot of things, but believe me... that wasn't _always_ the case. Tseng worked _hard_ to get where he is. You will, too."

"Heh... thanks," Reno responded, turning his attention back on his rookies.

"Just... keep in mind that all of this training, here _and_ in Midgar, is as much for _your_ benefit as it is for theirs. They're still learning to be Turks. You're still learning to be a leader."

Reno suddenly snickered loudly and looked back over at Viridia. "Did Tseng tell ya to give me a pep talk or somethin'? 'Cause this is startin' to sound an awful lot like a pep talk..."

"No," Viridia laughed, "But I figured a little encouragement never hurt anyone."

~end chapter 79~


	80. To Test a Turk

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 80: To Test a Turk**

 **by Desha**

"Sir? Your security escort is here," his secretary's voice intoned over the intercom on his desk. Rufus set aside the latest environmental impact report from the Gongaga area, and pressed the button on the little console.

"Send him in."

The door opened a moment later, and, somewhat to his surprise as he'd been expecting the Slum Rat, Tseng walked into the room... sans crutches, for a change. Rufus smirked slightly.

"Ah... I see you've _finally_ decided to get back to work..." he commented. The Turk lieutenant chuckled softly.

"Yes, sir. I thought two weeks of intensive physical therapy was _more_ than sufficient... though Dr. Ward, I'm fairly certain, would have liked to have kept me on medical restriction longer. I was getting a bit bored, just sitting around supervising, however."

"Good... that slum rat of yours has been becoming rather tedious of late. I'm ready for a change of pace... and some _intelligent_ conversation," Rufus noted, as he stood up and gathered a few things from his desk into a briefcase. "Preferably conversation that isn't strewn with expletives every few seconds. For Ramuh's sake, can't you do _anything_ about the mouth on that creature?"

Tseng laughed softly. "Unfortunately, trying to get Reno to stop swearing is likely akin to talking a fish into climbing a tree. Though if it truly annoys you, you could always follow Dr. Ward's lead and bribe him... That seems to work, at least to a point."

"Hmph... After being forced to spend your entire recuperation listening to that uncultured drawl of his every time I've had to leave the office for another damned press conference, I may just consider it. Just what _is_ the going rate for civility?"

"Justinia has been using candy for years now. I believe it's somewhere around five gil a bag," the Turk replied, gesturing towards the door. Rufus snorted and made his way out into the hallway, and began walking towards the elevator, his security in tow.

"I should have known he'd be cheap."

The young vice president had had his fill of the Slum Rat of late... particularly since for the past two weeks or so, he'd known that Tseng's recovery was finally nearing an end, and he was anxious to see his friend back on duty again. On top of that, Gongaga had, at last, tentatively agreed to _some_ remediation assistance from Shinra Company after cleaning up a destroyed reactor had proven... _difficult_ for the townsfolk... to say the least. That, of course, had led to any number of interviews, announcements, and press conferences... and, naturally, Rufus being the designated point of contact for the press at his father's insistence, that had meant far more time than usual in the obnoxious redhead's company.

Normally, he could tolerate the idiot. Occasionally, he could even go so far as to say that _enjoyed_ his presence on a press outing, and every once in awhile he was even _grateful_ to have him around... but there was definitely a limit to how much of him he could stand without a recovery period. He was glad to have Tseng back.

"By the way, I hear you've taken to outsourcing your training duties to the Junon Materia Corps..." Rufus said, conversationally, as they boarded the elevator, "Is the Slum Rat not up to the task you've set for him, after all?"

"It would be more accurate to say that _none_ of us are up to this particular task, sir," Tseng replied, not rising to the obvious bait. "One of our newest rookies is a very advanced materia user, and frankly, his skill _already_ surpasses that of everyone on the team... myself included. And... as the Materia Corps was gracious enough to allow him to practice with them, I thought it only logical to come to an arrangement with them to assist us in training the others in the basics, as well." He paused for a moment, apparently considering whether or not to continue, "Though, in point of fact, sir... Reno can't use materia himself. It's a limitation that we've had to find a work around for."

Rufus cocked an eyebrow. "Can't?" he repeated, "Or can't be bothered to learn?"

Tseng sighed, a somewhat exasperated sound. " _Can't_. He _tried_ to learn until the point of collapse as a rookie... at which point we mutually agreed to halt the training, as it was adversely affecting his health." He shook his head, frowning. "Reno can be extremely laid back... but he _isn't_ lazy, sir."

The vice president snorted loudly in contempt.

"I'm quite aware of that, thank you," he replied, rolling his eyes, before teasingly adding, "I detest acknowledging the thought that that pain in my backside is right about anything, but in this case he's entirely correct... you really have _no_ sense of humor." The elevator pinged and opened at the rooftop helipad, and Rufus couldn't help but smirk. "Incidentally, I was _already_ aware of your precious protege's 'limitations'. It came up when he mentioned the new training schedule to me last week. How do you think I knew what you were up to with the Materia Corps, to begin with?"

"Then _why_ are you intentionally goading me about it?" the Turk lieutenant asked, ushering him into the waiting executive helicopter. As soon as they were aboard, the pilot began his pre-flight. Rufus smiled.

"Because you get so entertainingly defensive over even the smallest slight towards that little miscreant. You're a hard man to irritate, Tseng, and I've yet to find anything that irritates you more."

"Perhaps I _should_ have agreed to another week on medical restriction..." Tseng deadpanned, drawing a genuine laugh from the young executive as they settled back for the ride.

Rufus' answer was really only _part_ of the reason for the teasing... but, of course, Tseng couldn't be allowed to know about _that_. Not only would it ruin Veld's carefully crafted – and expensive to set up – surprise evaluation... it could potentially influence the outcome of the little side bet he had going with the Slum Rat regarding said outcome.

And after all... now that the senior Turk was back on his feet again, it was only a matter of time before he was tested...

* * *

Liam rolled a small sphere of ice materia between his fingers, staring deeply into the swirling lights within. Until a couple of weeks ago, he really hadn't given much thought to materia-based combat, but after a few lessons – and watching Ryu absolutely _dominate_ some of actual members of the Materia Corps in their practice matches – he was starting to see the appeal. He wasn't yet sure if he wanted to dedicate any _significant_ amount of his training time to learning the ins and outs of magic, but he was _definitely_ planning on adding it to his arsenal in one way or another.

Petra, oddly enough, didn't seem as interested in it. Of all of them, he'd thought that _she_ would have jumped at the opportunity, given that she already used it as part of her weaponry, anyway... but she'd told him after their most recent lesson that she just didn't feel "balanced" using it for more than that. In fact, by then, she'd already told Reno that she wasn't going to continue past basic instruction, which would only consist of another four or five sessions in Junon.

He hoped that Zephyr wasn't thinking along the same lines, though. To be honest, she was the whole reason he'd even volunteered to go on that first trip to Junon... and while he _did_ want to learn more about materia use, he... kind of didn't want to miss out on spending time with her. Even if it was just in the training hall.

Zephyr was... amazing. Funny... smart... and great to talk to. Well... when he got up the nerve to actually talk to her outside of their little group of rookies, that is. He still tended to be little quiet and reserved when he was on his own. It was hard enough to come up with an excuse to say something when he didn't have someone else driving the conversation. How he was _ever_ going to get up the nerve to ask her on a date... he had no idea.

"Hey, rookie!"

Liam yelped in surprise, and there was a flash of magical energy as the wall on the opposite side of the room was encased in a thick layer of ice.

Reno stopped dead in his approach and turned to look at the unexpected glacier that had appeared at one end of the lounge... and then began to laugh.

"Okay... I think I'm gonna stop sneakin' up on you guys for awhile, before someone ends up turnin' me into a Turksicle or somethin'..." he snickered. The rookie blinked and sheepishly set the materia sphere down on the small table in front of the couch.

"... Sorry, sir. I guess I let my mind wander a little..."

"Heh... maybe put the materia down _before_ ya start daydreamin' next time?" the redhead suggested.

"Yes, sir," Liam replied, feeling his cheeks go red. "I... uh... didn't realize that you could cast a spell without actually meaning to."

Reno meandered over to the new ice wall, poking at it. "Yeah, me neither," he laughed, "Not that I know all that much about the stuff to begin with..."

The rookie cocked his head to one side. "Is that why you're not teaching us yourself, sir?" he asked, curious, "I just thought it was because of Ryu."

The senior Turk sighed and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck.

"Yeah... I'm... probably the _last_ person anyone'd ever recruit to teach 'em 'bout using materia," he replied with a somewhat awkward chuckle. "On account of me not bein' able to... ya know... _use_ it. At all."

"Sir?" Liam questioned, blinking in shock. The redhead grinned slightly.

"Yeah... I totally can't use magic. 'Bout killed myself tryin' as a rookie. It just doesn't work right for me."

"You can't cast _any_ magic?" Liam parroted, wide-eyed. He honestly never would have thought that _Reno_ ,of all people, would be telling him something like that. The senior Turk seemed to be an expert in just about _everything_.

"Well... I can _kinda_ cast lighting spells. Sometimes. Really weak ones that have about a fifty-fifty shot of reboundin' on me and a hundred percent chance of completely missin' whatever I'm aimin' at. Other than that? I got nothin'. And believe me, it's not for lack of tryin'. I tried 'til I _literally_ passed out."

"An eight hour coma is a little more than 'passing out'," a voice from the doorway bluntly stated, and the rookie looked up to see Rude standing at the entrance to the lounge, his eyes locked on the frozen wall. "I'm... not even going to ask what _that's_ all about."

"It wasn't eight hours. It was only like... six. Seven and a half, tops," Reno shot back.

"Hmph... whatever you say," Rude replied, smirking. He looked over at the rookie, "He scared the _hell_ out of Tseng. Wore himself down so bad that at his last lesson, he dropped like a rock as soon as he tried casting a spell and didn't wake up until the end of the day."

"Tch... what do you know? _You_ weren't even there, asshole," the other senior Turk replied, rolling his eyes.

"No... but Cissnei was, and she told me _everything_ ," he said, grinning.

Liam snickered quietly as the pair continued to jokingly bicker for a few more moments... all the while, thinking about how cool Reno really _was_. He didn't try to hide his mistakes or short-comings from the rookies he was mentoring. He _owned_ them... and even laughed about them. It was a level of confidence that the rookie sometimes felt that he could only dream of achieving himself.

"Um... so... what do we do about the ice sculpture over there?" the redhead suddenly asked, drawing Liam's attention back over to the wall. Rude shrugged in response.

"Find a mop and wait for it to melt?" he offered. Reno snorted a quiet laugh and then sighed.

"Guess I better send a message down to building maintenance..."

* * *

"Reno!" Veld's voice called out sharply from his office doorway as the redhead was making his way back to his new office. The younger Turk jumped in surprise at the summons, and spun around to face the Turk leader.

"I didn't do it!" he reflexively protested. Veld looked at him rather oddly and narrowed his eyes.

"Do what?" he asked.

"Uh... Nothin'?" Reno hurriedly backpedaled. Of _course_ Veld didn't know about the iced over lounge wall quite yet. How the hell could he? It had only just happened. For that matter... even if he knew, why would he think to blame the one member of the team who couldn't cast a spell to save his life for it?

"Hmm..." The senior Turk eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press the issue. "I need to speak to you for a moment."

Reno shrugged, glad he didn't have to explain and immediately rat out the rookie before the mess got cleaned up, and changed course to head into the senior Turk's office instead of his own. The door was surreptitiously closed behind him as he took a seat.

"Why is it that every time I call you into my office you act so guilty?" Veld queried, that same note of suspicion still lingering in his voice.

"It's not _every_ time, sir. Just when ya jump-scare me, soundin' like you're about five seconds from officially reprimandin' me with a crowbar upside the head..." the younger Turk said in response. Which was true. The senior Turk had a very authoritative and commanding voice that occasionally _still_ caught the younger Turk off guard. Veld snorted loudly in amusement.

"Hmph... I suppose I _was_ a bit unnecessarily loud. In any case... I just wanted to make sure you're prepared for Tseng's evaluation. Now that he's back on full duty, I plan to proceed with it at the end of the week on Friday... assuming that works with the vice president's schedule, as well."

Reno nodded. "I'm good to go. Just say the word, sir."

"Excellent. And you've told no one?"

"Heh... not even _Rude_ knows about this, sir," the redhead replied, chuckling softly, which drew an unexpected laugh from the Turk commander as well.

" _That_ is quite an accomplishment, given that he seems to know things before even _I_ do..." he said.

He was right. It _hadn't_ been an easy task keeping Rude in the dark... because in truth, Reno _really_ wanted to talk about it. He was more than happy to help out with this, but he had a few misgivings about the setup... and Rufus wasn't exactly someone you went spilling your guts to. He _was_ ,however, the only other person who knew about this, which meant that he was the only one the redhead _could_ talk to.

The sum total of _that_ attempt at conversation had ended in a bet on how the eval would ultimately end... which didn't really help him work through his own concerns.

"Plan for sometime late in the afternoon. I fully suspect Tseng will be a bit... shaken... afterwards, and I'm not so cruel as to force him to sit through an entire day of work after the evaluation is over."

"Yes, sir," Reno said.

He had a feeling that Veld was right about _that_ ,too. Tseng was going to be "shaken", all right. Anyone would be with what Veld had planned, but Tseng in particular... well... Suffice it to say that Reno _completely_ understood the point of the evaluation, and even saw the necessity of it from a purely logical standpoint. But he didn't particularly like the thought of putting someone he cared deeply about through something that was virtually guaranteed to freak the ever-living hell out of him... even if it _was_ only for a few minutes.

"I _have_ to know," Veld said, breaking in on his silent musings, and Reno suddenly realized he'd been sitting in silence and likely staring off into space for far longer than was appropriate. He shook his head.

"Yeah. I know... I just..." he said, shrugging somewhat uselessly.

"It will be over quickly. I have no intention of drawing this out. I don't wish to torture him any more than _you_ do."

"Think he's gonna be mad?" Reno asked, and to his surprise, Veld chuckled.

"Oh, I'm fairly certain he's going to be furious. At _me,_ at least. But I think he'll come to understand my reasoning when I explain things. _You_ did."

"Heh... yeah. But I'm not the one bein' tested," Reno replied.

* * *

The work week was a slog. Everything felt like it was dragging by at a snail's pace, and even that week's trip to Junon for the rookies' materia training session did little to alleviate the tediousness. Finally, though, Friday arrived, and though nothing _seemed_ out of the ordinary as Reno walked into the office that morning, he knew better. In just a matter of hours, he'd be joining Veld and Rufus in conducting Tseng's evaluation.

It was going to be a long, anxiety-inducing day for him. He couldn't say anything or let on that something was going down that afternoon... all while dealing with his normal training duties and any other assignments that came his way.

And then there was his office.

It wasn't that he didn't _like_ having some space he could call his own. There was just... so _much_ of it. And, for the most part, he was the only one who ever occupied it. He'd actually taken to spending more of his time working in the lounge than he did at his desk, just so that he had some occasional human interaction.

In fact, he was just preparing to make the trip down the hall when someone knocked lightly on the doorframe of his open door. The redhead looked up and his jaw dropped slightly.

"Remy?" he queried, more than slightly shocked to see the still-recovering Turk. She smiled and stepped inside.

"I'm... not _officially_ back on duty yet. But I couldn't take another day of doing nothing, so I thought I'd check in and say hello and catch up on some of the paperwork I left behind when Rude and I took off for Wutai... and maybe meet the new rookies while I'm at it."

Reno grinned in response. "Are you 'n Tseng havin' some kinda secret competition to see who's the team's biggest workaholic or somethin'?"

"If we _were_... I assure you, I would win easily," the aforementioned Turk lieutenant stated as he walked up behind her. He chuckled softly and smiled. "It's good to see you up and about again, Remy."

"It's good to _be_ up and about. And I will _definitely_ be cleared for full duty by Monday, thank Leviathan," she replied. "I _should_ have been cleared for at least _restricted_ duty a week ago. I feel fine."

"Remy... You were captured and _tortured_. Physical injuries were only part of what was inflicted on you. Take the time you need to recover fully."

"I did. And I have, and now I'm ready to get back to work," she replied, with determination. "You know I don't like to sit around, wallowing in my own self pity. I need to be _doing_ something."

Tseng sighed and shook his head, the hint of a smile still on his lips.

"Yes... I know," he acquiesced. "In that case... welcome back."

"I see a few things have changed since I've been gone," she said, gesturing to Reno's new office.

"Boss thought I needed it," the redhead snickered. He glanced around at the still largely empty, save for the furniture, room. "I think I could probably make due with only about _half_ of it, though. Seriously, Boss... what the hell am I s'posed to _do_ with all this?"

"You'll figure it out," Tseng replied in a teasing tone, "The way you tend to hoard things, I doubt it will remain _this_ pristine for long, anyway..."

"Oh, ha ha..." Reno retorted, rolling his eyes. "And I don't _hoard_ stuff."

"Didn't Rude, just a few months ago, have to stage an intervention because you could no longer access your own closet?" Remy suddenly piped up, smirking slightly. Reno cringed.

"... Maybe."

Tseng raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I never heard about that..."

Reno smirked and rested his elbow on the desk, propping his chin up on one hand.

"Ya know what one of the benefits of having your _own_ office is?" he asked, "Ya can kick everyone else _out_ whenever you want to and no one's got room to complain about it."

Remy smothered a laugh, as did Tseng.

"Well... as we seem to be on the brink of being banished anyway..." the Turk lieutenant said, turning to Remy, "I think now is as good a time as any to introduce you to our new teammates. I know at least two of them have already arrived this morning." He glanced back are Reno. "We'll see you at the morning briefing."

* * *

"Ugh... What a waste of time..." Rufus muttered looking down at his watch, "I _was_ planning on leaving a bit early tonight. Before anyone else has a chance to call and demand another interview."

Tseng smiled understandingly. It had been a long day. The young executive's schedule had been more than a little packed since the announcement that Shinra Company and Gongaga had come to an agreement on the reactor cleanup efforts had gone public. Rufus' naturally solitary nature had been put sorely to the test lately. Thankfully, the weekend loomed, and the young man would finally be getting some much-deserved rest.

But first... they had an appointment with Professor Hojo.

"Not that I would ever advocate for such a course of action... but you _could_ always cancel this meeting and tell the Professor that something else came up at the last minute."

Rufus snorted softly. "At _best_ that would only grant me a reprieve until he inevitably reschedules whatever this blasted demonstration of his is on Monday. At worst, I'd have to deal with Father being annoyed all weekend because his favorite pet scientist lodged a complaint that I was ignoring him. My _week_ has been stressful enough. I don't wish to take office politics home with me on my days off."

The elevator stopped short of their destination – the fifty-second floor, where the Weapons Department generally held their demonstrations for the executive board. The doors opened, instead, on the fifty-third floor... Materia Research. They were greeted by a familiar – though somewhat out of place – figure.

"Hey, Boss..." Reno said, stepping aboard.

"Materia Research?" the senior Turk queried, an eyebrow rising in curiosity. The redhead shrugged.

"Ryu asked me if there was any way he could get permission to check it out some time, since we didn't really get too in depth with most of the departments on the building tour. I'm kinda friendly with one of the lab assistants down here, so I thought I'd see if I could get her to pull some strings for him." He glanced over at the vice president. "Don't tell me _another_ TV station wants to talk to ya about Gongaga..."

"Hmph... No. Though I'd almost _prefer_ an interview. The press, loathsome as they are, are still marginally less unpleasant than one of Hojo's presentations." Rufus smirked. "Care to join us?"

"Ugh... no _thanks_. In fact... I'll just catch the _next_ elevator," the younger Turk replied, stepping back before the doors could close. Rufus' smirk became more pronounced.

"Join us," he said, in a tone that very clearly wasn't a request. Reno sighed, and stepped back into the elevator car, resigned.

"Tch... I shoulda just _called_ Kate instead of comin' down in person..." he muttered. Tseng couldn't help but chuckle softly at his protege's irritated expression.

"I'm sure it won't be _that_ bad..." he opined... though, frankly, he had his doubts about that. When Hojo wanted to demonstrate one of his projects for a member or members of the Board, said demonstrations tended to be a little... over the top. The man certainly liked to maximize the impression they left. The Turk lieutenant recalled one such presentation, many years ago, that had left him both nauseated _and_ horrifyinglyimpressed.

Neither Reno _nor_ Rufus look especially convinced of his assertation, either.

The elevator finally chimed again, letting them out on the fifty-second floor, and the three of them stepped out into the hallway. Tseng slid his ID through the reader on the security door for the demonstration arena and it beeped in response, as the lock clicked open.

The arena took up most of the entire fifty-second floor. He knew from experience that there were a few maintenance and storage rooms on the far side... but for the most part, it was just one big open space with a high ceiling. Along one wall stood bleacher-style seating for observers, as well as a large, luxury suite for the executive board. The President liked to make quite the spectacle of his weapons demos... at least the ones that weren't classified. It wasn't at all unusual to see members of the press with cameras sitting in those stands to witness Shinra Company's latest creation in action.

Today, however, the seats were empty. A private showing, then... which didn't surprise Tseng, as much of Hojo's work was classified at the highest levels the company had. Rufus seemed to be the only member of the board attending... which _did_ seem just a little odd, considering the amount of setup that had obviously gone into whatever this was.

The arena floor, which would normally be largely empty, barring, perhaps, a few targets or obstacles, was almost cramped with what seemed to be temporarily walls, each made from a metal panel about eight feet high. There didn't seems to be much organization to them... It was certainly maze- _like_ , but hardly what the Turk would have classified as an actual maze. He shuddered slightly as he suddenly recognized it for what it was. Simulated cover. The walls were there to act as stand-ins for trees or rocks or vehicles or whatever sort of hiding places were present naturally in whatever environment Hojo's "specimens" preferred.

And if the cover was needed, that almost certainly meant that there was something that was going to be hiding from whatever Hojo decided to release into the arena. Wonderful. Tseng _hated_ it when the Biologics Department field tested a predator. Hojo had a habit of making his genetically engineered creations both vicious _and_ deadly. The zenenes were a perfect example... and _those_ Leviathan-be-damned things were _still_ loose up in the mountains somewhere.

"So... what's Hojo got for us today?" Reno asked, knocking on one of the panels. They were quite solidly anchored. It sent a metallic clang echoing throughout the large space. Rufus snorted in contempt.

"Something he's spent an obscene amount of money creating, I'm sure," he sneered, "Where _is_ that lunatic, anyway? I don't have all day for this... The least he could do is be punctual."

The moment the words left his mouth, a loud alarm blared from somewhere above them. Tseng turned just in time to see the emergency barrier close over the door they'd just come through and swore loudly. Someone had just activated a security lockdown.

"The _fuck_?" Reno swore, eyes widening as the room's three other entrances were similarly barred in quick succession. "Uh... Boss?"

"I don't know," he hurriedly replied, answering the unasked question of 'what the hell is going on?', "Get Rufus to the executive observation suite."

 _Whatever_ was happening, that suite would be the most secure place to wait it out. It was built like a miniature bunker to protect the board members from any stray munitions that might miss their targets. Before they could make any progress towards that goal, however... the alarm stopped and the lights went out.

"Tseng?!" he heard Rufus gasp nearby, a note of fear in the young man's voice. A low growl emanated from somewhere in the arena.

"That...can't possibly be a _good_ sound," said Reno.

"Move," Tseng replied, his voice hushed. "Stay together, be quiet, and move as quickly as you can towards the observation section."

It wasn't going to be a easy walk. The door they'd entered through was on the opposite side of the arena as the seating. The room was nearly pitch black, and they had any number of obstacles in their way... And on top of that, it was very likely they were now being hunted. Tseng unholstered his gun, and flipped the safety off. He heard a faint snap a few feet to his left that told him that Reno had done the same with his EMR.

The growl came again, and the Turk lieutenant was absolutely certain that it was closer to them this time. Then the emergency lights flickered to life, casting the entire space in a dull orange glow.

"Do _not_ separate," Tseng cautioned, as he saw Reno take a step towards the simulated cover. Normally, moving as a group in such a situation would be unwise... but with so many twists and turns in the path that lay before them, separating now would almost certainly result in at least one of them being attacked where help was unable to reach them. He grabbed Rufus' by the sleeve of his jacket and pulled the executive behind him. "Reno... watch the rear. We don't know what we're dealing with, and I for one don't want to be caught from behind by whatever it may be."

"Got it," the redhead replied, slipping into a position where he could keep an eye on their backs. The eerie lighting lent a foreboding aura to the shadows cast by the panels as they made their careful way across the arena, and the silence that had settled over the place was punctuated every now and then by that same low, angry growl they'd heard when the lights had gone out. Each time, it seemed to come from a different direction, leaving Tseng thoroughly unable to pin down its location.

"Where the fuck _is_ it?" Reno hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. As if in reply, the unknown creature growled again, and _this_ time, the sound came from directly in front of them, just on the other side of one of the panels. Tseng immediately flattened himself against the wall, pushing Rufus against it as well, and Reno was quick to follow suit.

Tseng could hear a faint tapping... claws on the cold metal floor, perhaps... and he held his breath, not daring to make even the _slightest_ movement and give them away. Reno urgently elbowed him in the ribs, and pointed to their left... where a shadow was moving. Tseng nodded and gestured for the redhead to take the lead, as he was farthest from the movement. Reno carefully leaned himself out past the end of the panel, checking that it was clear, and then waved for them to follow as he slipped around to the other side.

They moved quickly from there, dodging left and right around the walls that blocked their progress, and taking as direct a route as they could manage towards the safety of the observation suite. Several more times, they were forced to stop and alter course as the creature got a bit too close. By the time they reached the far wall of the arena that separated the seating from the demonstration floor, Tseng was on high alert. Fear... adrenaline... and a determination to keep his charge safe seemed to push every sense he had to the limit.

In spite of that, he still had literally _no_ idea where the creature hunting them _was_. It seemed to move at an impossible speed. He hadn't been able to track it the entire time they were making their escape. One moment, they would hear it from what sounded like halfway across the floor... the next, the fleeting shadow would flit by just meters away from them.

The seating area was elevated quite high above the floor. A good ten feet, in fact. It had entrances at either end, but somehow, _they'd_ wound up in nearly the middle.

"Up and over. Rufus first," Tseng said, and his protege nodded. He turned to the young executive. "When you get up there, head straight for the observation suite. Don't wait for us. We'll be right behind you." Tseng cupped his hands and hoisted the vice president upwards. Rufus struggled a bit at the top of the wall, trying to pull himself up, but eventually made it and scurried upright.

"You next, Boss," Reno said, as Tseng was getting into position to repeat the process with the younger Turk. He paused a moment, hesitating, but Reno shook his head, "Last one up's gonna need to be _pulled_ up. I'm a hell of a lot easier to lift."

"Alright," Tseng agreed, and let his protege boast him up and over the wall. He stood at the railing, that separated the front row of seats from the edge and turned to reach down for the redhead... just as what could only be described as a roar, reverberated off of the walls.

"Shit!" Reno shouted, in a somewhat panicked voice, and Tseng caught sight of the shadow again, now closing in on the trapped Turk, who quickly dove for cover behind a nearby panel. Almost simultaneously, Rufus' voice echoed him... if not in vulgarity, then at least in tone.

"Tseng!"

The Turk lieutenant's head whipped around, and what he saw made his blood run cold. A dark shape – a _second_ shadow – was advancing on Rufus, as well. Tseng drew raised his weapon and took aim, squeezing off three shots in quick succession... but they seemed to do absolutely nothing! He was certain he'd hit his mark, but whatever the thing was hadn't so much as flinched. Rufus stumbled and fell backwards, landing awkwardly between the rows of seats as he tried to back away from from it.

"Boss!" Reno called out, "Get me outta here!"

Reno had been driven out of his hiding spot and was up against the wall as the first shadowy mass advanced on him.

And with cold dread, Tseng realized that he had to choose. Save Rufus, and get him to safety inside of the observation suite... or stay, and pull Reno out of harm's way before the creature down below got to him. He didn't have time to do both.

He hastily holstered his apparently useless firearm and made a mad dash for the vice president. The creature roared in anger as he approached, but he ignored it and reached down hauling Rufus to his feet and propelling both the Shinra heir and himself through the door of the suite. At the last possible moment, he spun around and kicked the door shut, barring it with the security brace on the inside.

"Tseng!" he heard Reno call out for him, and his heart twisted painfully at the thought of having abandoned him.

" _Run!_..." he pleaded, urging the redhead to flee. Seconds later, the emergency lights went out, plunging them into darkness once again, and twin roars seemed to shake the entire arena.

"RENO!" he shouted, eyes wide as he stared into blackness, one hand pressed against the ballistic glass of the observation suite. As the sound faded away, he strained to hear the slightest indication that the redhead had escaped... but there was nothing. His hand slowly dropped away from the glass to hang limply at his side.

"No..." His breath caught painfully in his throat, and for a long moment, he forgot how to breathe at all. No... this _couldn't_ be happening. It _couldn't_ be. He couldn't have lost Reno. But he knew he had... and the pain it brought him was more than he'd ever even imagined. The seconds that followed that realization felt like hours. Hours in which he felt as if _he_ were dying as well... and just as he'd nearly convinced himself that dying was exactly what he was doing, the lights came back on.

Tseng very nearly tripped over his own two feet, he backpedaled so quickly from glass... but to fair, the _last_ thing he'd expected to suddenly be confronted with was the sight of his own mentor standing on the opposite side... with Reno beside him, safe and whole. He was only saved from utter humiliation in that respect by Rufus quickly steadying him.

Moments later, he was wrenching the security bar out of his way and throwing the door open in desperation. He dragged the redhead into relieved embrace, holding him tight against his chest.

"Oh, thank Leviathan..." he breathed, shakily. Rufus appeared beside him a moment later, and the young executive was likewise dragged into his arms to join the redhead.

"Congratulations..." Veld said, "You passed."

Tseng looked up at his mentor, puzzled.

"Passed?" he parroted, not understanding, and still not yet willing to relinquish his grasp on the two young men he was very likely borderline-suffocating by that point.

"Your final evaluation," the senior Turk clarified, smiling broadly.

* * *

In the few short minutes it had taken them to return to Turk headquarters, Tseng had gone from relieved to numb with disbelief to quietly fuming, and, finally, to simmering, barely repressed rage.

How _dare_ Veld do that to him in the name of "evaluation"? He _knew_ the fear he'd lived with after Mayu had died... that he'd lose Reno or Rufus one day. That he'd never come back from such a loss. He knew what that fear had done to him, and how long it had taken to overcome it. And he knew that it still lingered, perpetually, in the back of Tseng's mind.

And then to _force_ him into a situation where loss was inevitable. To make him _believe_ it was real. He couldn't understand how his mentor – a man who had, for years, been like a second father to him, and later a surrogate father to him after his own had cut ties him – could do something so intentionally cruel.

"Sir? Reno? Would the two of you please excuse us?" Veld said, as they arrived on the fifty-eighth floor.

"Of course," Rufus replied, and, rather than stepping back into the elevator, made his way down the hall.

"Yeah... sure, sir," Reno said, a little more hesitantly... pointedly side-eyeing his own mentor, and Tseng had no doubt in his mind that his protege was wondering whether or not this was going to turn violent. Tseng was wondering that himself, at the moment.

Veld guided him into his office, settling him in one of the more comfortable chairs by the window, rather than the ones in front of his desk. It didn't escape the younger Turk's notice that a pot of tea was waiting on the sidetable, and Tseng couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"So... _that_ was my final evaluation," he stated, blandly, accepting the proffered cup, but not drinking.

"Yes. It was," Veld replied. Tseng snorted quietly, "And I'm very pleased with the results.

"I'm so _glad_ to have made the right choice, and opted for Company over family," he said coldly and with no small amount of sarcasm. He took an irritated sip of the hot tea. The Turk commander shook his head and gave him an understanding smile.

"There _was_ no right choice, Tseng," he said, and the younger Turk immediately choked.

"What?" he sputtered.

"It was always meant to be an _impossible_ choice. No matter which option you selected, you would have been correct. I never cared which of them you ultimately chose to save. That wasn't the point of the evaluation."

"Then... what was?" Tseng queried, now thoroughly confused.

"That you _made_ a choice," Veld said, reaching out and resting a hand on his protege's shoulder. The younger Turk blinked, trying to make sense of what he was being told, and Veld chuckled. "I'm sorry to have put you through that. I truly am. But I needed to know. One day... such a scenario might be morethan _just_ a scenario. There may really come a time when it comes down to Rufus... or Reno. I needed to know that, if you _had to_ , you could make that choice."

Tseng was speechless for a moment, as he considered, and rejected, several responses before finally settling on, "Why?"

Veld leaned back in his own chair and sighed.

"Because. You love them both. Rufus has been your charge for... _most_ of his life, and virtually all of your career as a Turk. You watched him grow up, protected him... helped to shape the man he is today. And Reno? Hmph... Reno might as well be your own son at this point. Losing either one of them would devastate you beyond words. Losing _both_ because you hesitated in choosing which to save and ended up saving neither?... I think _that_ , quite likely, would kill you."

Tseng let his gaze drop to the golden liquid in his cup and felt his rage... not entirely subside, but _quiet_ a bit, at least. Because his mentor was right. Losing them both – and _especially_ losing them both because of his own inability to choose between them – was something he almost certainly could never recover from. They were... the most important parts of his family, and had been for quite some time now.

He set the tea aside, closing his eyes and pressing a hand to his forehead as a new thought washed over him, bringing with it a wave of guilt.

"What am I going to say to Reno?" he whispered, "I... just abandoned him. Left him to die. Even if it _was_ only a simulation –"

"Reno understands the nature of the evaluation far better than you might think," Veld replied, and smirked slightly. " _He_ helped me plan it, in fact. Those creatures were his idea... and it was also his idea to borrow SOLDIER's VR projector to create them. He really _is_ remarkably adept at this. I don't envy the rookies who have to face _his_ Hell Week evaluations."

Tseng gave a quiet laugh. "Nor do I..." he admitted before quickly sobering. "But still..."

"I did discuss the possibility with him, you know," Veld said, and Tseng looked up in surprise. His mentor snorted softly. "For Odin's sake, Tseng... He may not be my protege, but it's not as if I don't interact with him at _all_. I know perfectly well he's struggled with... shall we say... abandonment issues... most of his life. And I'm more than aware of how much effort _you've_ put into helping him overcome those issues. He was _far_ more worried about what sort of effect this little test of mine was going to have on _you_ than what decision you made in the heat of the moment."

To be far... that _did_ sound like Reno. His young protege had a tendency to show more concern for others than he did for himself at times. But he also had his own ghosts in his past... and Tseng knew just how hard that sort of thing could be to ignore. The sooner he spoke to the redhead one on one, the better.

"I know this is a lot to take in, and you've had a less than pleasant afternoon," said Veld, "so I won't hold you here any longer than I have to. But I _do_ want to tell you how very proud I am of you, Tseng. You have been the finest second in command I could have hoped for, and I know you'll be just as fine a commander when your time comes. You're ready for it, and when you do finally step into my role, you will excel at it."

"Thank you," Tseng replied, swallowing sharply. Hearing those words was a little... surreal. He wasn't sure he could honestly say that he believed _himself_ to be ready yet. There was so much he was still unsure of at times. So many mistakes he still made. And here was the man he admired most in the world, telling him that he'd passed his every test. That there was nothing left to evaluate. Nothing left to prove to him.

Veld chuckled quietly.

"You _are_ ready," he reiterated. "I sure you still don't feel like it... but you are." He smirked. "Don't expect me to announce my retirement anytime _soon_ ,though. I plan on sticking around for awhile yet."

Tseng let a small, and admittedly, slightly relieved, laugh escape.

"Yes, sir," he replied.

* * *

"Tch... How long are you plannin' on sittin' there, staring at me?" Reno finally asked, rolling his eyes at the supremely smug look on the Rufus' face as he sat calmly in one of the chairs across the desk from the Turk.

"Just until you _say_ it."

"Ugh..." he groaned, "Fine. You won the fuckin' bet... alright? Ya happy?"

How he'd ever let the brat talk him into _that_ one, he'd never know... but somehow, they'd ended up betting on which of then Tseng would save. Rufus, naturally, had bet on himself... leaving the redhead to do likewise.

"Very. Now... about my prize..."

Reno sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, yeah... I know. I owe ya a 'favor of your choosing'," he grumbled, "So what is I gotta do?"

Rufus reached into his jacket and pulled out a sheet of paper. He set it on the desk and slid it over to him.

"Sign here," he demanded. Reno raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Uh... what am I signin', exactly?" the Turk queried, as he scanned the first few lines of the document.

"Just a little promissory note, explicitly stating that which you just verbally confirmed we've agreed to," the executive replied, "You see... I don't _need_ a favor at just this moment. But I certainly intend to collect eventually. This is my insurance that neither of us forget the formalities of the deal."

It was a short document. Barely half a page long, and it seemed to say exactly what Rufus claimed it did. Reno shook his head, but reached for one of the pens tucked neatly into the new glass penholder on his desk.

"What? My word's not good enough for you?" he asked, slightly insulted. He'd _never_ welshed on a bet in his life.

"As Father has always told me... Trust a man's word, but always get it in writing, too."

"Why do I feel like I'm signin' my soul over to you...?" he muttered as he grudgingly signed his name to the document and slid it back. Rufus looked it over, smiled in satisfaction, and tucked the page into his jacket pocket.

"Don't be ridiculous... That would involve _far_ more paperwork," the executive shot back, and Reno honestly couldn't tell if he was joking or not. He actually wouldn't have put it past him to have a template for something like that filed away somewhere... just in case it ever came up.

Rufus glanced at his watch and frowned. "Just how much longer do you think Veld is going to keep him in there?"

"I'm guessin' they _kinda_ have a lot to talk about," Reno replied with a shrug, and then snickered. "Ya know... assumin' Veld can get a word in edgewise while Tseng's tryin' to punch him in the face."

"Mmm, he _did_ seem less than pleased to find out that it had all been a test, didn't he?" Rufus concurred, his frown deepening. "Though... considering his reaction when you 'died', I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise." He looked away, turning his gaze on the door. "I can't recall ever seeing him look so... broken. Not even when you –" He cut himself off. "Not even in Wutai."

" _Almost_ dyin's a lot different than _actually_ dyin'," Reno said after a moment's pause. Rufus suddenly looked back at him.

"Why do you think he chose me over you?" he asked.

"Heh... think the only person who knows the answer to _that_ question is Tseng."

"If you had to guess..." Rufus prompted, and Reno eyed him strangely, wondering why the hell it was so important to him at the moment.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "He thought he could get to you faster? He thought I'd have the best shot of fending for myself? He thought it was already too late for me? Take your pick..."

He intentionally didn't voice several other options... For instance, that Rufus was more important, or that his duty was to the Company first. They remained unspoken and unacknowledged... but not unconsidered. And he... had his own feelings about them. Which he didn't _really_ want to discuss with Rufus.

"I didn't have _time_ to think," a voice suddenly interjected from the doorway, and both young men looked up to find the subject of their conversation had joined them. "I'm not sure even _I_ know why I made the decision I did. My only thought was that... I had to save _one_ of you."

"Veld still in one piece?" Reno asked, only half-jokingly. Tseng gave a small laugh.

"Yes... He is," he replied, "His explanation for recent events was enough to stave off a no holds barred showdown between the two of us."

"Heh... ya know that's _almost_ too bad, 'cause _that's_ some shit I'd pay to see..." the redhead snickered. Rufus snorted in contempt, rolling his eyes at the comment.

"Well... it seems we're back to his usual idiocy," the vice president snarked, "That being the case... I'll take my leave. As much as I would like to stay and discuss, Father is having guests for dinner tonight and I'm expected to make an appearance."

"Good night, Rufus," Tseng chuckled, as the younger man got to his feet. He paused in front of the senior Turk.

"Congratulations," he added, in what was quite possibly the most sincere tone of voice Reno had ever heard from the brat, before slipping out the door. Tseng smiled slightly as he shut it behind him, and then turned back to the redhead. He sighed, and took the seat the executive had just vacated.

"I feel as though I owe you an apology for –"

"So... I'm gonna stop ya right there," Reno cut in, and his mentor looked up in surprise. The younger Turk grinned. "Yeah, you can yell at me for interruptin' later... but I wanna go first here, 'cause I've had like... forever... to think about this shit 'n what it'd feel like if I ended up bein' the one that got left behind."

"I... see," Tseng said, clearly caught off guard.

"I'm not mad," he continued, "And I'm not like... disappointed I didn't make the cut."

"Reno... it's not that –"

"I _know_. Look... I get it. You had to pick one of us. That was the whole _point_. The whole thing was designed to be a shitty situation, with an outcome that was gonna suck no matter what it was." He paused a moment, brow furrowed as he tried to find the right words to explain. "I actually... think I'm weirdly kinda _glad_ you went after Rufus 'n not me. I mean... _sort_ of. I'm not thrilled with the idea of dyin' 'n I'm _definitely_ not lookin' to get eaten by one of Hojo's projects or anything like that. I just... ya know... I think I'd feel responsible. If it came down to him or me, 'n he died, I mean. That's somethin' I kinda don't really wanna have to live with. I mean... I _could_ live with it, if I _had_ to, but... ugh... I don't really know how to say this. Just... I'm not mad about it. Okay? 'Cause I know how much it must've hurt you to do it."

That was _far_ more rambling than he'd intended it to be, and he couldn't help but cringe slightly at how lame it all sounded once he'd finally managed to spit it out. But like he'd told Tseng several times in the years they'd known each other... eloquent was just _not_ something he was good at.

Apparently, it didn't really matter, though. Tseng stood and rounded the desk, and a moment later, Reno found himself in a near-crushing embrace for the second time that day.

~end chapter 80~


	81. A Changing of Seasons

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 81: A Changing of Seasons**

 **by Desha**

Liam yelped loudly as something wet and heavy struck him in the back of the head... and then let out what could only have been described as a squeal as ice cold water began to trickle down the collar of his shirt. Zephyr snickered unabashedly beside him as he began an awkward dance in an effort to disperse the unpleasantly chilly liquid.

By the time it had finally started to warm up, Zephyr's laughter had been joined by others, and the rookie looked up, glaring in the direction the unexpected assault had come from. Reno and Rude stood a short distance away, doing their best to look innocent.

"What was _that_ for?" Liam demanded, annoyed. The redhead grinned.

"Just sharin' the first snow of the year with everyone," he laughed... and then _both_ senior Turks produced a pair of snowballs from behind their backs, grinning widely.

"... Run," Liam said simply, turning to Zephyr. The pair of rookies took off at a sprint down the hallway. Zephyr giggled as they darted around the corner and continued on, ducking into the archive room.

"Come out, come out _wherever_ you are..." Reno's voice teasingly called out, and Liam snorted softly.

"Not a chance," he whispered, laughingly, to his fellow rookie. They heard a door open a little ways farther down the hallway, followed quickly by wet splat and an angry scream.

" _Reno_!"

"Uh, oh..." the redhead intoned, just outside of the door to their hiding place. "Remy... uh... sorry. That was meant for someone else..."

There was a long silence.

"... Please don't kill me," the redhead added.

"Start. Running," Remy ground out. The next sound the pair of rookies heard were frantic footsteps beating a hasty retreat back down the hall. Once all of the noise had faded, Liam looked over at Zephyr, and they both promptly burst out laughing.

Moments later, they were exiting the archive room and making their way into the lounge, snickering loudly between themselves.

"What's so funny?" Petra asked, looking up from a magazine she was flipping through.

"Reno and Rude thought it'd be fun to start throwing snowballs indoors. They hit Remy with one, and now they're running for their lives," Liam replied, grinning. Petra snorted softly in laughter and shook her head.

"Sometimes I wonder about those two..." Ryu opined, from his position on the floor in the corner, where he seemed to be sitting in some sort of yoga position, with his legs crossed in what, to Liam, at least, looked like a horrendously uncomfortable knot.

Victor snickered loudly over his morning coffee. "Oh, get over yourself, Ryu... they're no weirder than any of the rest of us. I mean... _you're_ sitting over there, pretending to be a human pretzel."

Ryu rolled his eyes slightly, but didn't argue the point.

"So... think today will be the day?" Liam ventured, not entirely wanting to change the subject, but it had become something of a ritual amongst the team's rookies over the past few months. Well... the rookies, Sykes, _and_ the recently promoted Petra. She'd been made a full Turk not long after Liam had partaken in the tradition of torture that was Hell Week.

Petra set the magazine aside. "It's been getting colder for weeks... and now it's snowing. _Surely_ she's not still out living off the land."

No one had heard from Kai in months. Or at least none of _them_ had. If the senior Turks knew where she was, they weren't saying anything. They... had just gone on without her. But the Turk's absence was seldom forgotten completely.

"She _has_ to come back soon, then... right?" Zephyr offered.

"... Unless she's not planning on coming back at all," said Ryu. At the pronouncement, a heavy silence fell over the lounge.

"She wouldn't just _not_ come back," Sykes finally said. He'd been leaning back against the wall near the window, mostly just listening to the conversation. The rest of the room's occupants shared a dubious look between themselves, but didn't contradict him. Sykes, of late, had fallen back on an almost frantic assertion that Kai would be making her reappearance any day now, and none of them were quite sure why. When pressed, about it, he just shrugged it off, saying he "had a feeling".

Whatever the case may have been, though, her continued absence was a persistent nag for all of them.

A moment later, the door swung inward with a loud bang, causing Liam to jump in fright.

"Ah ha! Gotcha!" Reno announced... and then sighed, shoulders drooping. "Too bad Remy confiscated our snowballs..."

Zephyr snorted a soft laugh, as Liam groaned in relief.

" _Anyways_..." the redhead continued, as Rude appeared behind him in the doorway, "I need two volunteers before the mornin' briefing..."

"Volunteers for what, sir?" Victor asked.

"Heavy lifting," Reno said with a grin. "Veld put me 'n Rude in charge of decoratin' the lounge this year. Need one person to go with Rude 'n get the tree, and another to help me drag the ornaments 'n shit outta the storeroom so we can decorate later."

Sykes shrugged. "I'll help with the tree."

Rude nodded in acknowledgment and Sykes hurried to join the senior Turk. The pair quickly disappeared down the hall in the direction of the elevators.

"You're _sure_ you don't have anymore snowballs..." Liam prodded, suspiciously.

"Yep. All gone," Reno replied, and then grinned, "At least 'til I got time to run back up to the roof 'n make some more..."

"Okay, I'm in..." the rookie said.

"If you _need_ me, I don't mind lending a hand, too," Zephyr offered. The redhead shrugged.

"Heh... the more the merrier. Full disclosure, I was the one who put shit away last year, so... it might take some effort to find the lights," he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, "And... uh... untangle them."

"... Is it too late to _un_ volunteer?" Liam jokingly replied.

"Yep!" Reno happily replied, grinning widely. Zephyr giggled and elbowed him in the side as she slipped past him, following the senior Turk out of the lounge. Liam hurried after them.

Several minutes later he found himself wading through a packed storeroom tucked back in a lonely corner of Turk headquarters. The space was floor to ceiling boxes and bins and random items too large to fit on the shelving that lined the wall.

"Think I put 'em somewhere over here..." Reno said, rummaging through the contents of the room.

"Where'd all this stuff _come_ from, anyway?" Liam asked. The redhead looked up from his task and shrugged.

"It's just shit we don't use much. Ya know... seasonal stuff... old furniture no one wants anymore... dead bodies we never got around to chuckin' off the edge of the Plate... that kinda thing."

"Dead bodies, huh...?" Liam snickered, shaking his head at the joke. He turned to Zephyr to make another comment and suddenly found himself face to face with the severed head she was holding up, a smirk on her lips. The rookie yelped in shock as he instinctively stumbled back several steps, ultimately ending up falling ass first into a cardbox box filled with fake evergreen garlands. Zephyr laughed and lowered the head.

"Oh, hey! Ya found Ralph! I was lookin' for him..." Reno said, cheerfully.

"Why?" Liam asked from his undignified new seat. The prop head didn't exactly scream "Christmas".

"I mean a couple of months ago. Ya know... for Halloween," the senior Turk clarified, laughing as he pulled the younger Turk to his feet. He picked the head up and looked it over, before finally tucking it into an open space on a nearby shelf. "I used him to play a prank on Kai two years ago and _kinda_ pissed her off. Haven't seem him since."

"Sir...?" Zephyr piped up, "Have... you _heard_ anything from Kai yet?"

Reno paused in his bid to pull a large, overflowing plastic bin of ribbons and random other colorful objects down from one of the high shelves. He turned to her and sighed, shaking her head.

"No one has," he replied, sounding sad, "Not even Tseng... and I'da thought that she'd've contacted _him_ by now, at least..." He paused a moment, and dropped his voice slightly, "I _probably_ shouldn't be sayin' anything, but... I think the Boss is kinda startin' to worry."

"Do you think she went after the Zenshou?" Zephyr asked.

"... Honestly? Not anymore. I mean, when she first left, I thought for _sure_ that's what she was gonna do, but... Rude's been keepin' a close eye on 'em through his contacts in Wutai. He hasn't heard about anything that sounds like it mighta been her doing, and if she _was_ gonna try somethin', she'd've done it by _now_." He heaved a heavy sigh. "I... don't have the faintest idea what she's been up to for so long. I can't even guess at this point." A moment later, he seemed to forcibly shake himself from the depressing fog that had fallen over them all. "Anyway... we got decoratin' to do. We're only four weeks out from Christmas, ya know!"

Liam and Zephyr obligingly dropped the subject, and went back to helping Reno dig out the holiday decorations for the office... though by then, it didn't seem as though any of them really had their hearts in it.

* * *

"Hey, Boss," Reno said, walking into Tseng's office about ten minutes after the morning briefing. Tseng glanced up from a stack of requisition forms and motioned for him to take a seat. The redhead shut the door behind him and obliged.

"What's this I hear about you assaulting Remy with improvised projectile weapons?" his mentor queried, looking at him accusingly. Reno rolled his eyes.

"Oh, _give_ me a break. I threw a damn snowball at her..." he snickered, "And in my defense, I _thought_ she was Liam."

Tseng chuckled and signed the topmost form, setting it aside.

"You're going to get yourself into trouble if you're not careful..." he teasingly warned, and Reno waved him off.

"Are we here to talk about the rookies, or so you can tell me off for havin' some fun?" Reno asked, grinning in response, "... 'cause I got escort duty in twenty minutes, ya know..."

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." Tseng replied, smirking slightly. "But, you're right. We both have a full day ahead of us. So... let's _start_ with Liam, since you've already brought him up. I've noticed that he and Ryu have been spending more time practicing together of late."

"Yeah... they worked out a kinda mutually beneficial arrangement last time we were in Junon. Ryu's helpin' Liam out in materia training, 'n Liam's givin' Ryu pointers on the firing range. Seems to be workin' pretty well for 'em both. Vir says Liam's gettin' pretty good."

"Perhaps we should give the two of them a dedicated training time here at headquarters. I'm sure they would both welcome the extra practice, and, given that the weather has finally decided to turn, should they not be able to make it to Junon at some point, they wouldn't have to miss out."

"Heh... long as ya don't let 'em do it unsupervised," Reno replied, and Tseng raised an eyebrow, "Ryu... uh... sometimes forgets that he's got _way_ more experience than Liam does. He can get a little carried away."

"Duly noted," the Turk lieutenant nodded, "Any other concerns?"

"... Not about training," Reno sighed. "But, yeah. There _is_ one thing. They're startin' to ask questions about Kai."

"And you have no answers for them," Tseng acknowledged, shaking his head.

"Boss... she's been gone too damn long. There's _gotta_ be somethin' we can do. I mean... it's not like we're swamped with work right now. Hell, the whole company's shuttin' down for the holidays in a few more weeks. Can't we send _someone_ out to look for her?"

Tseng leaned forward steepling his fingers together before him, and Reno groaned.

"Don't do that. I hate it when you do that..."

His mentor smiled faintly and laid his hands down flat on the desk instead.

"I... agree with you," Tseng said, "In fact, I've spent the last several weekends traveling to some of her preferred campsites to see if I could pick up her trail. I'm afraid I haven't found any trace of her. If she was ever at any of the locations I checked, it was quite some time ago. I'm going to recommend to Veld that we officially declare her as missing and start a preliminary search."

"So what do I tell the rookies?" Reno asked.

"For now... there's nothing _to_ tell them that they don't already know. Once I've spoken to Veld, I'll have a better response for you."

"... Think it's too much to hope that she'll be home for Christmas?" the redhead hesitantly asked.

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for _that_ either... save that I feel much the same way," Tseng replied.

* * *

Some twenty minutes following his weekly meeting with Tseng, Reno found himself seated in the luxurious passenger section of the Shinra family limousine.

"Ugh... I _loathe_ holiday shopping..." Rufus muttered in distaste, glaring out the window as they turned onto the main street of Sector 4. "Every _Ramuh-forsaken_ year, Father expects me to find a suitable gift to present to his latest gold-digging mistress. I hardly see the point. Nine times out of ten, she'll have been replaced by New Years, anyway. He's _lucky_ I even bother learning their names anymore."

He glanced up at the redhead.

"And why are _you_ here? Surely Tseng isn't _that_ busy."

"Sorry, sir... you're stuck with me today. The Boss is headin' over to Kalm with Sykes to keep an eye on that protest at the reactor."

"Ah... I suppose that matter _does_ take priority," the executive mused. The "protest" wasn't supposed to be a large event, by any means, but after months of doing damage control for the Company's reputation over the Gongaga incident, Rufus didn't seem especially keen to have a repeat. The Turks had been ordered to make damned sure that none of the people protesting the "environmental impact" of the Kalm reactor had any intentions to do anything more than just protest. The last thing they needed was the damn thing going critical because some idiot decided to sabotage it, and taking out another town.

Apparently – though Reno wasn't entirely sure how much stock to put in the rumor – the Executive Board had come up with a _very_ highly classified plan that was supposed to completely eliminate the PR fallout if something like that were to ever happened again. He didn't know any of the details... but it would supposedly be massively expensive.

Hopefully, he'd never have to find out what it was. He, for one, didn't want to see another town blown up and saturated in raw mako.

"Heh... so... what does a guy _get_ for his dad's 'gold-digging mistress', anyway?" Reno asked. The Shinra heir snorted softly.

"It depends on how much I wish to annoy Father," he replied, smirking, "But... this year, as I want nothing more than a quiet, uneventful holiday... something pricey and impersonal that's not likely to spark an argument, I think. There's a Costan designer who's quite popular just at the moment. His premium shoulder bags are selling for something like fifty thousand gil. That should be a sufficient waste of money to keep Father happy."

The redhead blinked. "... Fifty _thousand_? For a _bag_?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Man... rich people are fuckin' _nuts_."

To his surprise, Rufus gave a quietly amused laugh.

"For once, I actually agree with you. It _is_ quite insane what one is willing to pay for something so trivial simply because one _can_."

The limo pulled into a large parking structure attached to one of the sector's more upscale department stores, and came to a stop just outside of the elevated walkway that connected the two buildings and allowed shoppers to cross the street without coming in contact with either traffic or unpleasant weather. Rufus waited until the driver opened the door for him, and stepped out, followed swiftly by his security detail.

"Let's make this quick, shall we?" Rufus sighed, "I have any number of things I'd rather be doing today."

"Works for me, sir," Reno replied, nodding. He trailed the executive through the store entrance, and couldn't help but grin slightly at the sight that greeted them.

One thing Reno could say about the high-end stores in Midgar... they _sure_ knew how to do Christmas. As he stepped through the doors, he found himself on an evergreen-lined walkway. The trees were decked out in glittering ornaments in a blue and silver motif, and tiny white fairy lights twinkled among their branches. Overhead, lengths of dark blue and gray fabric had been draped across the ceiling, creating something that looked a bit like a cloudy winter night sky, and he could already hear the faint sound of holiday music playing a short distance ahead of them.

Once in the store proper, things only got more Christmasy... if that were possible. Mannequins had been dressed in expensive winter gear and posed on pedestals decorated with fake snow and brightly wrapped presents. Every counter bore colorful garlands and festive displays of gift suggestions for their wealthy clientele. At the far end of the store, Reno could see a much larger display built to resemble Santa's workshop, complete with employees dressed as elves. It took him a moment to realize that it was the gift wrapping station... with quite a long line of people waiting in front of it.

"I see they've gone overboard again this year," Rufus said, shaking his head.

"I like it," the redhead declared, still taking it all in.

The vice president snorted. "You would," he replied, rolling his eyes. Rufus began to make his way towards the escalator situated near the center of the store, and he and the Turk rode it upwards to the second floor, where the winter themes continued. Here, though, instead of Santa's workshop, Reno found himself staring at a full-sized sleigh filled with gifts and manned by Santa himself and another elf. A sign nearby read "Donations: The Society for Midgar's Underprivileged Children". Apparently they were collecting both toys _and_ cash, because a large glass box filled with gil sat near the elf.

The redhead rolled his eyes in disgust as he recognized the charity's unfortunate, yet somewhat fitting, acronym. SCUM was the same organization that ran the kind of pathetic excuse for an orphanage he'd been dumped in after his mother had died. Unless things had changed a _lot_ since he was a kid, very few of those donations were destined for kids down in the slums. They'd mostly go to the charity's facilities topside – which, to be completely fair, there were orphans among the Plate dwellers, too, after all... they just tended to not _stay_ orphans indefinitely like the ones in the Slums – and a lot of the cash they collected would ultimately get pocketed by corporate at the end of the day. The Slum kids would get the leftovers. If they were lucky.

He didn't have long to linger on the charity, however, as Rufus was already heading for the nearby accessories department, where any number of bags and satchels and purses were on display, their designer names proudly carved into wooden signs hanging above their individual sections.

As the pair made their way through the almost comically large selection of overpriced bags, Reno glanced down at a few of the price tags and cringed. The cheapest one he spotted was a ridiculous seven hundred and seventy five gil, for a tiny little clutch that didn't look like it would hold much more than a phone and a credit card... which only further cemented his belief that some people on the planet just had too damn much Ifrit-forsaken money. Though, he supposed, it was saying something that he and Rufus seemed to be in agreement on that... at least in _this_ instance. Even the Brat thought it was a little much.

That wasn't going to stop the executive from _spending_ such a ridiculous amount of money on one of these things, of course.

Reno had a somewhat odd view of money. He'd spent most of his life with next to none... and then one day he'd ended up in a position where, while he was by no means among the city's wealthy elite, he would almost certainly never have to _worry_ about it again... as long as he didn't do stupid things like buying seven hundred gil purses. And yet, he'd been far more frivolous with his spending back when he was broke, buying things like cigarettes and booze when he could have been spending it on more essential items. Which... was _probably_ a big part of the reason he was perpetually broke before he'd been recruited. And if he was being completely honest, he still made the occasional stupid purchase, but Tseng had taught him how to save... how to budget... how to live within his means instead of just hoping for the best. It made a difference.

"I will never understand the appeal of these things. They're _beyond_ gaudy..." Rufus muttered just ahead of him. He was studying a multi-color shoulder bag made up of leather panels dyed in various earth tones. A floral design had been embedded in each panel, done in tiny crystals.

It wasn't exactly Reno's taste, either... though the little platform it had been sitting on that boasted a forty-two thousand gil price tag wasn't doing it any favors, either.

Somewhere to his left, the Turk suddenly heard a faint series of clicks, that he belatedly recognized as the sound of a shutter going off. He turned, eyes roving the sea of expensive fashion goods and shoppers, searching for its source. A moment later he caught sight of a man dressed in a cheap suit, hurriedly ducking behind a flocked Christmas tree.

Great. Paparazzi.

"Sir?" he said, getting Rufus' attention, "Looks like we picked up a shadow. The nosy kind that comes armed with cameras."

"Ugh..." Rufus groaned. "Wonderful. I'm sure this little shopping trip will very quickly be spun as the eligible Shinra vice president searching for the perfect Christmas gift for some mysterious new female companion. Those rags so _enjoy_ speculating on my love life these days. They're worse than Father. Seize his equipment and get rid of him. Quietly, if possible. I don't want a scene."

"Yes, sir," the redhead replied.

Unnoticed by his target – or simply ignored in favor of keeping the vice president in frame – Reno slipped into the next department over, and stalked up behind the man just as he was snapping another series of photos. The redhead tapped him on the shoulder, and he squeaked in surprise, turning to face the Turk. Reno rolled his eyes, recognizing him as a regular.

"Tch... Don't you have anyone _else_ to bother? Alright, you know the drill. Hand it over," he said, holding a hand out expectantly.

"I have every right," the photographer protested, "This is a public place. Besides... I'm with the press!"

"Tough shit. I work for him," Reno said, nodding towards the executive, "... 'n he says to hand over the camera 'n scram." He gave him a slightly evil grin, "... and if ya don't, I get to have some fun with you."

Rufus, of course, had said no such thing... but Reno had found that, by and large, the local paparazzi didn't like to tempt fate when faced with a pissed off Turk. A little insinuation of severe bodily harm here and there usually made them far more compliant and less likely to raise a fuss. The man paled slightly, and grudgingly forked over the camera.

"Can you at _least_ just take the film and leave me the camera this time? Those things aren't cheap, you know..." he groused, "Have a heart. It's the holidays."

Reno smirked, and thumbed open the little door that gave access to the film inside the camera, and unceremoniously ripped it out, pocketing it. He handed the camera back to its owner.

"Merry Christmas," he replied, "Now fuck off. I catch ya at it again today, I'm not gonna be so nice about it."

"You Turks really are a bunch of –"

Reno never found out exactly what the Turks really were a bunch of, because before the photographer could finish his sentence, a the relative peace of the department store was obliterated by angry shouting followed by several gunshots being fired into the air. The redhead spun in the direction of the commotion, eyes wide.

There were three of them. One man was holding the charity workers at gunpoint while a second kept _his_ gun trained on the stunned shoppers and a woman hurriedly shoved gil from the donation box by the fistful into a backpack. Reno left the photographer, forgotten, and tried to make his way back to the vice president without being noticed. Thankfully, Rufus had been smart enough to take cover as soon as the shooting started. He spotted him crouched behind one of the Christmas displays near a rack of ties, and quickly motioned for him to stay down and out of sight.

"Hurry _up_!" one of the thieves hissed at the woman with the bag. "We only have like three minutes before security shows up!"

Reno frowned, debating his next course of action. He didn't much care for the thought of a bunch of lowlifes stealing from kids at Christmas... but neither the store nor the money were his responsibility. His only job right now was to keep Rufus safe. The best way to do that, much as it irked him, was to just let them take the money and leave, and then get the V.P. out of there at the first available opportunity. He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out his PHS and keyed in the emergency code, that would alert the rest of the team that there was a situation, and then ducked low, slowly making his way back to where he'd left Rufus.

"That's it... let's go!" the woman proclaimed, having finally emptied the box. They hurried towards the fire exit on the far side of the store, guns still trained on the bystanders, just in case anyone decided to be a hero.

"Hey, you! Hold it right there!" a voice firmly demanded, and Reno very nearly groaned in dismay as two security guards came scrambling up the escalator, armed with what looked like tasers. Yeah... _those_ were gonna do a whole lot against a couple of guns. Fucking rent-a-cops...

Sure enough, several more shots rang out and one of the guards went down hard, while the other seemed to realized that he was in over his head and dove for cover behind Santa's sleigh. The three thieves made a run for the exit, and two of them slipped through. The last turned around, and as a final parting 'fuck you' sent a spray of bullets across several departments, forcing everyone trapped in the space to hit the ground. Reno swore loudly as he went flat on the tile floor, hands covering his head. A moment later, he heard the fire door clang shut, and dared to look up.

It took him several seconds to reorient himself in the sea of terrified shoppers, but then he was sprinting the remaining distance to where he'd left Rufus, ignoring several people between him and the vice president calling out for help.

"Sir?" he called out, skidding to a halt as he peered down towards where he'd last seen Shinra heir... only to be greeted by a trail of blood.

~end chapter 81~


	82. Afterwards

**Taking Care of Reno: The Early Years – Chapter 82: Afterwards**

 **by Desha**

Reno sat quietly, head in his hands, largely ignoring the busy doctors and nurses who passed by him in the hallway. One benefit to being the son of the head of Shinra Company... when you were sick or hurt, you received top of the line medical treatment, the best doctors, private accommodations... the works. So, being in a private wing of Midgar General, rather than the emergency department, at the very least, the redhead had the opportunity to silently berate himself in relative peace.

That was going to change shortly, however. Veld was on his way. _With_ the President, who apparently was _not_ happy to hear that his only son had been _shot_ during a robbery, and that not only had the criminals gotten away, but that Reno had been halfway across the store when it happened. Veld hadn't sounded real happy about that last part, either... though his anger had cooled a bit when the younger Turk had explained that he'd been dealing with a separate problem at the time, on Rufus' own orders.

Still... he was expecting to be reamed out for it, regardless. If _not_ by Veld, then certainly by President Shinra, because no matter what his excuse may have been, it didn't change the fact that Rufus had been hurt on his watch.

He was having a hard time not berating himself for that fact, too, though, as far as _that_ went. He'd gotten complacent. They were in a high-end store, full of wealthy, upper-class shoppers, with its own security. What could happen?

Apparently, a fucking _armed robbery_ is what could happen.

Plain and simple, he'd failed. He'd considered a VIP escort assignment to be routine, let himself get distracted by a pain in the ass photographer, and missed any opportunity he might have had to put a stop to the bigger threat before it had happened. That was on him.

"Where is my son?!" a voice bellowed from down the hall, snapping the redhead from his thoughts. He jerked upright, scrambling to his feet mere seconds before he was spotted by the threesome now making its way towards him, and cringed. President Shinra, Veld... _and_ Heidegger. _Great_. This wasn't going to end well. Reno sighed and mentally braced himself for the coming onslaught.

"Reno, where is –" Veld began, only to be forcibly shoved aside as Heidegger stepped out in front of him and got directly into the redhead's face. Veld stumbled slightly, but quickly recovered, looking at his direct superior with a less than amused expression.

" _You_. I should have known," he said, jabbing a finger into Reno's chest, "You've really done it _this_ time."

It took everything Reno had not to recoil at the man's breath and the amount of spittle flying from his gaping maw as he berated the younger Turk.

"You've been worthless since day one!" Heidegger growled, "I hope you've _enjoyed_ your time at Shinra... because when I'm done with you, you'll be out on your ass so fast you'll –"

"What in _Ramuh's_ name are you bellowing about _now_?" an exasperated voice demanded from over Reno's shoulder, and all three of the new arrivals momentarily froze in surprise as Rufus emerged from the room just to the Turk's right.

"Rufus!" President Shinra stammered, breaking the uncomfortable silence, "I... I was informed you'd been shot..."

The Shinra heir snorted loudly. "Grazed would be more accurate," he replied, rolling his eyes, before turning to his bodyguard for the day, "Why in the Nine Hells did you inform half the Company of this? Get the car and let's go. I want lunch, and I _don't_ intend to dine on hospital fare... Then I have one other stop to make before I head back to the office."

The redhead blinked in surprise at the abrupt dismissal, and glanced over at Veld for confirmation that he wasn't supposed to stay and have a new asshole ripped for him.

"What are you looking at me for? You heard the vice president," Veld said, simply, and Reno was almost certain he saw the faintest hint of a smirk cross his face.

"Yes, sir," he answered and hurried off in the direction of the the VIP entrance. It didn't take him long to spot where their driver had parked and have him pull around to the doors. That done, he climbed inside and waited.

When he'd _found_ Rufus, he'd half thought he was dead at first. His shoulder was bloodied, and he was lying motionless, facedown on the floor. When he reached out and grabbed him in an effort to roll him over, the young executive had jumped in fright, scurrying back with a look a sheer terror on his face... until recognition had dawned.

The injury wasn't a bad one. As the Shinra heir had said in the hallway, he'd only been grazed by one of the stray bullets that had been fired into the crowd of shoppers. He was far more scared than injured... but Reno had wasted no time in evacuating him from the area and taking him straight to the hospital. Rufus hadn't said a word the entire ride. In fact, he'd been so borderline catatonic, Reno had been in the process of reassessing his initial thought that the injury wasn't that bad by the time they'd reached their destination.

The young man who'd emerged from that room just a few minutes ago was almost a different person from the one who'd gone in. Utterly dismissive of the entire incident, as well as his injury.

Reno didn't have long to think on it, because as soon as he looked up to see whether or not Rufus was on his way out yet, the Shinra heir was striding through the doors, though apparently not having ditched his visitors. His father accompanied him, closely followed by Heidegger. Veld, too, was following, though at a respectable distance. The driver opened the door for the vice president.

"Enough," Rufus said, holding up a hand. "I'm perfectly fine. And I have quite a lot to _do_ today. If you'll excuse me, Father..." He turned to his driver and added, "The Juniper Well, if you would."

He then slipped into the back of the limo, and the door was shut firmly behind him... at which point the facade dropped and he exhaled in a shuttering breath.

"You okay, sir?" Reno hesitantly asked.

"No," he replied, with none of his usual snark. "I am most assuredly _not_ 'okay'."

"Should I –" he began, only to be cut off.

"Just sit there, silently, and give me a moment to recompose myself," Rufus snapped, as the car began to pull forward. The redhead obligingly shut up. That his charge was still rattled was obvious... and it suddenly occurred to Reno just how exceptional an actor Rufus could be at times. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it... but having seen the drastic change that had come over him the moment he was out of view, it had registered in a way it somehow never had before. Rufus Shinra did not show weakness to anyone. He did not show fear to anyone... even if he was terrified. The exceptions to that rule were few and far between.

After several minutes of heavy, uncomfortable silences, the executive began to relax a bit.

"Was is _really_ necessary to notify Father?" he groused.

"Technically, I only notified _Veld_ , sir. Hewas the one who told the President what was up," he replied, with a shrug, "Sorry... It's protocol." He paused a moment. "How's the arm?"

Rufus snorted softly.

"I understand now why you were so annoyed with me when I gave you a _similar_ injury a few years back. It's not very pleasant, and the fact that it hurts with every little movement is going to be extraordinarily inconvenient."

"... _That_ was more 'cause ya coulda killed me, but... yeah, gettin' shot's generally kind of a pain in the ass no matter what," he replied, eyeing the older boy a little strangely. At this point, he wasn't sure if Rufus was really as calm as he seemed or if he'd simply put the facade back up. He honestly couldn't tell the difference right now.

"Hmph... Knowing Father, I'll now require an escort even in my own home until it's fully healed," he muttered, clearly irritated by the idea.

"Heh... well, on the bright side, you won't have to put up with _me_ for awhile," the redhead snickered, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "... 'cause I'm _pretty_ sure Heidegger's gonna skin me alive soon as I'm back in the office. Ya know... assumin' your dad doesn't get his hands on me first."

He said it jokingly... but Reno wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't _exactly_ what was going to happen. Heidegger still held a bit of a grudge against him, after all. And if ever there was a reason to punish a Turk... well, letting the V.P. take a bullet certainly qualified. He was trying _very_ hard not to think about what it might mean for him... and his career. Really, the only thing keeping his _own_ panic in check right now was the fact that Rufus had seemed even more upset than the redhead was.

"Heidegger can go straight the Nine Hells if he thinks he's going to enact some idiotic vendetta over this," Rufus replied, scowling angrily, "And my father can join him."

Reno blinked in surprise... and the younger Shinra pointedly rolled his eyes when he noticed the expression.

"The number of people I am comfortable entrusting my life to can be counted on one hand," he continued, "I've made it clear to that fat sack of hot air that if anyone so much as _attempts_ some sort of retaliation, my response will be swift and merciless."

" _Which_ fat sack of hot air?"

It had just slipped out. He hadn't meant to actually _say_ that... but his filter, which was often tenuous to begin with, had selected that particular moment to utterly abandon him. As soon as the words were out, he knew he'd fucked up. Rufus wasn't a fellow Turk. He wasn't even a fellow employee. He was the second highest ranked executive in the Company, and the son of one of the men Reno had just so casually insulted. Teasing the Brat himself was one thing. Going off on his dad to his face was crossing a whole other line. For a moment Rufus merely stared at him, mouth slightly agape. And then he did something that surprised the redhead for a second time.

He started to laugh.

It was a nearly a full minute before he finally sobered... and not a moment too soon, because Reno was beginning to think the vice president had completely lost it. Rufus fixed him with a sharp gaze.

"You _do_ realize I could have you summarily dismissed for that comment alone if I truly wished it..." he said, almost off-handedly, "Nevermind today's little fiasco."

"Yes, sir..." Reno somewhat cautiously replied, raising an eyebrow, and somehow he just knew. He smirked. "But you won't."

The car pulled up in front of a tiny, hole-in-the-wall cafe on a little side street in Sector 2. Reno recognized it immediately... Tseng had brought him here not all that long ago.

"Hmph... No. I won't," he confirmed, as the driver opened the door. "Come on, Slum Rat. _You're_ paying for lunch this time."

The redhead snickered softly to himself. He'd very nearly forgotten that he'd made the stuck up executive buy _him_ lunch after that little incident on the firing range back when he was a rookie. As he hauled himself out of the car, following Rufus inside, he vaguely wondered if Tseng had ever found out about that... He'dnever said anything, if he had.

"Hey... wait a minute," Reno said, as he remembered something _else_. "Why am _I_ buyin'? Don't you _own_ this place?"

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time the protest in Kalm had finally disbanded, and Tseng and Sykes were able to trudge back into the office. The crowd had been larger than anticipated... but fortunately there had only been a handful of toublemakers among them. At one point, a fight had broken out between a few of the townsfolk and some protesters from elsewhere, but it had been easily contained, and the instigators ejected from the area. Really, the _worst_ part of the assignment had been the fact that he'd been stuck outdoors in the frigid winter weather all day.

Still... easy assignment or not, it had been a very _long_ day, and all Tseng really wanted right now was to spend the two hours or so that remained in the workday writing up his incident report and sipping a cup of strong tea while he thawed out a bit in his nice, climate-controlled office. With any luck – and a _lot_ of tea – he'd be able to fend off his inevitable start-of-winter cold awhile longer this year.

"Ah... Tseng. Good, you're back," Veld's voice called out to him, just as he was about to reach for his office door. The Turk lieutenant mentally sighed and turned around. His mentor chuckled quietly.

"Long day?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Tseng replied.

"Well... I don't want to keep you from you tea," Veld replied, and Tseng couldn't help but notice a slightly mischievous look on his face. "I just thought I ought to let you know that Rufus managed to get himself shot this afternoon."

With that, he turned and strode back into his office, leaving Tseng, at first, _very_ confused and not certain of what he'd just heard.

"... What?!" he cried, after a brief delay for his brain to fully catch up. He hurriedly followed the senior Turk into the other man's office, closing the door behind him. "What in Leviathan's name do you _mean_ , he's been shot? What happened? Where is he now? And where's Reno?"

"There's no need for concern," Veld replied, smiling slightly, "He was grazed by a stray bullet. It was barely more than a scratch. Frankly, I think he was more annoyed than in pain. He took Reno and left for lunch directly from Midgar General after getting patched up."

Tseng glared at his mentor. "That _wasn't_ funny. What happened?"

Veld gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, and Tseng obligingly took a seat, as did the Turk leader. He leaned forward resting his elbows on the desk and pressing his fingertips together.

"A robbery while he was out Christmas shopping," he replied, "It seems they were after a large amount of cash donated to the store's charity of choice for the season. Apparently one of them decided to fire into the crowd to cover their escape. There were several people injured, but rather miraculously, the only death was a security guard who had attempted to stop them."

"Where is Rufus now?" Tseng asked, still rather anxious.

"When he left, he said he was going to go have lunch. Reno checked in shortly afterward, and confirmed the location, and said that he had an additional errand to run. They're presently on their way back to the office."

"Was Reno injured, as well?"

"No. He's fine. He was dealing with a member of the local paparazzi when the shooting started. When he realized what was happening, he signaled Rufus to take cover. Either the vice president didn't listen, or he left said cover too quickly. I'm not entirely clear on that point," Veld explained, "I've already dispatched Petra and Rude to deal with the thieves. The President wasn't feeling especially generous towards them, for obvious reasons, and has ordered their immediate termination."

Veld leaned back in his chair, still smirking slightly at his protege.

"And just what is _that_ look?" Tseng asked, suspicious. Veld chuckled again, and sighed quietly.

"Your protege has picked up yet _another_ other your less endearing traits..." he said, sounding decidedly amused. The younger Turk raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he responded.

"Yes... he's befriended an executive," Veld replied, somewhat teasingly. Tseng pointedly rolled his eyes. His mentor had never _fully_ approved of his close relationship with the younger Shinra... though he had never specifically dissuaded him from it, either. Even Tseng had to admit that it was a bit of a double edged sword at times, and there was a line that he had to walk to maintain a balance between duty and friendship.

"I don't think I'd call them _friends_ , per se..." Tseng said, "Allies, certainly."

"No? Well... call them what you will, Rufus was remarkably protective of Reno when Heidegger started his usual blustering. He seemed to think the vice president's injury was going to give him a chance to make good on an old grudge." He laughed softly. "I... _don't_ think Reno will have any further issues with him in the future on that matter. Our young vice president is shockingly intimidating when he wants to be."

"Rufus has begun to realize that he can't run this company on his own. He needs people he can trust... and he trusts _Reno_ with his life."

Veld nodded. "The same true for you, you know. You can't run this team without a second who has your full confidence. It's too much for one person." He pressed his fingertips together again. "I have to admit... when you first told me you wanted to recruit him, I never expected Reno to survive the rigors of Turk training. Not in the field. _Maybe_ not even in the recruitment program. I honestly thought you were setting yourself up for failure, and wanted more than anything to intervene and nix the whole idea... but ultimately, it was your mistake to make." He paused a moment, thoughtfully. "He's... not who I thought he was when I first met him. He's more than proven that. You will never in a million years find a second in command more suitable for you, Tseng. He's become an extension of yourself before he's even had to learn that that is exactly what he _must_ be in order to do the job you're training him for. After what I witnessed today, I think Rufus sees that, too."

Tseng smiled slightly. "Well... that's _one_ less thing for me to worry about teaching him, I suppose. If only the _rest_ of the list was going to be that easy..."

"I think you're managing just fine," Veld laughed.

"Yes, sir. I... I-I –" he began. His response, however, was abruptly curtailed by a violent sneeze, followed by a loudly groaned Wutaiian invective.

"Oh, _wonderful_..." Tseng muttered. Veld shook his head, and stood up, guiding his protege to his feet.

"Every year, like clockwork..." he chuckled, understandingly. "Let's get you some tea."

* * *

Following their lunch, Rufus had ordered the driver to take them to the very heart Sector 4... but hadn't told the redhead where they were going. Somehow, though... Reno wasn't shocked when the car rolled through the elaborate gates of a small cemetery. The undisturbed snow crunched underfoot as the executive got out and made his way towards one of the larger monuments. The Turk, however, stayed with the car, watching over the young executive from a distance. He really didn't have to wonder whose grave it was.

He knew the story. Rufus had been nine. Out shopping with his mother, in a fancy, high end store, where no one, including their security escort, would have expected anything out of the ordinary to happen to them. He'd come home that day without a mother, and Tseng had very nearly not come home at all. The similarities between that day and this afternoon weren't lost on the Turk. Rufus had probably been thinking about that incident from the first moment he heard the gunshot.

… and Reno couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness for the younger Shinra. He knew the pain of unexpected reminders... of some random instance that unforgivingly triggered memories you tried desperately not to think about. Hell, as bad as his own childhood trauma was, at least _he_ hadn't had to _watch_ his mother die. He couldn't imagine what that must have been like... though to be fair, Reno didn't think he was brave enough to even try.

Rufus didn't stay long. He returned, wordlessly, to the car after only a minute or two, in fact, and said nothing until he had climbed inside and ordered the driver to take them back to the office. Reno had inconspicuously sent Veld a notification that they were on their way back and then leaned back and kept his mouth shut.

"Aren't you going to ask?" Rufus, after several city blocks had gone by, queried, breaking the silence. His tone wasn't snarky or condescending. If anything, he sounded... resigned.

"No," Reno replied, and the executive glanced up at him, surprise replacing the slightly haunted look that had been on his face. Reno shook his head. "There are _some_ things ya just don't talk about."

 _He_ didn't talk about his mom's death, either. Not if he could at all avoid it, anyway. Over the last few months he'd built himself up to the point that just about any _other_ topic related to her was okay. He could manage a conversation about her now. Even _start_ one, unprompted. But _that_ was off limits. For now, at least. Maybe one day he'd come to terms with that, too, but... not yet. And he wasn't about to ask someone else to do something _he_ wasn't willing to do himself.

Rufus turned his gaze out the window and fell silent again. The sun had nearly gone down and snow was beginning to fall again, adding to the not insignificant amount already on the ground from early that morning. Normally, Reno loved the snow, and _especially_ the first snow of the season. Right now, though, it was just... cold.

Somewhat inexplicably, his thoughts turned to Kai, and he wondered if _she_ was out in this weather. After today, more than anything, he wanted his little family to be whole again...

* * *

The first think Reno heard as he stepped off of the elevator and into Turk headquarters was... someone sneezing their head off. He heard Rufus scoff from just behind him.

"Well... If I wasn't already _aware_ that it had snowed, I would certainly know it _now_..."

Reno snickered softly in response, as he turned just in time to spot Tseng making his way towards them, a mug of tea clutched in his hands. The redhead rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? _Again_?" he asked, though he was admittedly somewhat perversely amused by his mentor's present state. It was almost like the man had an allergy to snow. Rufus had been joking, but he wasn't wrong by any means. As soon as it snowed, Tseng got sick. Every. Single. Winter.

"Don't start with me... _Either_ of you. This began barely an hour ago and I _already_ feel terrible," the Wutaiian Turk muttered in a decidedly congested voice. He looked over at Rufus, "I heard what happened. Are you alright?"

"Hmph... I really don't know why the Slum Rat required so much time off after _he_ was shot. _I_ barely even felt it..."

The redhead snorted in laughter at the utterly straight-faced delivery of that statement. Say what you would about the Brat... his sense of humor was as dry as the Corel Desert. Tseng merely shook his head.

"Reno... Veld has preemptively ordered me to remain home tomorrow if I'm still running a fever in the morning. I'd like you to write up your incident report _now_... as you will likely be covering for me all day," the senior Turk said.

"Why didn't he order you to go home _already_?" the redhead asked.

"Technically, he did," he replied, coughing harshly, "I negotiated permission to wait until you two returned."

"And now they _have_ returned," a voice cut in, "Go _home_ , Tseng. Or I'll make good on my promise to call Dr. Ward and you can deal with _her_."

Reno grinned as Veld came striding down the hall towards them.

"I can drive him home..." he volunteered, and Tseng shot him a look.

"You will not," his mentor stated, "Because the Nine Hells will freeze over before I allow you to drive my car in snow, and I know perfectly well that's what you're angling for."

"And besides which, _you_ have an incident report to write," Veld added, "I want it on my desk by the end of the day, because I already have your assignment for tomorrow, and you'll be leaving first thing in the morning. Well cover the details at the afternoon briefing. Go. Write."

"Yes, sir," Reno said, biting back a groan. He hurried off towards his office.

"And it had better be legible this time!" Veld called after him, and he was pretty sure he heard Tseng laughing before the sound quickly turned into a fit of coughing. As the redhead rounded the corner, he was greeted by the sound of unabashed snickering.

"Shut up," he said, rolling his eyes at Rude. The older Turk smirked and followed him into his office, shutting the door behind him.

"Heard Rufus took a bullet," he said.

"Tch... _barely_ ," Reno replied, but then dropped his gaze. "But... yeah. I fucked up. Lucky for me, he wasn't _seriously_ hurt, but it still never shoulda happened."

"Hmph... You can't be perfect one hundred percent of the time," Rude replied, patting him on the shoulder, to which the younger man snorted derisively. "By the way... Heidegger was down here for awhile, fuming about Rufus to Veld. What'd the V.P. say to him to piss him off like that?"

Reno cocked his head to one side. "I actually don't know. The son of a bitch was in my face, all set to chew me out, 'n then the Brat sent me to go get the car. I didn't hear any of it."

Rude groaned loudly. "I've been waiting all afternoon to get the inside story on this, and you _didn't hear any of it_?" he lamented.

"Sorry," Reno shrugged. He couldn't help but laugh softly. His friend absolutely _lived_ for gossip. Rude sighed and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Reno's desk. "Heh... yeah, sure. Just make yourself right at home. Not like I got a report I'm s'posed to be writin' up or anything..."

"I'll try not to be too loud," he chuckled, "Actually... I just wanted to give you a heads up. Veld's sending you out to the southern plains tomorrow."

"What... like to Fort Condor?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, but Rude shook his head.

"Farther south. You're gonna want to pack warm. It's kind of off the beaten trail. Hmph... just the kind of place to go to get away from it all."

"... He's sending me to look for Kai, isn't he...?" Reno said, not having much difficulty seeing that statement for what it was.

"You didn't hear it from me."

"Tch... You been eavesdroppin' again, partner?"

"Maybe," Rude replied, with a smirk. "But I'm also the who picked up the lead in the first place. Someone matching Kai's description stopped for supplies at Fort Condor a day ago, and then headed south towards the shore."

"Man... you do quick work. Me 'n Tseng were just discussing _startin'_ to search for her this morning! He hadn't even run it by Veld yet by the time I left with Rufus..."

Rude chuckled. "I've had feelers out for a few weeks now. Figured it was only a matter of time. Just happened to get lucky this afternoon. I'll let Veld give you the details, though. Don't wanna step on any toes." He took on a more serious expression. "Bring her back, will ya?"

"Heh... Will do. Ya know... assuming I actually _find_ that little maniac. She's probably built herself some kinda hidden sand bunker on the beach or somethin'..."

"And try not to kill yourself on the chocobo," Rude added. Reno froze in his bid to reach for a pen and a report form from the little stack on his desk. He looked up at his friend with something akin to dread in his eyes.

"... _What_ chocobo?" the redhead asked, suddenly not really wanting to know the answer.

~end chapter 82~


End file.
